[dipdog]

I am having some difficulty correcting a wireless network.

While troubleshooting, one thing I noticed is that both server and client are able to ping their own and each other's network IP addresses (respectively 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.0.2) and their own computer names, but neither one is able to ping the other computers computer name (I get a message that says that the host name is not recognized or unavailable). Does anyone know a simple explanation for this?

Thanx
- Scott

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sounds like a dns issue...on both machine's do start > run > cmd > ipconfig /all and post the results

[dsenette]

sounds like a dns issue...on both machine's do start > run > cmd > ipconfig /all and post the results

[WindyPants]

The IPCONFIG/all info is critical....

But in the interim, I was also wondering .................

When you say computer name, are you trying to PING the Netbios name (ie., Bob) or the Fully qualified name (ie.,Bob.wireless.network.com?)

What Os is running on the server?

If you have only two machines on the network, and you don't want to open the DNS/WINS can of worms then it may be as simply as static local host file entries.

[dipdog]

I've been trying to ping the Netbios name. I have one server computer running XP, one client running Win98 and one laptop client running XP.
I'll try pinging the full name if that would be helpful (what is the easiest way to find that name?). I will also post the Ipconfig/all tonite.

[WindyPants]

To find the FQDN -> From IPCONFIG /all look for the PRIMARY DNS SUFFIX entry and simply apend that to the HOST NAME.

For Example:
Host Name -> Bob
Suffix -> wireless.network
Result -> Bob.wireless.network

[dipdog]

This is the results of Ipconfig/all for the server:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name..............................:emachine
Primary DNS Suffix..................:
Node Type..............................:Unknown
IP Routing Enabled..................:No
WINS Proxy Enabled................:No

Ethernet Adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix.:
Description.............................:Intel® Pro/100 VE Network Connection
Physical Address.....................:00-13-20-0B-2B-37
Dhcp Enabled.........................:No
IP Address.............................:192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask..........................:255.255.255.0
Default Gateway.....................:
NetBIOS over Tcpip................:Disabled

Ipconfig/all for the client was more than one page long. Is there a way to scroll it a page at a time (I tried Ipconfig/all/p but that didn't work). Anyhow, if there's a way to do it a page at a time, and it's relevant, I can post that info too.

By the by, have I just exposed myself to every hacker in the world by posting these numbers? If so, could a moderator edit the sensitive numbers. Thanx!

[dsenette]

no you haven't exposed yourself...these are private numbers and have no bearing on anything for the outside world...

i'm with windypants on the fact that y our server's ip address SHOULD NOT be 192.168.0.1 that's generally the router's ip addres...did you manually assign the ip's to all these computers? if so why?


edit...i think i got a thread mixed up here....as windypants didn't make the ip suggestion in this thread..but another

[WindyPants]

Hmmmm....... well, I can see why Pinging the local host name is not working.

Considering the fact that you appear not to be running DNS, or Wins, or have Netbios enabled, it might be easier to simply add local Host File Entries for each machine and call it a day. Since you have only a couple of devices, and you do not use DHCP, it might be the quickest and easiest route.

Another option would be to enable Netbios over IP on each machine., which would help in host name recognition.

BTW - your IP address is private and has no meaning outside of your network. In fact, most people use the stock 192.168.0.x scheme as it is the default, so no worries about hackers.

Aside from that, there are a lot of additional things you could do to help beef up your network, but that conversation might be outside the scope of this board.

For example:
- defining default gateways for each device
- *advanced -> enabling/configuring DNS and Wins

[dipdog]

re: "did you manually assign the ip's to all these computers? if so why"
I thought you were supposed to manually assign addresses in sequential order when you set up a home network. (?) As you can tell though, I'm a newbie so maybe I heard that wrong?

Regarding WindyPants suggestions, enabling NetBios and/or adding local host file entries, is this a simple procedure. Would it be possible to detail the steps or do you have somewhere you might be able to direct me for instructions?

