Win2k Machines won't use TCP/IP

[tcrosson]

I have 2 Win2k Pro machines with 10/100 NICs and a 10/100 switch. The machines won't use TCP/IP, IPX, or NETBEUI to communicate. If I set up NetBIOS they will communicate fine. I have tried disabling/enabling NETBIOS over TCP/IP but it doesn't help.

If I type in \\timothy (which is one of the computer names) in RUN it says "network path not found."

Again enabling NETBIOS allows the comupters to share files, printers, and resources fine - but not games that use TCP/IP or IPX to work, which is the problem.

Guest is also enabled under control panel.

 

[LANMAN]

Need more input: What subnet are you using? What kind of connections between the computers are you using? (x-over, hub, switch?)

--LANMAN

 

[tcrosson]

The subnet is 255.255.255.0 and the IP adresses are 10.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.2. I have a 10/100 switch (its a 5 port LinkSys) with 2 10/100 LinkSys NIC's. They have Win2k drivers straight from their website. And the latest version too.

 

[Wizkid]

Are you sure that you got the right drivers for your card? because the lne100tx has different revisions and they all need different drivers. I have a similar setup as you so the problem most likely isn't because your hardware doesn't like win2k

 

[Jakki0]

I could be wrong but please check your IP addresses. I think you have them too low. Don't you have to start them with something like 168 somthing, somthing, then 1 or 2 for TCP/IP? If I am wrong educate me.

 

[celeritas]

With Class A 10.*.*.* IPs you need to use a 255.0.0.0 subnet mask, not 255.255.255.0. The latter SM is used for Class C IPs; e.g., 192.168.*.*. Either class should work fine on a private LAN.

Mixing and matching IPs and SMs will definitely mess up TCP/IP communications. There could be a lot of other things wrong as well, but fix the subnet first, then tell us if the LAN game works.

<< If I set up NetBIOS they will communicate fine. >>

What do you mean by &quot;set up&quot; NetBIOS? The NetBIOS selections under TCP/IP properties, Advanced, WINS are options for the TCP/IP protocol; I believe the NetBIOS features there only affect how your shared drives/folders are served. If you disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP (which many people like to do to improve security), then I assume your shares will attach to one of the other protocols you have installed; e.g., IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, etc.

If you go to Network and Dial-up Connections, Advanced, Advanced Settings you can see what protocols are attached (bound) to File and Printer Sharing for M$ Networks and Client for M$ Networks. I prefer to check only the NetBEUI Protocol, for the reason above. In conjunction with disabling NetBIOS over TCP/IP, this should make your shares &quot;piggyback&quot; on NetBEUI -- which in a nutshell means you're pretty secure compared to most default M$ systems.

 

[skriefal]

Celeritas, if he's using IP addresses of 10.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.2 then he does not need to use a subnet mask of 255.0.0.0. That's only necessary if you wish to allocate a full class A subnet (2^24 unique IP addresses).

If no more than 255 IP addresses are needed, then the 10.0.0.* subnet can be used. This is a class C subnet, and therefore the standard 24-bit mask (255.255.255.0) is sufficient.

By the way, 192.168.*.* isn't a class C subnet... unless you specify the third octet... i.e. 192.168.0.* or 192.168.1.* are class C subnets.

 

[celeritas]

skriefal, by 192.168.*.* I meant 0/1.*

I didn't know that about the SMs, though. I always used full As or Cs...

tcrosson, what game are you trying to connect to? Is it running on one of the PCs on your LAN, or on the internet? What error message(s) do you receive when you try to connect?

 

[tcrosson]

I was trying to play Unreal Tournament. It wouldn't give any error messages, but all of the Win98 machines worked and played fine (with the same settings on all computers of course). The Win2k machines wouldn't fine the game on the network. The game is run locally on the network and not connected to the internet.

 

[tcrosson]

I should mention that I took Wizkid's advice on trying new drivers. Now I can't get the Linksys cards to install at all. Win2k says the drivers aren't installed and disables the device. It's really neat too when I try to update the drivers in system properties, and upon clicking finish, the system detects a LinkSys 10/100 Lan card infinitely. In other words, Found New Hardware keeps finding the Linksys card over and over and over again.

Also, after I zap found new hardware in task manager, the system won't let me unistall the device. It's says the device may be used to start the computer.

I think I'll have to give LinkSys a call.

 

[Kzoo]

I might have an answer for the infinite loop problem your having. I used to have a couple of those Linksys cards, and they did something similar to me Win 98. There was a bios update for them that stopped the OS from detecting the card time after time after...