topic Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time in Switches, Hubs, and Modems

Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Bill Zanetti — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 07:07:31 GMT

Dear Forum,

Please could you advise what sort of kit I would need for accessing the internet on 2 laptops at the same time.

All the Best

Bill Z

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Les Ligetfalvy — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 09:07:27 GMT

Well... you say nothing about your internet connection. You also don't say if you are wired or wireless. If you have DSL using PPPOE, get a wireless DSL router that will do the PPPOE and Bo's your uncle.

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Bill Zanetti — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 02:22:31 GMT

Dear Les,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

No the network is not wireless, I am accessing the internet via the modems on the laptops. They are run by cable to the phone line.

The modems are 56k and when connected the speed is approx 45k.

I thought what I wanted was a router, your email cnfirms that - thanks.

What type of router should I be looking for?

Given the above more detailed info am I likely to have any succes with a router?

All the Best

Bill Z

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Ernest Ford — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 09:22:43 GMT

Bill

You are using the internet over a "dial-up" connection, the only way to have two dial-up connections at the same time would be to use two phone lines, which I assume is what you're trying to avoid.

To share a dial-up connection will require installing some sort of local area network with the two laptops connecting to it - if the laptops have ethernet adapters built-in (most recent models do), this could be as simple as a "cross-over" cable plugged in between the laptops and connection sharing software loaded on one of them - all versions of Microsoft Windows after Windows 98SE come with Microsoft's ICS which can do this job, so you may not need anything other than a few feet of network cable.

Perhaps you could let us if the laptops have ethernet (look for an RJ-45 connector on them - looks like an 8 wire phone jack), and what OS you have installed and we could help you get it all configured.

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Bill Zanetti — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 10:59:42 GMT

Dear Ernest,

Thanks very much for the advice and offer of help.

Yes I am using the internet via dialup with only one phone line and no possibility of a second.

The two laptops are Zt3352APand zt3325ap.
(they are already connected by bluetooth)

Both machines are running windows Xp with service pack 2.

I have checked the device manager. On zt3352ap the ethernet is

Realtek RTL8139 C+ fast Ethernet NIC

with driver

R8139n51.sys

On Zt 3325ap the ethernet is realtek rtl 8139 C + fast Ethernet nic with the same driver.

I have an ethernet cable - basically it looks like a larger version of the dialup networking cable?

I plugged the cable between the two computers and in my network cnnections it says lacal area connection connected (the x has been removed).

I am ready to go and look forward to your response - although back to work tomorrow I might not be as quick as I am at the weekend.

Thanks again for your help

All the Best

Bill Z

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Ernest Ford — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 13:11:43 GMT

OK! Sounds like you have everything you need - take a look at the instructions on this page - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306126 - and you should be good to go.

Holler back if you need help

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Bill Zanetti — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 17:20:08 GMT

Dear Ernest,

I have eventually got torund to trying this out and got nowhere. The Knowledge Base article seemed very clear, and I setup one laptop as host and one as client.

When you use the connection wizrd in Internet Explorer the last step tells you to connect via broadband that is on all the time. In fact I use adialup connection whose speed is about 48kps. Maybe that is what caused the problem, because every time I tried to connect whilst the other machine was using the internet the page could not be displayed.

Ah well

Thanks again Ernest for your efforts.

All the Best

Bill Z

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Ernest Ford — Mon, 24 Oct 2005 17:34:30 GMT

Bill,

It works for dialup also - I used ICS to share dialup internet connections for many years until the advent of broadband in my country.

Open a command prompt on each system and type "ipconfig /all", this will show the ip configuration details - post the results and I'll try to pinpoint the trouble area.

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Bill Zanetti — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 08:30:41 GMT

Dear Ernest,

Thanks very much again for your help. Here are the results of the ipconfig/all

Client computer(BZNEWHP)

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>ipconfig/all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : bznewhp
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Networ
Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0E-35-F5-53-79

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 C+ Fast Ethernet NI

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B0-4B-66-03

Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth LAN Access Server Driver
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B3-6D-59-D4

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>

Host bzmultimedltop

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>ipconfig/all

Windows IP Configuration

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

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 C+ Fast Ethernet NIC

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B0-3F-D2-1F

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>

Hope you can suggest a solution.

All the Best

Bill Z

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Ernest Ford — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 10:44:27 GMT

Bill,

Both configuration reports show the ethernet media as "disconnected", either there is no cable connected or you have a "straight-through" cable, and what you actually need is a "cross-over" cable.

On a "straight-through" cable each contact in the plug is wired straight to it's counterpart at the other end - you can sometimes see the wire colors through the plastic.

A "cross-over" cable connects the two transmit connections at one end to the receive connections at the other, and vice versa - if you can see the wire colors, pin1 on one end should go to pin3 on the other, pin2 connects to pin6 and vice versa, pins 4,5,7 & 8 aren't needed and don't have to be wired.

