Network Joy....Help Please o' Kind ones :D

beansforyou · 05-10-2005, 16:22

Hi

Rightyo....

I've got the pc upstairs, just installed a network card in it.

Pc downstairs already had a network card in from before.

I've got very long cable running from one LAN card to the other.

I've got the main pc downstairs connected to the Internet.

I've tried to run the network connection wizard on the PC upstairs, and it says 'the following hardware is not connected/turned on' and shows my LAN card in that pc.

Downstairs when i've tried to run the network connection wizard just takes ages then says it can't complete what it's doing because somethings wrong.

Just to clarify, i've decided to network the two PC's together in the way that means the downstairs one will always have to be online in order for the one upstairs to be (master-slave?)

Can anyone help? I'm getting terrible fit with all the running up and down stairs..and it's against my religion

Thanks

oh, maybe i've got the wrong type of cable, i've tried using the old cable I used for networking my laptop & pc together a while back, they went through a Router/modem and this cable went from my laptop to the router, it's cat 5E if that means anything?

Is this the wrong cable to connect the 2 pc's together directly?

If so, i'll have a go with the old router again, but I think it might have fried in a storm we had last year :S

limpetboy · 05-10-2005, 16:40

I think you need a crossover cable to connect two PCs together like this.

The wire you have is probably just a normal lan cable so won't do the job.

neeeeeeeeeek · 05-10-2005, 16:41

You need a crossover cable. 2 wires are crossed. A normal network cable wont do it. Any little computer shop should sell one.
If you are on broadband it is now really cheap to buy a router so you don't need to have the downstairs computer on all the time. It's one of those things that once you do you wont regret.

beansforyou · 05-10-2005, 16:53

I've had a router for the laptop/pc network I had before, and it was a nightmare, i've still got it but it won't connect (it says i've not assigned the PC a network address?) It used to work every now and then, but it wasn't just plug & play lol you had to know all about protocols and IP addresses etc...

I do my best but i'm not a professional

Anyhoo, I've just looked on google and a site was saying the Cat 5E is the cross over cable commonly used for networks?

If this isn't the right cable, which do I need?

Thanks

Lurch · 05-10-2005, 17:10

Sounds like you've got a straight cable and you need a crossover. I'd persevere with the router tbh, we can have a bash at sorting that out instead as it's a much better solution.

beansforyou · 05-10-2005, 17:18

HI,

ok im up for that

What do I do? lol

Edit, another problemw ith doing it the router way, is that I lose my internet connection whilst trying to do it...which means I can't find out how to do it....

limpetboy · 05-10-2005, 17:25

Quote:

Originally posted by beansforyou
HI,

ok im up for that

What do I do? lol

Edit, another problemw ith doing it the router way, is that I lose my internet connection whilst trying to do it...which means I can't find out how to do it....

Ah ain't it always the way lol

Lurch · 05-10-2005, 17:28

Quote:

Originally posted by beansforyou
Edit, another problemw ith doing it the router way, is that I lose my internet connection whilst trying to do it...which means I can't find out how to do it....

Yeah, been there, done that!

First of all, give us the make and model of your router and the OS on the PC you are going to use to set it up from, then we'll see what happens.

From the rather brief mention of your router problem, in laymans terms, it sounds like your PC wasn't picking up an address, which is usually either down to it not asking the router for one or the router not giving it one. The 2 ways around this are tell the PC to ask the router for an address or give the PC a fixed address so it doesn't need to ask for one.

Ann* · 05-10-2005, 17:29

Do you have a printer?

Just print out the instructions beforehand....or am I on the wrong track completely, and you can't do that either?

beansforyou · 05-10-2005, 17:43

Ann...funnily enough my printer has broke and i've just bought a new one today...i'm not yet in the mood to connect it up..and I can't see it happening tonight lol (i might throw it throught the window tho

)

Right, i've just looked for the guide for the router, and can't find it, so i've googled and downloaded the 'easy set-up' software for the router.

I've connected all the cables to the router, and rebooted the pc etc.

My first concern is that the router might be nackered, because the 'ready' light is supposed to flash consistently, and it's not doing, it's just on constant.

Anyhow, i've started up the 'easy set-up' programme, and immediately its just bringing up a message box saying it cannot continue because it isn't recognising any network adapters.

I've triple checked, the cables are in the right holes in the network cards, the modem cable is in the back of the router, power is on etc...

EDIT: OS is Windows XP

Router is Safecom Model Number LP-AL2014P 4 port adsl Router

EDIT Again: Just googled and it says : Safecom ADSL Router (SAMR-4114)
AKA: LP-AL2014P
SAMR-4115 (same apart from the case, apparently)

Or
Legacy name & Model ASR-8400

*sigh* I await your much needed help (with a dash of sanity would be nice

)

beansforyou · 05-10-2005, 17:50

Also seent his:
SAMR-4114 ADSL LED Blink or ON => Router working ok, if not the router is dead

from here:

http://adsltech.com/adsl/enq.htm

ToryCynic · 05-10-2005, 17:54

Try Run > cmd > ipconfig /all and see what that shows...

beansforyou · 05-10-2005, 17:56

in xp? (Start>Run..?) or in DOS?

In Xp it just gives an error message, and I dont know how to get into DOS from windows xp lol

Lurch · 05-10-2005, 18:01

Yep, rather a common router chipset. The manuals for the Safecom variant of it are here. http://safecom.cn/code/product/adsl/samr-4114/4PG.zip (Or manual as it is, but it is rather useless).

The 'ready' light I would imagine is the same as the 'ADSL' light on most other routers, which flashes when there is no line connected and is steady when it'sa all connected and working on an ADSL enabled line.

First thing is, you don't need any software to get the router working. Go to Start > Run and typ CMD then press enter. Type ipconfig in the window that appears and press enter and show us what it says. To do so, highlight the text in the window and press enter then press 'Ctrl+V' to paste it in to a reply here.

beansforyou · 05-10-2005, 18:03

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\matthew hewitt>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration

PPP adapter BT Broadband:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : xxxxxxxxxxxx

Lurch · 05-10-2005, 18:08

Would you happen to still have a USB ADSL modem plugged into your PC as well as the router? Do the same but do ipconfig /all instead and that will list all adaptors, and also do it with the USB modem unplugged.

ToryCynic · 05-10-2005, 18:10

Quote:

Originally posted by beansforyou
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\matthew hewitt>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration

PPP adapter BT Broadband:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : XX.XXX.XX.XXX
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : XX.XXX.XXX.XXX

Looks as if the router's picking an IP address from the DHCP... try repairing the connection - on the system tray (the little pictures by the clock), find your network and try repairing it.

beansforyou · 05-10-2005, 18:16

When I did the above, I had the USB adsl modem connected yes (or I couldnt have got online) but the router was switched off.

With the USB Modem unplugged and the router switched off, when I do ipconfig I get the following:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\matthew hewitt>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

C:\Documents and Settings\matthew hewitt>

beansforyou · 05-10-2005, 18:19

I've already tried repairing an old network connection I had set up on the computer from months ago, but it just says it cannot repair it as it doesn't have an IP address, can't connect.

I can't repair anything near my little clocks as i'm online at the moment via my ADSL modem, not the router (cuz it isn't working...)

Lurch · 05-10-2005, 18:24

You need the router on and the USB modem unplugged to do the above tests otherwise there's no point in doing anything else.

Also, there is no real harm in showing your IP address on the internet, I'll show you mine if you like as I've seen yours. It's 85.210.62.36 atm. If you blank it out we can't see what's happening, thus nullifying the excercise.