Everything Worked As It Supposed To!!!!!

[shawnc]

Taking a break from the normal process of ranting and complaining, I just wanted to share my recent experience into the technical world. While I'm far from a "techie", my penchant for gadgets has resulted in me not being a novice. However, RARELY do I purchase/upgrade/integrate anything related to computers (PDA's included) where the process works as it should ON THE FIRST ATTEMPT!

Well, this past weekend I purchased a laptop and decided to setup a wireless internet connection. Purchased the Linksys card and station (802.11g and the connection is SUPER-FAST), hooked the cable into the station, the station into my desktop, and WALA....wireless connectivity on my laptop. The only problem I had is that the connection went so smoothly I figured I must have missed something. Couldn't figure out what I had missed, so I simply inserted the card into the laptop and 2 minutes later I was on the web.

The laptop has a 2.4G P4 processor, so it is MUCH faster than my 4-year old desktop. With that in mind, I knew I would want to begin using it to sync with my Axim. But I was really DREADING this as I expected to lose all of my Avantgo channels and settings and just generally having a VERY difficult time with the process. Well low and behold, there is an option that allows you to sync with a new computer and keep all of your settings (I'm sure thats not news to most of you, but for me it was). To make a long story less long :wink: , a process that I set aside 1 hour to complete took LESS THAN 5 MINUTES! Axim syncs flawlessly and avantgo channels were unchanged.

I'm not shy about complaining when things don't go as advertised, well this time it did.......and I couldn't be happier!

[DrtyBlvd]

Balah Blah Blah. :mrgreen:

Smarty Pants.

Took me two weeks to set up my wireless and even then I still don't know what I did. :mecry:

:lol:

[CTSLICK]

Its good to hand out kudos every so often...when they are deserved

I was also stunned by the ease of install with the Linksys wireless setup. My wife had resigned herself to hours of quiet cursing from the den. Desktop setup was step by step and easy to follow. I watched in amazement as my laptop automatically recognized the wireless card and boom...it was connected. What...no struggling, no IP address issues? I walked out 20 minutes later with the laptop and told her "here...its done...check it out". She thought I was lying. Honestly, it took me longer to route the cables than it did to get it working. :rock on dude!:

[shawnc]

Balah Blah Blah. :mrgreen:

Smarty Pants.

Took me two weeks to set up my wireless and even then I still don't know what I did. :mecry:

:lol:

DB,

You ever heard the saying that even a blind squirrel gets an acorn every once in a while, well thats me :D . Don't quite know what I did right, it's just nice to know that it worked.

[shawnc]

Its good to hand out kudos every so often...when they are deserved

I was also stunned by the ease of install with the Linksys wireless setup. My wife had resigned herself to hours of quiet cursing from the den. Desktop setup was step by step and easy to follow. I watched in amazement as my laptop automatically recognized the wireless card and boom...it was connected. What...no struggling, no IP address issues? I walked out 20 minutes later with the laptop and told her "here...its done...check it out". She thought I was lying. Honestly, it took me longer to route the cables than it did to get it working. :rock on dude!:

I read this and LOL because it mirrored my experience to the "T". My wife could not believe what I had done and how quickly I did it. When describing the process to her I used terms like debugging, hacking, and a few others (terms that neither of us have a clue as to their true meaning) just so she THINKS I really did something. Eventually I came clean.

[CTSLICK]

I read this and LOL because it mirrored my experience to the "T". My wife could not believe what I had done and how quickly I did it. When describing the process to her I used terms like debugging, hacking, and a few others (terms that neither of us have a clue as to their true meaning) just so she THINKS I really did something. Eventually I came clean.

HA! I didn't even get a chance to take credit for my geek prowess...her response to me getting done quickly was "boy they must make it so easy anyone can install it." OUCH! I then proceeded to re-inforce this point by being completely clueless on how to share files and printers. :oops: Any pointers...are there instructions somewhere?

[DrtyBlvd]

Balah Blah Blah. :mrgreen:

Smarty Pants.

Took me two weeks to set up my wireless and even then I still don't know what I did. :mecry:

:lol:

DB,

You ever heard the saying that even a blind squirrel gets an acorn every once in a while, well thats me :D . Don't quite know what I did right, it's just nice to know that it worked.