Cross-over cables can be purchased or if you know someone with the tools built quite cheaply.

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Bill Zanetti — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 11:16:07 GMT

Dear Ernest,

My apologies but the cable was not connected at the time I did the ipconfig/all. As the colours on the cable did not seem to match I might have been using a cross-over cable especially as it was a cable that someone had helped me setup a home network elsewhere previously.

So I have connected the cable as is and I have connected to the internet on the host computer and repeated the ipconfig/all. Here are the results:-

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>ipconfig/all

Windows IP Configuration

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

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network
Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0E-35-F5-53-79

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 C+ Fast Ethernet NIC

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B0-4B-66-03
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth LAN Access Server Driver
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B3-6D-59-D4

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>ipconfig/all

Windows IP Configuration

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

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 C+ Fast Ethernet NIC

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B0-3F-D2-1F
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

PPP adapter 21ctl:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-53-45-00-00-00
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 80.248.2.148
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 80.248.2.148
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 80.248.7.1
80.248.6.5
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>

As I was doing the ipconfig on the host a yellow danger triangle appeared in the tray saying that there was an ipconfig address conflict.

Finally I should say that I donâ t have a choice concerning my ISP, and that the problem might be with them as the service is not good? However the yellow triangle seems to suggest the problem is with me.

Hope you are keeping well,

All the Best

Bill Z

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Ernest Ford — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 12:28:50 GMT

Bill

You do have an ip address conflict, as both systems are showing 192.168.0.1 as the ip address.

It looks like you may have run the ICS setup on both systems - you're only supposed to do it on the one with the internet connection that will be shared. The second system (in this case the one at the top of the list) should show DHCP enabled and an ip address of 192.168.0.2, with default gateway and DNS server of 192.168.0.1.

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Bill Zanetti — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 09:46:13 GMT

Dear Ernest,

I thought the problem was with the setting up of Internet Connection Sharing so I redid the whole thing with the cable connected but to no avail. It still gives me page not displayed.

Here are the â ipconfig/allâ

Host:-

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>ipconfig/all

Windows IP Configuration

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

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 C+ Fast Ethernet NIC

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B0-3F-D2-1F
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

PPP adapter 21ctl:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-53-45-00-00-00
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 80.248.2.13
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 80.248.2.13
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 80.248.7.1
80.248.6.5
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>

And here is the client:-

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>ipconfig/all

Windows IP Configuration

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

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139C+ Fast Ethernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B0-4B-66-03
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth LAN Access Server Driver
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B3-6D-59-D4

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>

I am sure you will readily note that both are saying the different computers are hosts and on the supposed client DHCP is not enabled.

So I am back to the forum looking for help.

Just to note I used the following for setup:-

â How to configure Internet Connection Sharing in Windows XP
View products that this article applies to.
Article ID : 306126
Last Review : June 23, 2005
Revision : 3.9
â

Thanks again for all your help.

Hope you are keeping well,

All the Best

Bill Z

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Ernest Ford — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 11:37:36 GMT

I find it odd that the "client" doesn't show DHCP enabled but no matter, let's do some troubleshooting.

Make sure the first system is connected to the internet, and that you can browse, and then go to the client system and open a command prompt and try to ping the ISP dns server - ping 80.248.7.1 - you should get back 4 replies, with a bunch of numbers, anything other than a time out is probably ok.

Once that works try - ping www.yahoo.com - and - ping 68.142.226.36 - let me know the results.

The first ping tests the systems ability to communicate across the internet and the second two check for dns resolution, between them we should have a reasonable idea of where the problem lies and how to fix it.

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Bill Zanetti — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 14:58:35 GMT

Dear Ernest,

I tried pinging the host machine and got the following - I tried with 3 different cables that I have picked up over time:-

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>ping 80.248.7.1

Pinging 80.248.7.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 80.248.7.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>ping 80.248.7.1

Pinging 80.248.7.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Destination host unreachable.
Destination host unreachable.
Destination host unreachable.
Destination host unreachable.

Ping statistics for 80.248.7.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>ping 80.248.7.1

Pinging 80.248.7.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Destination host unreachable.
Destination host unreachable.
Destination host unreachable.
Destination host unreachable.

Ping statistics for 80.248.7.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Documents and Settings\BillZ>

I am presuming all 3 cables are the wrong type but they appear different:-

Ist cable not in above order

One end:-

From Above

Top LtoR

Red Orange Blue Green

Bottom from above L to R

Red Orange Blue Green

Other end

From above
Top L to R

Red Green Blue Orange

Bottom L to R

Red Green Blue Orange

I therefore presune this is cross-over

2nd cable

one end

From above

Top Lto R

Red Green Blue Orange

Bottom

Red Green Blue Orange

other end

From above

Top Lto R

Red Green Blue Orange

Bottom

Red Green Blue Orange

This one is straight across.

