# Okay, What am I doing wrong here?



## Teresa S. (Mar 2, 2006)

I just bought a usb 2.0 that _clearly_ states on the package "This usb cable connectes one computer to another for data/filesharing. So, I connect,both computers (running xp pro sp2) together, and nothing happens. I even ran the network setup wizard.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Teresa S. said:


> I just bought a usb 2.0 that _clearly_ states on the package "This usb cable connectes one computer to another for data/filesharing. So, I connect,both computers (running xp pro sp2) together, and nothing happens. I even ran the network setup wizard.


It's true that you can connect two computers with a direct USB cable connection, but there is no built-in support in Windows for this kind of connection. You need a third party software which emulates a LAN adapter.

To be honest, I've never done it. Hardware for networking with Ethernet adapters, cables, and a hub is so inexpensive and straightforward to do there really isn't a reason to use a direct USB connection. At least no reason I can see.

Why don't you network with Ethernet gear?


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

I have moved programs and things from one computer old one to a new computer using a USB BUT It is a Special one it has like a bulge in the middle I take it it then, Information then Only can go in Just One Direction. AND I had to run a program called "IntelliMover" Which worked just great~! You could see both hard drives on One Monitor then pick out the stuff from the old one to move over to the new one~!. Even if it did cost me 50 bucks it was worth it~! Now you are trying to Network 2 together I think then you should be using the Ethernet plug not the USB plug.


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## Teresa S. (Mar 2, 2006)

Any software ideas? I have also got crossover cable, it doesnt wor either. It never acts like it does anyhthing even after running networking wizard.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

How are you testing network connectivity when you use the crossover cable, and why do you think it doesn't work?

Perhaps you could review your crossover cable network settings.


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## Teresa S. (Mar 2, 2006)

I dont even know how to test network conectivity. It says my ethernet ports aren't turned on, on both computers. I am using Peoplepc internet software for internet. Why dont I think it works?...I don't now what I am doing.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Teresa S. said:


> I dont even know how to test network conectivity. It says my ethernet ports aren't turned on, on both computers. I am using Peoplepc internet software for internet. Why dont I think it works?...I don't now what I am doing.


Did you assign IP addresses to both computers?

You need to make sure that the necessary components are present, and that the components are configured properly. You can do that in the Control Panel (classic view) by opening the Network connections icon. Right-click on the network connection you wish to configure (normally Local Area Connection) and select properties. 

On the General tab, you should see the model of the network adapter you wish to configure in the box labeled "Connect using". In the box labeled "This connection uses the following items" you should see the installed network components. Report back here with the installed components for each computer.

Assuming that "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" is one of the installed components, select it by clicking on it once and then click the Properties button. Report back here with what you see as the settings on the General tab.


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## Teresa S. (Mar 2, 2006)

Never mind, I don't want help. I have called the dsl company and they will be setting up a network for me...thank you very much


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Be carefull. DSL can work with both USB and your network port. If you computer has a network port on it, Make sure they use that. It takes a little more work for them, but in the long run will be better.


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## Teresa S. (Mar 2, 2006)

I'm not going to this but, one of those weird usb cables with the 'electronic box' in the middle will work? Will the speed be as fast as the network cables?


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Teresa S. said:


> I'm not going to this but, one of those weird usb cables with the 'electronic box' in the middle will work? Will the speed be as fast as the network cables?


It should be, most network adapters operate at 100 megabits/sec, while USB 2.0 operates at 480 megabits/sec. I doubt you will see a difference either way. 

If either one of the desktop computers has slower than USB 2.0 then USB will be significantly slower than network adapters. For example, USB 1.1 operates at 12 megabits/sec, approximately 1/8th the speed of typical network adapters.

By the way, if all you do with the network is share your DSL connection it doesn't matter. Any speed USB will be satisfactory. Personally, I've found that USB isn't as stable as a network adapter, but speed isn't a concern.


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## ericalbers (May 31, 2006)

Once they come out and 'setup your network', you'll need help, please let us know after they get you 'setup'.....

Once your network cards are on a local network, we can help you get things working 

Where here for ya!
Eric


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## Teresa S. (Mar 2, 2006)

It's already setup..I have it working with my dial-up as of now...I even have wireless on my laptop. They have it all set up and working. I just have to wait until the 7th to get my dsl 'turned on'...


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Teresa S. said:


> It's already setup..I have it working with my dial-up as of now...I even have wireless on my laptop. They have it all set up and working. I just have to wait until the 7th to get my dsl 'turned on'...


Okay, now that you have a working network you can learn how to test it, if you care to.

You can look at the network settings at any given computer by going into the network settings. In the Control Panel, double-click on the Network Connections icon. New right click on the network connection you are interested in viewing (normally either Local Area Connection or Wireless Network Connection) and select Properties.