Shawnc- You can't possibly be the blind squirrel, coz I am! :lol:

[Kati Compton]

HA! I didn't even get a chance to take credit for my geek prowess...her response to me getting done quickly was "boy they must make it so easy anyone can install it." OUCH! I then proceeded to re-inforce this point by being completely clueless on how to share files and printers. :oops: Any pointers...are there instructions somewhere?

If you're running Windows 98 or higher you should be able to look in Start->Help and type in "file sharing" or something like that and it'll tell you. I believe it involves right-clicking on the drive/folder you want to share, and selecting properties, and then choosing the options that seem to make sense. Probably something similar with the printer. That's on the computer you want to share *from*. On the computer you want to share *to*, you access the shared files though network neighborhood, and I believe for the printer you go to start->settings->printers and do "add printer", and follow those instructions. There's a little more to it, like making sure that you're in the same "workgroup", but you should be able to figure this out from the help files. Post again (probably on a separate OT thread) if you can't get it running.

[Janak Parekh]

I believe it involves right-clicking on the drive/folder you want to share, and selecting properties, and then choosing the options that seem to make sense.
Basically, that's how you do it; however, a couple of notes.

1- File Sharing is not turned on by default in 9x or Me, but is in NT/2k/XP. If you're using the former, you need to go into Control Panel -> Networks and click the File Sharing button, and put a checkmark in one or both options.

2- If you right-click a drive, a folder, or a printer, there's a "Share" option which directly takes you to the Share tab in Properties.

and I believe for the printer you go to start->settings->printers and do "add printer", and follow those instructions.
You can also do it from the Network Neighborhood.

There's a little more to it, like making sure that you're in the same "workgroup", but you should be able to figure this out from the help files.
Moreover, you don't have to be in the same Workgroup, but it helps.

Post again (probably on a separate OT thread) if you can't get it running.
Hmm, isn't this thread OT enough as it is? ;)

--janak

[shawnc]

Whooa....kati and Janak. You mean I can actually send a file from my laptop to the printer that is connected to the desktop? I thought this connectivity was only for sharing Internet access. Me and my wife do taxes as our 2nd job and basically I've (we dear, I meant we :D ) been doing all the work on the laptop, saving to the integrated SD card, opening the file on my desktop, and printing the returns :oops: . Right now I'm struggling with which is the more dominant emotion, embarrasement or excitement. OK, now that that moment has passed, I can say for certain that it is excitement! I will be poring over the help and owners manuals this weekend! Great news!

I love this site!

[Janak Parekh]

Whooa....kati and Janak. You mean I can actually send a file from my laptop to the printer that is connected to the desktop? I thought this connectivity was only for sharing Internet access.
Absolutely. You already have full TCP/IP connectivity between the two machines for free, so now you can run some network services between them. Welcome to the connected world. :D

One minor caveat: not all printers are sharing-happy, especially some of the low-budget "Winprinters" (hmm, I don't know if anyone uses that term anymore ;)).... but it's worth a shot.

--janak

[shawnc]

[quote=shawnc] You already have full TCP/IP connectivity --janak

TCP/IP.....now there is a term that would have impressed! I'll have to remember that for the next time :mrgreen: .

Thanx again.

[Janak Parekh]

TCP/IP.....now there is a term that would have impressed! I'll have to remember that for the next time :mrgreen:
You mean "buzzword-compliance" or "buzzword-savvy"? That's a very important skill. It was even more so back in the days of the dot-coms. If you have some spare time, check out the Jargon File (http://catb.org/esr/jargon/html/index.html). It'll get you right up to speed. ;)

--janak

[shawnc]

OK, I got greedy (see what a day off from work will do). I tried to set up a network connection but could not get it to work. More importantly, I have now lost my ability to connect to the Internet from the laptop. I'm sure it is something minor but I'm not having any luck. Here is what I did.

1. Ran the network wizard on my desktop. This seemed to go well until the last step. The last step indicates that I need to run the same wizard on the laptop. It also gives three options on how to do this IF the laptop is not running XP and a 4th option that indicates I don't need to run this again. Since I am running XP on the laptop, I selected the 4th option.

