# Need some advice with network bridging in WIN7



## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Hello...
I know it should be pretty darn simple, but either i played with it to long already and got detail blind or just not getting it...
So here is my problem...
I have a Wireless network...i know bad idea in general, but given...
In that network i have a Win 10 notebook on wifi and a Win7 machine on wifi...
Both see each other and all good besides slow...wifi
But...the win7 machine also has a LAN port, which is plugged into a gigabit switch and on that switch is a laser printer and a NAS...
Due to the fact that the printer is shared from the win7 i can print from the notebook
But i cannot reach the darn NAS from the notebook...
And the NAS cannot be shared or i havent found it yet from the Win7...
So does anyone have a good idea?
Switch, printer and nas cannot be brought to he wifi router or visa versa

Thx!!
IP and subnet are the same on both "networks" besides of course unique ip addresses


----------



## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

If you can print to the printer that's shared by the Win7 machine, what's the problem?

But if you want to connect to two networks at the same time you'll need two network adapters, like the Win7 machine has.

By the way, using a wireless network isn't a bad idea at all. Just use security appropriate for the application.


----------



## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Access to the NAS...
Stating that i can print to printer was only part of the problem description that i cannot share the NAS over the win7 machine...
I need access to the NAS from the notebook


----------



## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Meinecke said:


> Access to the NAS...
> Stating that i can print to printer was only part of the problem description that i cannot share the NAS over the win7 machine...
> I need access to the NAS from the notebook


To bridge two subnets you'll need a router, in fact that's what a router is (a device that bridges two subnets). I don't know if there is a routing application available for Win7 to do that. Search google for Windows 7 routing applications and see if there's a free one.

Alternatively, add a second network adapter to the laptop.


----------



## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Hmmm...looked into the free routing options...not so promising so far.
Will keep looking


----------



## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Meinecke said:


> Hmmm...looked into the free routing options...not so promising so far.
> Will keep looking


Why do you need more than one subnet? You can have 254 devices on a standard class c subnet. Why not just keep them all local to your laptop's address?


----------



## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Meinecke said:


> Hmmm...looked into the free routing options...not so promising so far.
> Will keep looking


Evidently it's a native feature to Win7.

https://www.online-tech-tips.com/cool-websites/home-computer-router/


----------



## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Hello...
I dont need extra subnet...all machines are in the same 255.255.255.0
They even have all the same IP-Mask 192.168.0.x
It just seems, that the LAN card with 192.168.0.30 and the WIFI card 192.168.0.11 dont share their data besides Internet and Printer sharing


----------



## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Meinecke said:


> Hello...
> I dont need extra subnet...all machines are in the same 255.255.255.0
> They even have all the same IP-Mask 192.168.0.x
> It just seems, that the LAN card with 192.168.0.30 and the WIFI card 192.168.0.11 dont share their data besides Internet and Printer sharing


You have an adapter with 192.168.0.30 and an adapter with 192.168.0.11 in the same machine? How does the machine know which adapter to use for outgoing 192.168.0.xxx connections? Normally people use two network adapters in the same machine to communicate with two different subnets. Since both adapters are in the same subnet, why do you have two adapters?

I think what you're trying to do is to connect to the printer with the ethernet adapter and connect to the laptop with the wireless adapter, both from the same machine. Then you want the machine to bridge the wireless connection from 192.168.0.30 to 192.168.0.11 so the laptop can reach the printer. Do I have that correct? If not then perhaps you can draw your network layout so I can better understand what you're doing.


----------



## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Forget the printer...that is working...
I just want access to the NAS from the Laptop
Made a quick and dirty drawing for better understanding


----------



## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

If the ethernet port isn't plugged into the router, where does it get its IP address? Are you using Internet Connection Sharing? And where is the NAS getting its IP address? Unless you've done some real tricks with ICS to make it be a bridge instead of a NAT router, the ethernet port and NAS are on a different subnet. Is the NAS supposed to be usable in that configuration?

The easiest thing you can do is run an ethernet cable and plug the NAS into the router. Next easiest would be a mesh network, or a router in wireless repeater bridge mode so the main router is doing all the DHCP, and everything is in the same subnet.


----------



## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Meinecke said:


> Forget the printer...that is working...
> I just want access to the NAS from the Laptop
> Made a quick and dirty drawing for better understanding


Put the NAS on the router.


----------



## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

was afraid you would say that...
will have to check what the options are for that...
IP's are all static...not a big fan of dhcp


----------



## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Meinecke said:


> was afraid you would say that...
> will have to check what the options are for that...
> IP's are all static...not a big fan of dhcp


And you only want one network adapter in the Windows 7 machine.


----------



## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

If it's impractical in relocate the NAS near the router, you can keep the same network layout if you use a different IP address subnet for the NAS & ethernet adapter. For example, you could use 192168.1.xxx for that leg of the network. Then to share the NAS to the laptop through the Win7 machine use the setup instructions I linked to in post #7. Here it is again.

https://www.online-tech-tips.com/cool-websites/home-computer-router/


----------



## Meinecke (Jun 30, 2017)

Oh i dont mind to have as much network cards as needed...will go through that instructions soon...havent had time since we bought a fixer upper and moved in without water etc...


----------



## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

You're connected wrong. Connect the wireless router to your switch, not to another computer. Otherwise that intermediate computer has to be configured as a router. A router will only route between different networks.

If you have to keep your setup as is, set the Win7 system up as a router and assign a different network range to the wireless network.

Jeff


----------

