Networking?

Hi, i have 2 computers both running xp that i want to network to share an internet connection, in one machine which is the "slave" machine i have a Belkin Desktop Network PCI Card F5D5000, and in the main computer i have a built in network port on my motherboard, i have connected a network cable to both computers and gone through the home network setup wizard but nothing is happening and the network sign in the bottom corner isnt doing anything??? what have i done wrong?

 

try using "network magic" (in my signiture)

 

You will get a good idea, when you read [link=http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/deploy/p2pintro.mspx]Microsofts Tutorial[/link] on P2P

Edit: Or if you dont want to go through this whole thing then,
Assign IP addresses to both the machines eg 192.168.2.1 on machine one and 192.168.2.2 on machine two. Go to command prompt in any machine and type ping (ip address of other machine)...If you can ping then it means that machines can talk to each other.

 

I tried pinging and got nothing???????

 

Right network magin wont work because it says i need to be connected to my netowork, which i thought i was!!! Is there anyway of testing if my network cards/ports are working??? If not does anyone know anything else?

 

the cable you are using, is it:

a crossover cable - works
a nework patch cable - won't work

 

Im using something like this . . . eBay.co.uk: 5m High Quality Booted Cat5e network/patch/RJ45 cable (item 9732888112 end time 30-May-06 18:00:00 BST)
Should i be using this . . . eBay.co.uk: 5m RJ45 Crossover Cable CAT 5e Ethernet Network X-Box (item 9735016334 end time 02-Jun-06 09:30:00 BST)

 

Yeah make sure it's a crossover cable, otherwise it just won't work, simple as.

 

cross-over cable for comp2comp and the cable you have (usually a blue one) is for connecting to a hub or router then another cable from the hub or router to the other comp.

 

Right so will the second one i showed be ok??

 

Yes. However, if you have a router, that'd be even better, since you wouldn't have to have one PC on for the other to get online.

 

Now thats cool router it is i think

 

yeah coz, you plug the ethernet from the modem directly into the router. So that's cool.

 

...and you do not use a crossover cable.

 

.....lol.....

 

Most network cards now as well as switches will detect when a non crossover cable is being used in direct links and automatically adjust.

 

I wouldn't say "most" but some will. Auto crossover features do cause problems on occasion anyway, so it's always wise to use the right cable for the right job.

 

Well i bought a crossover cable and it says i am connected but i cant get on the internet on the other computer?

 

And there not pinging either.

 

is your modem connected via usb?