2. Then I ran the connection wizard on the laptop and was presented with the same option at the last step. I noticed that while running the wizard on the laptop, a prompt came up indicating that a cable was disconnected or disabled, but it gave me the option of ignoring this warning. I ignored it since I didn't realize there were additional cables to connect.

3. In both instances I had to reboot for the settings to take.

Now when I try to connect to the internet using the laptop it does not detect a network. However, the system is indicating a strong connection to the linksys station.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanx,

[CTSLICK]

I believe it involves right-clicking on the drive/folder you want to share, and selecting properties, and then choosing the options that seem to make sense.
Basically, that's how you do it; however, a couple of notes.

1- File Sharing is not turned on by default in 9x or Me, but is in NT/2k/XP. If you're using the former, you need to go into Control Panel -> Networks and click the File Sharing button, and put a checkmark in one or both options.

2- If you right-click a drive, a folder, or a printer, there's a "Share" option which directly takes you to the Share tab in Properties.

and I believe for the printer you go to start->settings->printers and do "add printer", and follow those instructions.
You can also do it from the Network Neighborhood.

There's a little more to it, like making sure that you're in the same "workgroup", but you should be able to figure this out from the help files.
Moreover, you don't have to be in the same Workgroup, but it helps.

Post again (probably on a separate OT thread) if you can't get it running.
Hmm, isn't this thread OT enough as it is? ;)

--janak

Thanks Janak and kati42, I'm going to give this a shot. I've plunked around with the whole sharing thing before but never got it to work.

One question: Do you know if ZoneAlarm (software firewall) will interfere with my ability to get my laptop and desktop sharing like nice kids? I am running it on both my desktop and laptop.

Thanks again

[Janak Parekh]

One question: Do you know if ZoneAlarm (software firewall) will interfere with my ability to get my laptop and desktop sharing like nice kids? I am running it on both my desktop and laptop.
Very likely, yes. You may have to tweak it to open up file sharing ports.

--janak

[Sven Johannsen]

OK, I got greedy (see what a day off from work will do). I tried to set up a network connection but could not get it to work. More importantly, I have now lost my ability to connect to the Internet from the laptop. I'm sure it is something minor but I'm not having any luck. Here is what I did.

1. Ran the network wizard on my desktop.

Bad idea. If I read it right you have an access point/router connected in between your internet connection and your desktop, and you have a wirelss card in your laptop. The desktop was probably set up to get its internet numbers (IP, subnet mask, gateway, DNS) from the internet connection, via a thing called DHCP.

When you put the router in the picture, it would pick up all those values from internet provider and pass new appropriate ones to the desktop (which is still set to get it's numbers via DHCP). Similarly when the wireless card was set up, it would default to DHCP and get appropriate ones from the router via the wireless link.

The wizard probably set a new set of values on the desktop and laptop that are not right for the router/access point. Go in to the connection properties on both the desktop network card and the wireless network card and find the TCP/IP settings and set them both to DHCP (or get settings from server). Hopefully that will get you at least back where you were with both PCs able to access the internet.

We'll go from there, if that works.

Glossary (layman overview)
IP address - number that uniquely identifies each machine or box (i.e. router)
Subnet mask - number that helps define what boxes should talk to each other (normally 255.255.255.0 in a home network)
Gateway - address of box to send things to, if it is not to a local box (in this case the router's IP address)
DNS - address of a box that knows how to relate a name to an IP address (the ISP provides this number in some way)

All these must be provided and correct for the network to function correctly.

DHCP - Dynamic Host Control Protocol, system whereby something can provide all the above numbers automatically. (in your case we should let the router do it, which by default, it will, if you don't tell the desktop and laptop not to listen to it ;))

P.S. maybe I missed it, but it would help if you posted what OS is on the desktop and laptop. Answers here will get more specific, than generic if we know.

[shawnc]

Sven

Sorry for not pointing that out. Desktop has Windows XP Professional. Laptop has Windows XP Home.

Thanx.

[Sven Johannsen]

No need to apologize. It just makes it easier if I can say Open Network Places and click View Network Connections. On the desktop there should be a Local Area Connection Icon. Either double click it and hit Properties or right click and select Properties. There is a General Tab and the window should have Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in it. Click on that and hit Properties. There is then a screen with 'Obtain IP addresses automatically' and 'Use the Following'. You want Automatic. for both the IP and DNS.

