Check the bits. If your wired network
isn't working first check that all of the connectors are securely in their
sockets. If you can get your hands on spare cables and other hardware to
substitute, try that. Otherwise, shell out for a crossover cable ”this is a
special Cat5 cable, with the connections arranged to network two PCs together by
plugging directly into their NlCs. Not only is this handy for
troubleshooting, as it takes the router and all other Cat5 cables out of the
equation, it can be used to make a budget two-PC network. However,for either
application, just make sure the speeds of the two network cards are
compatible -both 10Mbps, 100Mbps or lGbps, or at least one 10/100Mbps or
10/100Mbps/Gbps, as relevant.
Note the names again. For a wireless or
wired network, check out the points in the section 'Note the names' on page 64.
is the IP OK? For either a wireless or wired network, open a Command
Prompt (or MS-DOS Prompt) window, type
ipconfig and press Enter. All PCs on the network
should have a different IP address, but the same subnet mask. If you
find one that's not right, compare the IP configuration with that on the
other PCs.For instance, to respond properly to the router's DHCP
server, a PC needs to be set up to obtain its IP address automatically,
which is usually the default situation. To check that this is the
case in XP: a. Click Start, right-click 'My Network Places' and select
Properties. b. In the 'LAN or High-Speed Internet' section,
right-click 'Local Area Connection and select Properties.
c. Choose 'Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)' and click the Properties button
and. Click 'Obtain an IP address automatically if it isn't already
selected and then go to OK ”> Close. The procedure in Vista is similar,
but the path is a little longer: a Click Start, right-click Network
and select Properties from the menu. h Click 'Manage network
connections' in the Tasks list at the left. c. In the 'LAN or
High-Speed Internet' section, right-click 'LocalArea Connection' and
select Properties. d. Choose 'Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/ IPv4)'
and click the Properties button. e. Click 'Obtain an IP address
automatically', if it isn't already selected and then go to OK ”> Close.
Those same Properties screens are where you set a fixed IP address,
should you need to do this.
Neighborly negotiation.
If a neighbor's wireless network and yours interfere, instead of
both using channel 6 (a common default), negotiate with them for one of
you to use channel 1 and the other channel 13.
Printer sharing in Vista.
Sometimes when you try to install a network printer on a Vista
client, instead of smoothly finishing the Add Printer Wizard, Vista
displays a screen with the message: " Windows cannot connect to the
printer. Operation could not be completed (error OxOOOOOOOd) ". When
you click OK to clear the message, the wizard gives up. Although Vista
can see the printer on the network, it can't seem to follow through to
make the connection.
Unfortunately the solution to this common
problem is far from intuitive. Briefly you first need to connect to the
network printer from Command Prompt. Next, run the Add Printer Wizard,
but install the printer as a local printer, using the same LPT port you
specified from Command Prompt.Use LPT2 if your PC has a physical parallel port, otherwise use LPI 1. Here are the details:
Click
Start”> 'Control Panel'”> Printer (under Hardware and Sound').
Click the 'Add a printer' button on the toolbar.
Select the
'Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer' option.
For the printer you want to install, make a note of the network address
in the second line (\\Mediavista\CanonMP500 series Printer, for example) for typing in
step 5.
Click Start”~ 'All Programs'”> Accessories”>'Command
Prompt', type net use lpt1 \\Mediavista\CanonMP500
series Printer \persistent:yes (substituting the
network address for your own) and press Enter. Note that case isn't
important. The message: 'The command completed successfully' should
appear on the next line. Return to the Add Printer Wizard, click the
Back arrow and this time select 'Add a local printer'.
Accept
the default'LPT1: (Printer Port)' and click Next.
Choose a
driver for your printer ,in this case Canon MP500 and click Next.
Make sure you keep the option
to print a test page to check that the installation was successful.
SHARING A DIALUP CONNECTION
The rumours of its death
are greatly exaggerated (with apologies to Mark Twain) ”the dialup internet
connection is very much alive. However, it's still painfully slow by today's
standards, with a theoretical maximum download speed of only 56Kbps. For some
users dialup is the only option, while others depend on it as a backup for their
main satellite, cable or ADSL internet connection. With a dialup connection, you
can't use a router to share it with other PCs on your network because routers
area t designed to drive a dialup modem. You can still use a router as the
central connection point for your network, but it's somewhat cheaper to use a
switch for the IAN part and/or a wireless access point for the WLAN. Then
configure one PC as a Windows Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) host and attach
the dialup modem for connecting to your ISP Any PC running Windows 98SE/
Me/2000/XP/Vista can be an ICS host, with Vista the most desirable and
98SE least desirable.
To enable an XP PC as an ICS host O Click Start,
right-click 'My Network Places' and select Properties.
in the Dial-up section,
right-click your ISP and select Properties.
On the Advanced tab, tick
'Allow other network users to connect through this computers Internet
connection', untick the other two boxes and click OK The procedure in
Vista is similar, but the path is a little longer.
Click Start, right-click
Network and select Properties.
Choose 'Manage network connections' in the
Tasks list at the left.
in the Dial-up section, right-click your ISP and select
Properties.
On the Sharing tab, tick 'Allow other network users to connect
through this computer's Internet connection: untick the other two boxes and click
OK. ~
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