Appreciate your help!

- Scott

[dipdog]

I have the ipconfig/all info for my client computer now. It is as follows:

Windows 98 IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . : PAVILION
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
NetBIOS Scope ID. . . . . . :
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . : No
NetBIOS Resolution Uses DNS : No

0 Ethernet adapter :
Description . . . . . . . . : PPP Adapter.
Physical Address. . . . . . : 44-45-53-54-00-00
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . :
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Primary WINS Server . . . . :
Secondary WINS Server . . . :
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . :
Lease Expires . . . . . . . :

1 Ethernet adapter :
Description . . . . . . . . : PPP Adapter.
Physical Address. . . . . . : 44-45-53-54-00-01
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . :
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Primary WINS Server . . . . :
Secondary WINS Server . . . :
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . :
Lease Expires . . . . . . . :

2 Ethernet adapter :
Description . . . . . . . . : AOL Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . : 44-45-53-54-61-6F
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . :
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Primary WINS Server . . . . :
Secondary WINS Server . . . :
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . :
Lease Expires . . . . . . . :

3 Ethernet adapter :
Description . . . . . . . . : AOL Dial-Up Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . : 44-45-53-54-61-70
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . :
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Primary WINS Server . . . . :
Secondary WINS Server . . . :
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . :
Lease Expires . . . . . . . :

4 Ethernet adapter :
Description . . . . . . . . : IEEE 802.11g Wireless Card.
Physical Address. . . . . . : 00-0E-3B-04-45-44
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . :
Primary WINS Server . . . . :
Secondary WINS Server . . . :
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . :
Lease Expires . . . . . . . :

5 Ethernet adapter :
Description . . . . . . . . : D-Link DFE-530TX+ PCI Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . : 00-05-5D-D0-83-43
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.3
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . :
Primary WINS Server . . . . :
Secondary WINS Server . . . :
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . :
Lease Expires . . . . . . . :

It seems as though I could probably get rid of half of that since I don't connect to the internet from this computer. But I'm also assuming that this computer is not the problem, as I can see that it recognizes it's own "computer name" under the network workgroup in windows explorer.

I have a third computer (laptop) in this network, but didn't run ipconfig on it since I figured I'd just focus on getting these two computers connected now, and then hopefully the third might be a little easier.

I went ahead and enabled NetBios on the server PC. There is no change, though. It still does not recognize it's own, or the other computer's, name under the network workgroup in windows explorer. The OS for the client is Win98, and when I checked NetBios for the client, the box was already checked and greyed out so that I could not alter it.

Again, I appreciate any help you can offer!

- Scott

[dsenette]

...on all the pc's (assuming your router is configured for dhcp) go ahead and turn them to automatically obtain their ip's...they should get an ip address from the router...and things SHOULD move a little better

[dipdog]

Well, I did try that. Ipconfig/all was as follows:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : emachine
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel® PRO/100 VE Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-13-20-0B-2B-37
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, July 05, 2006 11:35:17 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, July 06, 2006 11:35:17 AM

This time I found the server computer name listed under the workgroup name in my network places>microsoft windows network. However, it would not let me open the individual folders (although sharing is enabled), and I did not see the client computer name listed, nor could I ping the client computer name.

When I ran Compuserve (my IPS), Ipconfig/all changed to this:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : emachine
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel® PRO/100 VE Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-13-20-0B-2B-37
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, July 05, 2006 11:35:17 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, July 06, 2006 11:35:17 AM

PPP adapter {3F7CC122-9407-4EF6-A3D3-5601156B8ACC}:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-53-45-00-00-00
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.161.104.29
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 172.161.104.29
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 205.188.146.145
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

and I realized that I couldn't connect to the internet anymore (although I could open the new mail box).

So, I put it back the way it was so that I could connect to the internet. Both of my clients continue to be able to connect to each other, as long as the wireless router is plugged in.