I would guess XP Home is about the same, but I don't have one of those running. On the laptop though network connections will have some wireless card icon showing.

Those instructions would be somewhat different if you had 98 or ME, and so all I could say generically is set it for DHCP, or something like that and let you figure out what I mean and where to do it :)

One nice thing about XP is that you can make those changes and not have to reboot as in 98, ME, NT. The are accepted and initiated immediately.

Let us know if you get it back to both the desktop and laptop seeing the internet, and we'll go from there.

[Janak Parekh]

One more thing, in addition to what Sven said: the wizard might have turned on Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on the desktop. When you pull up the network connection's properties, there might be a tab in there with ICS enabled. Since you have a broadband router, you don't want that enabled; it'll mess up the whole setup.

--janak

[Kati Compton]

And after you get all that fixed, since you're running XP on both laptop and desktop, then we can work on Remote Desktop to allow you to work on your desktop from your laptop (or vice versa, actually).

[shawnc]

You guys are the greatest. I'll be working on fixing this sometime today. Once successful, I'll post back for advice on the Remote Desktop.

Thanx

[Janak Parekh]

And after you get all that fixed, since you're running XP on both laptop and desktop, then we can work on Remote Desktop to allow you to work on your desktop from your laptop (or vice versa, actually).
Unfortunately, not the other way -- he has XP Home on his laptop. But still, one way is useful. :)

--janak

[Kati Compton]

Unfortunately, not the other way -- he has XP Home on his laptop. But still, one way is useful. :)


Oh, is that a Pro vs. Home thing? I've actually not used XP Home. Well, at least it's in the more useful direction.

[Janak Parekh]

Oh, is that a Pro vs. Home thing? I've actually not used XP Home. Well, at least it's in the more useful direction.
Yup, XP Home only has Remote "Assistance", i.e., remote control, not Remote Desktop. That, the lack of any "advanced networking" support, such as complex permissions, and a couple of other things have prompted me not to use XP Home on any machine of mine. It's OK for the typical home user, though.

--janak

[DrtyBlvd]

Whilst awaiting shawnc's success, and the next batch of wonderful advice - should I say instalment? - it seems an appropriate time to comment as this is the same point I am up to - an unable to get past for some reason...

Bit of background -
Home box - WinXP Pro
Laptop - WinXP Pro
Aceex BR41 Router (http://www.aceex.com.tw/catalog.asp?pid=a-003)

Laptop using Sony WAP & Card (Orinocho Chipset)

The laptop, as mentioned previously, finally just worked - and that was after countless efforts - so all things are happy to connect to the internet.

I've tried running the network set up wizard, but to no avail - it has resulted on more than on occasion with the PC refusing to subsequently boot - System Restore fixed the problem and I haven't had the courage to try again since!

And as might be surmised, that's me at the end of my 'networking knowledge' - and in a simillar position to shawnc!

[shawnc]

Janak, kati and Sven,,

Thank you all very much for your patience and help. Sven, your instructions were very detailed. Unfortunately, everything you told me to check was already as it was supposed to be. I tried soooooo many different things before my wife gently suggested......"dear, don't they have tech support"? Duh! After 10 minutes with a very knowledgable tech support person from lynksys, I am up and running again.

db,

I think I'm going to stay with what I have. I was getting a little nervous while trying to restore my internet connection. I'm going to enjoy this for a while before I try the wireless LAN step. The internet is definitely the big thing for me. If you are able to set up the LAN, post back and let me know.

Again, thanx to all for the help.

[DrtyBlvd]

Arggh! Shawnc! Don't leave me on my own! :lol:

I hope my comments didn't sway your decision - Just make a system restorepoint and let's play a bit!! (Assuming the knowledge is forthcoming! I'm sure they are discussing 'charging' you know :wink: )

[shawnc]

Hate to leave you hangin db, but I'm just so relieved to get back to where I started that I'm just going to catch my breath for a few days. Not to worry, your comments had nothing to do with it. Rest assured though, "I will be back" :robot: !