[Jack06]

Hi Guys
I Bought an ethernet crossover cable off the internet a while back in the hope of being able to network me and my roommates computeres to make transferring files, watching back-up movies easier.
I thought it would be a simple fact of plugging them into the network sockets on each computer and running the network wizard. But it seems no such luck.
The first time we managed to get connected then our wireless internet dropped (another issue, now resolved) transferred files and what not without a hitch.
Now we can't even get connected, we are both running XP professional.
Also someone wrote on one of the forums i was reading that you shouldn't even need a cable if you have wireless internet as you can transfer it securley over the internet using shared folders. I have tried everything just about so if anyone can shed some light that would be great!
Cheers
Jack

[Cew27]

it would be alot faster sharing movies ect with a pen drive or ext harddrive than over a network

[gaza14]

or get an external hard drive and store all you're movies on there

[spot]

I think it's a matter of your IP addresses.

Each of the wireless connections is on an IP address range of 192.168.x.x I assume. You can check that with an ipconfig /all at a command prompt.

What you need for the two ethernet ports you're connecting with the crossover cable is an address range that doesn't exist on the Internet and isn't in use on your LAN.

There are three private address ranges that the IP standard gives you.

10.x.x.x (which might be being used by your ISP)
192.168.x x (which your router is issuing, at a guess)
and 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255 which I suggest you use.

So, on one ethernet port put in a static IP address of 172.16.0.1, mask 255.255.255.0 and gateway 172.16.0.1, no DNS. On the other do the same with a static IP address of 172.16.0.2

Presumably you've made a share on each computer - I'll call it jack$ on the first computer and jill$ on the other and you've made them accessible to the administrator account and you know its password.

In the first computer go to Windows Explorer, go to Tools Network Add drive and put in \\172.16.0.2\jill$ and you'll be asked for an account and password. Use administrator and the first computer's administrator password. It ought to let you in and give you a drive (say) Z: (you get to choose the drive letter). Do the reverse on the other machine.

Those shares will stay on Windows Explorer permanently.

Come back and say where you get stuck.

[gaza14]

how are you so smart spot?

[spot]

It comes with being a hundred and sixty years old and reading the manuals before breakfast. And having done it for a living a long time ago. I could tell you how to make whiskey but you're likely to blow up the still if you didn't pay close attention in your chemistry lessons.

Besides, I'm wrong half the time.

[Jack06]

thanks spot
i'll give it a shot and see how it goes, when I get a bit more money, I might get an external hardrive it would be easier but for now we leave our comps on all the time so we just transfer when we are sleeping, the movies we want to watch.
thanks
again
Jack & Jill