Need help! 3 pcs......

[IntelInsideIdiotOutside]

Guys I need some help.

I'm working in a shop where they have 3 computers. All 3 computers are connected with eachother (I can see files etc on pc 3 if Im on pc1 etc etc). Thing is pc 1 is connected to the internet. Its possible to surf the net on pc 2 but not on pc 3. Question now is how can I surf the net on pc 3 (I can see 2 network cards in the back of this pc)??

PC 1 and 2 are running on windows xp and pc 3 is on windows98. Might this the problem? Any help is much appreciated!!!

 

[Cheetah8799]

It's kinda hard to answer your question with the limited info you provided. I'm not sure why PC3 would have 2 nics. You sure they are both nics, and not one a modem? (no insult intended) I'm not very familiar with internet sharing via Windows. Sorry.

I suppose I would suggest, if possible, that you get a router to make life easier on yourself. Unless if your PC1 internet connection is via a modem, satellite, or some other type of internet connection where you have to do it this way.

If you're doing work for someone else, you may want to suggest the router option, if it is possible, since it may take less time for you to set that up than figure out how to do the internet sharing thing between Win98 and XP.

 

[IntelInsideIdiotOutside]

I had a look in system/hardware and I saw 2 3Com ethernet cards installed on pc 3. Thing is the main pc (pc 1) is connected to the internet. So if that pc isnt turned on (or dialed in) you cant surf the net on pc 2, let alone pc 3.

Dunno if the router might be an option cause I'm walking my internship there and doubt it they would let me get 1. I was just wondering if someone might have a bright idea (flip a switch or something )......

I'll try and get some more info about the network they running.

Thanks for the tip anway Cheetah!

 

[Buzzman151]

so what you're saying is all 3 of them are connected by a switch or hub but only pc1 can access the internet? Are you using some sort of 56k service or what?

 

[IntelInsideIdiotOutside]

They are on a cable connection. There is also a router connected what I've seen today.
And guess what, mr handy here thought he would fix the "problem" and I tried to do what they explain here http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_ics/index.htm. Now pc 1 can only dial in but you cant surf the net anymore!!! lol
I was like 1 hour on the phone with the cable company but they couldnt help me out. I'm thinking now that the ip addresses or something in the pc arent coresponding with the addresses in the router. But I was too scared to reset the router.......

 

[Cheetah8799]

Well, if they have a router and a normal network, here's how it "should" be setup.

Internet -> Cable/DSL Modem -> Broadband Router (Linksys, Netgera, DLink) -> (possible switch or hub here with uplink port connected to router) -> PC1/PC2/PC3

The router should be setup do give IP addresses via DHCP to PC1, 2, and 3. Each PC should simply be setup to get internet access via the LAN. The connection via the 3 PCs to the router or switch should be standard CAT5 ethernet cables. If the router only has 1 ethernet port, then you will need a switch, many routers have 4 though.


I read the first paragraph in that link, and i think it's pretty funny... "Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) enables a Windows computer to share its Internet connection with computers on local area networks. It's been around since Windows 98 SE, and with the launch of Windows XP, it's only gotten better." If it really were better, you wouldn't be having all these problems...


I guess if it were me and I was making suggestions to my boss with a network like what you are working with, I would suggest he invest a few dollars into the proper equipment and stop messing around with the whole internet connection sharing thing.

 

[IntelInsideIdiotOutside]

They have it like this:

The cable of the cable modem comes into the pc through the ethernet card (integrated on mobo). From the pc, 1 cable goes out to the router and heads into slot 1 of the router (the router has 4 slots). Out of slot 2 and 3 of the router 2 more cables run to, I'm guessing pc 2 and pc 3. And there's a cable coming out of an uplink hole at the back of the router going somewhere into the ceiling lol (what is this cable for??).

The router is a Vigor 2200E (Dray Tek). Can I just reset this thing or would that mean more problems?

 

[IntelInsideIdiotOutside]

hhmm wait a minute. Is that uplink hole in the router the place where the cable from the cable modem should come in???

 

[IntelInsideIdiotOutside]

I'm thinking of another thing now. They have another pc standing somewhere (this one is connected to a bigger network and a large switchboard where other pc's come in). This pc is running somekind of special program where they have all their clients listed in. And all the 3 pc's are connected to it. I'm lost.....

 

[sharq]

I guess I'm just as confused about your setup as the next guy.
It would help quite a bit if you could explain exactly how it's setup and what is the purpose behind it. Could the router you mentioned be a switch or hub? Routers normally have a WAN port and then LAN ports, normally in multiples of 2 (correct me if I'm wrong). It would be easiest to get a router, you can get wired routers (I would not recommend wireless for the business atleast not untill they know they really need it) for quite cheap, anywhere from 10 to 30 bucks. If you want to justify it to the company, you can easily tell them that it'll keep their internet connection secure, and that they can use pc1 for work, and not for dialing in, as the router would take care of that. You might even be liked by the boss if you helped out the company, just suggestions
If they don't want to buy a router. I'm guessing that you're using internet connection sharing on pc1 in windows xp. I havn't used that for a while, but in 2k, I believe it only allowed you to give one ip to any computer you wanted, meaning you could only connect one pc via internet connection sharing, not two. I may be wrong on that.
The problem could also be as simple as making sure that your windows98 machine is setup to use DHCP.
More information is needed about the setup to be able to guide better.

 

[IntelInsideIdiotOutside]

Well ladies.
The boss (a she) went ballistic on me when she heard my story, bah. Women! Totally pissed me off.
Thing is she left early in the afternoon and now I got the network working again. Her pc (pc 1) has got internet again and it can access that other pc (pc x). Still need to fix internet on pc 2 and I'm going for pc 3 also (the one with windows 98). I be wearing my "EAT THAT BITCH" t-shirt tomorrow!

By the way the problem with her pc (pc 1) not being able to access the internet all of a sudden was McAfee! Stupid ass program damnit.

Oh and Cheetah, the way you outlined the setup is how their network looks like. Another thing is that all 3 pcs have 2 network cards. A cable going to the router (Vigor 2200E (Dray Tek) and the other 1 going to the other pc (pc x, this pc isnt on the router!).