The most important settings are those in "Internet Protocol TCP/IP", so select that by clicking on it once and click the Properties button. That's where the IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS settings can be found. Don't be concerned if it says they are obtained automatically, that's fine if they are, and I'll cover that below. Here are what those things mean:

*IP address:* That's the network address of the computer you are working at. Every computer on the network needs a unique IP address. Normally private networks use either the 192.168.0.xxx or 192.168.1.xxx (where xxx is a number between 1 and 255) address ranges.

*Subnet mask:* IP addresses can be either class A, B or C IP addresses. A class A IP address has only the first octet (the numbers before the first period) constant, so all possible numbers after the "192" would need to be searched (192.xxx.xxx.xxx). A class B license has the first two octets constant (192.168.xxx.xxx) and a class C license has the first three octets constant (192.168.0.xxx). The subnet mask is specified so that the fewest number of necessary numbers are searched. Typically we use class C IP address ranges so we want to mask-off the first three octets, so the subnet mask would be 255.255.255.0. Therefore, 99 out of 100 times you'll use 255.255.255.0 for your subnet mask.

*Default Gateway:* The gateway IP address is the network address of your router. In your case your router would be the computer that has the dialup connection. What a gateway really is, is the computer that all out-of-range IP address requests should be directed to. In other words, if you want to go to an IP address that's not in the 192.168.0.xxx IP address range (such as all Internet IP addresses) then your computer will send those requests to the gateway address.

*DNS Settings:* DNS stands for Domain Name Server. That's a computer that you have rights to access which can resolve host names (domain names) for you. The thing is that a TCP/IP network is very good at finding IP addresses, but we normally remember locations on the Internet by domain name, since IP addresses are too difficult to remember. For example, say you want to go to yahoo.com. The Internet doesn't know where yahoo.com is, but your ISP maintains a table that has a list of domain names along with corresponding IP addresses, which the Internet does know the location of. So when you try to go to yahoo.com, your computer asks the specified DNS server what the IP address of yahoo.com is, which happens to be 216.109.112.135 (see, it's easier to remember yahoo.com), at that point your browser remakes the request to that IP address. So without a DNS server, you wouldn't be able to visit domain names and you would have to remember the IP address of every location you would like to visit.

As I said earlier, the settings may not be specified. That's because you have a working DHCP server. All you need to know about a DHCP server is that when a computer on the network starts up the DHCP server can assign the network settings to that machine automatically. That's handy to avoid having two computers on the same network with the same IP address, but it's not always handy. For your uses a DHCP server is probably fine. Routers typically have a DHCP server built in, and Windows XP automatically sets up a DHCP server when you setup Internet sharing.

*TESTING THE NETWORK*

We test networks with a handful of DOS commands. You'll need to open the Command Prompt isue those commands. Don't try to do it just by going to Start==>Run because the box will close too fast for some functions.

1) Route print

At the command prompt, type "route print" (less quotes) and press Enter. That will give you the routing table. You don't need to understand the whole table, but the first number under Interface is that machine's IP address, and the first number under Gateway is the gateway IP address (normally the router).

2) Ping

You can ping any machine on your network to test for connectivity. A ping is a packet of data sent to another machine, which other machines on a TCP/IP network is obliged to reply to. Normally you will either get replies, request timed out, or a host unavailable response.

You can ping yourself, other computers on your network, Internet IP addresses, or even host names. You can also ping the loopback address (127.0.0.1). Every computer with TCP/IP installed knows itself by the loop back address.

First, go to the command prompt. Type "ping 127.0.0.1" (less quotes) then press Enter. You should get 4 replies. That was your own machine replying to you.

Second, type the IP address for that machine (the first number under Interface when you did a route print). You will type something like "ping 192.168.0.5" and press Enter. If you used the correct IP address for your machine you should see 4 replies.

Third, ping your gateway IP address. That's usually "ping 192.168.0.1" and press Enter. That will send 4 pings to your gateway computer. You will see your network adapter & hub lights blink 4 times as it sends the pings to the gateway computer. Hopefully you got 4 replies.

Fourth, ping yahoo's IP address. Type "ping 216.109.112.135" and press Enter. That will ping the yahoo server. You should get 4 replies.

Finally, ping yahoo.com. Type "ping yahoo.com" and press Enter. You will see that the host name is first resolved to an IP address, then that IP address is pinged 4 times. Hopefully you got replies.

A note about pinging. It's not uncommon for servers to not be configured to reply to ping requests. That's because some hackers send huge numbers of ping requests to servers tying-up resources, commonly called a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. In that case the host name will be resolved but there will be no response from the pings. You'll find that most servers will reply though. Try pinging homesteadingtoday.com, it will reply.

If you are ever having trouble with your network you can do the ping sequence above. The point at which the failure occurs will tell you where the problem is. For example, if you can ping yahoo's IP address but can't ping yahoo.com, then you know you can't resolve host names and you need to check your DNS settings.

If I went over something too quickly and you need clarification, just ask.


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