I should mention, since I don't know a lot about this, that I don't have a wireless card for the server. It is connected to the router with a CAT5 cable. I have a wireless card for the client PC and a wireless PCMIA card for the client laptop. I also was never able to finish the installation program for the router because the onscreen directions required verification of a DSL connection to the internet, which I don't have (I connect through a regular telephone cable line into the modem on the server). I assumed that this was not a problem though since all 3 computers did work and connect fine on the network until I changed one of the clients (the laptop).

Finally, I'm a little confused why NetBIOS indicates that it is disabled on the ipconfig/all, but it is checkmarked to be enabled on the TCP/IP>Properties>Advanced>WINS>NetBIOS setting screen for the PRO/100 Network connection (local area connection), the WAN network driver (local area connection2), and the 1394 Net Adapter under LAN Network connections.

Again, appreciate your help!

- Scott

[dipdog]

Well, sadly I'm still working on this. Spent some time with the Netgear techs and trying to figure some things out, but still stuck.

I can see that Dsenette was correct about the router address. The default for the router is actually 192.168.1.1. Since it was in a different subnet than the rest of the network, I went into the router basic settings and assigned the address 192.168.0.5 to the router. I changed the router address instead of the client address, since the Windows wizards like to set the server to 192.168.0.1 as default. I also disabled DHCP on the router, based on some old posts I found from people with a similiar problem. Then I ran the Network Setup Wizard, the Wireless Wizard, and Internet Connection Sharing on the Server. I assigned the addresses 192.168.0.1 to the server and 192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.3 to the clients, with the default Gateway 192.168.0.5.

But so far, I still have the same problem. My clients recognize themselves and each other fine, both their addresses and their DNS names. The server recognizes itself by address as well as the clients, but it does not recognize its own DNS name or the clients' DNS names (ie. I can ping all the addresses from the server, but I can't ping any of the DNS names, and there are no names recognized in "My Network Places".

So I'm still stumped. If anyone has any advice, I'd appreciate your help. I've considered purchasing a wireless router/switch with a dial-up modem port, which might be a little more suitable for my situation. But I'm not sure if that's going to fix the primary problem, which seems to be something with the DNS assignment and workgroup.

Ipconfig/all on the server is as follows:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
© Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : emachine
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel® PRO/100 VE Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-13-20-0B-2B-37
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :192.168.0.5
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : WAN Network Driver
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-03-8A-00-00-11
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.101.152
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

PPP adapter {3F7CC122-9407-4EF6-A3D3-5601156B8ACC}:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-53-45-00-00-00
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.129.100.47
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 172.129.100.47
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 205.188.146.145
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

By the way, two things that I've been wondering about. NetBIOS is indicated as enabled in the settings, but shows as disabled in the ipconfig. Still not sure why that is. Also, Primary DNS Suffix shows up as blank in the ipconfig. I don't know if that's supposed to be that way, or if that might be a problem?

[dsenette]

well...here's the problem...i don't think you've got a dns server....if you're just trying to set up a workgroup....then there's no reason for you to have a static ip (usually)..if you had all clients set to use dhcp (and the router to assign dhcp addresses)...then the router would be acting as a dhcp and dns server (small dns server)...otherwise you'll need to either use a hosts file (easy to do) or you'll need to set up a dns server (not easy to do)...if everything is working EXCEPT for the pinging by name....edit the HOSTS file (in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc ) on each client to contain the host name and ip address of each of the other clients....

[dipdog]

Thanx for your reply. I did make a mistake in my last post. When I rechecked it, I noticed that the server IS recognizing it's own name when I ping it, as well as it's own address. It recognizes the client's address, but not the name. I guess the thing that I've been focused on is the fact that the server name does not show up under the workgroup in the servers "My Network Places".

Anyhow, I just wanted to mention that the server is able to ping it's own name and see if that changes your opinion of what's occuring. Thanx again for your help!

- Scott