Both cables gave the same ping result.

is it the the cable?

All the Best

Bill Z

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Ernest Ford — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 15:55:17 GMT

Bill - the cables should have eight conductors and RJ45 plugs. Wires should be in color pairs - blue & blue/white - orange & orange/white - green & green/white - brown & brown/white. If your cables only have four conductors, they are definitely the wrong type.

There are two possible wiring configurations, what we call TIA568A & TIA568B, which would dictate the colors used in a straight-through cable, but no standard exists for a cross-over.

With the clip at the bottom, looking from the top, the connectors are numbered from left to right, 1 through 8. You need 1-3,2-6,3-1,4&5 don't care,6-2, 7&8 don't care.

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Bill Zanetti — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 19:15:54 GMT

Dear Ernest,

Before you replied I tried the ICS again with the cable I thought was cross-over. This time I said for the connection to obtain IP automatically and DHCP is enabled.

AS for the cables they were made for me in China by a technician and worked for connecting PC to laptop - from my recollection - three years ago. The reason I mention that is that thye would not have industry standard. I am now in Nigeria where I am even less likely to get a cross-over cable as you specified, but I will try.

Otherwise I can get one at Xmas when I travel.

Thanks again for your help.

All the Best

Bill Z

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Ernest Ford — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 19:33:10 GMT

Bill

I don't know how difficult it is to find this sort of stuff in Nigeria, but if you can find an inexpensive network hub or switch and a couple of regular (straight-through) ethernet cables, you can connect both laptops to the hub and it should work that way.

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Bill Zanetti — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 07:45:16 GMT

Dear Ernest,

Everything is difficult in Nigeria but I will give it a go. I will try to investigate buying this cable but unless I am absolutely certain what I am buying they will sell me a cow.

Let me be clear about the 4 cables that I do have. They were used for broadband or ADSL. Does that make them unusable?

I hoard cables so I have no idea when I used them. For example I used broadband in the UK two years ago, ADSl in China the year before, and Adsl in Bahrain the year before that. I throw the cables in a bag and when you said rf47 and the end fit I assumed wrongly?

I found some writing in the cables - maybe that can help you advise me.

UP Broadband 3061004CSL ENHANCED CAT 5e UTP 24AWG 4PR CM(UL) C(UL)CMG-FT4-ETL VERIFIED TIA/EIA 568A 913176FT (I THINK THIS ONE IS CROSSOVER)

ANPU ZEYUANXUN ENTERRPISE 24 AWG NETWORKING CABLE CAT 5E 4UTP YD/T926.2 16:30 0230396 FT 2001.12.28 (I THINK THIS ONE IS CROSS-OVER)

YFC UTP CAT 5E PATCH ISO/IEC 11801 & EN 50288 &TIA/EIA 568B.2 3P VERIFIED FOR GIGABIT ETHERNET 24 AWGx4P TYPE CM(UL) C(UL) CMH E164469-F3 (ITHINK THIS ONE IS STRAIGHT ACROSS)

AMP NETCONNECT CATEGORY 5e CABLE E138034 1300 24AWG CM/MP (UL) C
c(UL) CMG/MPG (UL) VERIFIED TO CATEGORY 5 000079266FT 0238 (I think this one is straight across).

Do you think I have anything useful to solve my problem?

Hope you are keeping well,

All the Best

Bill Z

Re: Accessing the internet on 2 home laptops at the same time

Ernest Ford — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 08:02:43 GMT

From the markings on the cables they would be Cat5e and certainly the correct type - the question now becomes one of how they are wired.

In your earlier post, you speak of

One end:-

From Above

Top LtoR
Red Orange Blue Green
Bottom from above L to R
Red Orange Blue Green

which seems to suggest you have two rows of four conductors, which I have not seen in an ethernet environment - normally it's eight conductors in a single row.

We could try another round of ping tests - you would need to temporarily disable the Windows XP firewall on both systems for this - try to ping the two systems from one another - ping 192.168.0.1 - and - ping 192.168.0.2 - this really should have been the first of the ping tests, but I skipped it because it requires disabling the firewall.

I think there may be a remote possibility that your problem is being caused by the firewall, so if this works try going online with the firewall disabled.

I suggest this step only as a test, if it does allow ICS to function we would need to work out how to get ICS & the firewall to work together, because using the internet without a firewall is a distinctly risky proposition.

The potential problem is I have ZERO experience with the XP, SP2 firewall and ICS, I got broadband in 2002 and replaced the W98SE PC running ICS that I was using to share dialup with a Cisco SOHO 71