XP and win98 PCs wont communicate on the network (WXP)

[a.ak]

Hi,
We have a network with mixture of OSs (95, 98, 2K) and they been working ok and still work. Recently got a Toshiba notebook with XP professional and cannot get any pc to talk to it. One thing I must tell is that our network BNC type (old I know) and this has a RJ45 connection, (Toshiba worked on a network with RJ45 and hub combination network without problem) so we tried to establish one to one (only 2 pcs, with correct cable), Tsb recognizes that the network plug has been plugged in but neighter of the pc will see the other one. We have tried this with different OS pcs without success. I hope someone can offer help.

a.ak

[7ate9]

This 1 to 1 connection you're talking about, is it going through a hub/router, or are you just using an RJ45 crossover cable to connect the two? Secondly, are you using static ip's on the same subnet? Just want to make sure I understand what it is you're dealing with there. Oh, and you may want to make sure that the pesky Windows XP firewall is turned off.

7ate9
WinGuides Driver Guide</font color=blue> (http://www.winguides.com/drivers/><font)

[a.ak]

Hi,
1 to 1 connection is done by RJ45 crossover cable and the cable is tested on different PCs so cable is ok. When network connection properties viewed, it sends packets but does not receive any. I dont exactly know if XP firewall is on or off. How do I turn it off. IP address settings were done automatically I belive. When I checked IP on each PC when only 2 were connected, the range was 169.254.42.xxx. I hope this gives you more clues.
thanks
I have just checked, firewall is disabled.
aak

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by a.ak on 11/07/02 18:13.</FONT></P>

[7ate9]

Okay, everything seems okay except for those ip address. Instead of going with automatic ip's, try to specify your own. Within the properties of XP's Local Area Connection, highlight Internet Protocol (TCP\IP) and go to its properties. Set the ip address to 10.0.0.1 with a subnet of 255.255.255.0, and on the Win98 computer, go to Network and then TCP\IP properties, and specifiy 10.0.0.2 and the same subnet. Make sure both computers have unique names, but are on the same workgroup. Reboot and give that a shot.

7ate9
WinGuides Driver Guide</font color=blue> (http://www.winguides.com/drivers/><font)

[feelsick]

10. x.x.x is class A network
255.255.255.0 is class C

[a.ak]

Hi

I'm back again with slightly different problem.
We have spent some money and run networking
for RJ45 connection + switch/hub.
Now, Xp can see only the NT Pro PC on the network. W98 pc's can see all PCs, W2000 can see all but XP.
Do not know what to do next. Really need help....

a.ak

[feelsick]

I don't know if you considered what I last posted.
255.255.255.0 is the default subnet mask for class C networks.
10.x.x.x is an ip belonging to class A.
It is possible sometimes to get away with taking no notice of such stuff but (espec. if different physical subnets are involved as I suspect in your case), its often down to luck.
play safe and do it all correctly..

all workgroups = domain names.
all subnet masks the same - unless you require otherwise.
default subnet mask for 10.x.x.x is 255.0.0.0
default gateway setup correct.

One of the msoft mcp questions for tcp/ip was always a condition exactly like yours and the answer was always subnet mask, so think on!

ps since you use static ip you can also make double-sure by using a hosts file.

any help you need in configuring any of this let me know. eg if you have more than one subnet and so need other than default masking.

good luck.

[feelsick]

to give some idea of how it works;

169.x.x.x is class B default mask is 255.255.0.0

but if the mask is set to 255.255.255 then

169.254.42.1 is a pc with ip y on network (physical subnet) z
and y = 1 and z = 42

from inside it appear to be y = 42.1 = 10001 which looks like it is beyond the gateway

so you get conditions where one pc can recieve from another but when sending to goes through the gateway and so on. really strange things can happen!

anyhow ..

class A up to 128.x.x.x 255.0.0.0
class B 128 - 191.x.x.x 255.255.0.0
class C 192 - 223.x.x.x 255.255.255.0

these are the defaults and anythig els is taken as the network number

eg 255.255.255.192 gives you 2 bits from the 192 (128 and 64), but 00 and 11 aren't allowed leaving 2 network ids 01 and 10 , or 1 and 2.

a pc with ip of 192.0.0.1 on network 1 and a pc of 192.0.0.1 on network 2 can be identified because if the 192 bits are there it hasn't come through the gateway and is local. if the gateway has stripped them off then its remote and any returns are sent through the gateway.

if this confuses , apologies.

[Jarek]

Im just commenting.. but this is why i like the NETBEUI protocol.. simple yet effective (of course i use a HUB not a Router...) (dying for a router)