Very off topic: need networking expert please

[Lucky]

hey all, anyone here a networking wizard/expert??
I have a home network set up & just put an older pc in the shop & am having a very hard time keeping a connection over the lan with it.

if someone out there is great with this stuff please email me & i'll even call on my dime you if you provide a phone #

Thanks, --Lucky
luckyvision@hotmail.com

[Sable]

First thing I'd check would be compatibility between your router, switch, access point (whatever components you are using) and the type of LAN card that you have... Also, check to make sure that the LAN card is seated securly in the PC, much like a Vision, loose wires and connections can be an anoying problem.
Also, if you are running Windows 98 or ME, there are restrictions to home networks that were built into these programs and that may also be an issue.

   ~Sable

[Extent]

Ya, components and cabeling can be a big factor here.  More detailed you can be on your setup the better.  What kind of network cards, what OS on the computers involved, how do you have them configured, how is the wiring layed out, what other pieces of equiptment (hub/switchs, broadband routers, etc) and how are they all layed out in the sceme of things.

If you don't know specifics we can still work around it.

Mostly tho can you be more specific on what you mean by keeping the connection with it.  Does it give an error message?  Does it "drop out" while copying files, etc. etc.

[Lucky]

I figure this would be easier to detail over the phone, but
ok, 8 port mini hub connecting via cat5:
-Frankenputer (this one, Win XP pro, specs on my site)
-kitchen Pc (Win Me)
-netgear wireless router (to notebook, winXP home)
I use PC Anywhere ver 9.2 to interact with these computers.

Just added Shop PC (older gateway with Pent 233mhz, 64m ram, Win Me, D-link network card. I ran new cat 5 cable from hub thru living room hall, bathroom, outside to shop, ?thru wall to shop pc.

the hub isn't showing a clash like in the pic...
what happens:
I can see the shop on the network, but it takes at least 5 minuets to do so, each subsiquent click takes just as long, current network window (on the remote pc)will stop responding, no mater what pc i'm trying to access shop from.
it acts like the pc i'm on has problems, but I can still access my other pc's from other pc's, quick, no problems.

i tested the cable after i ran it & installed the ends with an L-Com cable tester i have http://www.l-com.com/jump.jsp?lGen=productleader&itemID=5086&itemType=PRODUCTLEADER&iProductID=5086 & it tests good.

I am planning on bringing the box in & swaping it with the kitchen unit to see what happens, poss tomorrow.

it would be good to talk live with some one who's intimatly familar with windows network software to figure this one out... ("try this...ok, enable that...")

--Lucky

[Extent]

The phone may be quicker, but this way more people can take a look at it.  Win ME was always a pain for networking in my experience, it will only use WINS for name resolution, so make sure your Wins services are running on both the XP boxes (that wont cause lost connections tho)

One thing to do when troubleshooting is to go into the properties of the network cards and force them all to 10base Half-Duplex.  Sometimes I've seen auto detect mess things up.  bring up a command prompt and do "ping ShopcomputerIP -t"  and let that run for a screen or twos worth of results.  then hit <ctl>+C to stop it.  What do the pings look like, are any of them dropping? what about latencys, are they low and consistant, or do they end up much over 15ms?

[Lucky]

"Reply from 192.168.0.6: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128"
for several screens, only 1 line was "request timed out"

[Blake]

my question Lucky is why are you using the hub?   does your router not have 3 extra ports for lan?   setting up my home one i tried using a router to the 3 computers in my room, but was having problems with connectivity..  so i just ran 3 wires from the router and all was well in never-never land again.


as for timed out...definately seems to me like some sort of hardware problem...


I'm pretty good with windows networking..but unfortunately..im one of those people that has to see something to know whats going on.. i'd only get both of us more confused over the phone.

also... you dont really need pc anywhere.. setting up network privledges so you can access files on any computer, from any other one in windows is pretty simple.  not sure if thats a problem or not..


then again..im just a poor college kid that spends too much time  riding and not enough time studying :)



Blake

[Extent]

A single time out is nothing to worry about, and since the latency is all under 1ms the connection itsself is pretty healthy.  That pretty much rules out layers 1 thru 4 as problem areas.

His wireless may not have extra ports on it if it's just an AP.  Mine dosen't.  Going thru the hub really isn't an issue in this case, the network isn't nearly large enough for packet collisions to be an issue, and I doubt he often satureates the connection at all :)

I'm defenatly leaning more towards a software issue here.  Do you have problems with other network functions like windows file shares and internet access, or is it just pc-anywhere that has this slow down problem?

If the machine is "desposable" for a while it wouldn't hurt to wipe it clean and install a fresh copy of 98SE (far superior to the travesty of an OS known as ME)

How fast is the kitchen computer, is it similar to the shop machine?  I almost want to say that the shop machine might be too slow for pcAnywhere, but I don't want to make that assertion since I've never used PCA myself ever.  What you've speced the shop machine at I wouldn't put any where above being barely powerfull enough to run the OS, let alone any applications, but I live in a world of 2k.

[harry_angel69]

I have very limited experience with any LAN.  But the first thing that I would try, assuming that all hardware is in good shape, is delete the network in control panel and reinstall the drivers.  This solves 99% of all dail-up problems in 98SE.  

WARNING THIS IS A PAIN IN THE ......

[Lucky]

this has nothing to do with dial-up, this is the intranet in the house. none of the pc's are win 98.

I realized after I read your post that I don't need the hub (I had it b4 the router, so I just added the router into the mix)

since doing that I have noted that the 3 computers (mine, kitchen, laptop) are lit all the time & flicker slightly, which is normal, the one for the shop only flickers on once every second or so.

i'm assuming the results on Extents ping diag show that the cable is ok & since the other pc's have no problem with each other then I have to concentrate on that pc in particular.

I picked up a book at the dollar store, "Windows 2000 network for MS certified system engineers" (not bad for a buck!) that i think won't be too over my head.  at least i'll have some understanding what the diff between DHCP & netBIOS node type is... (I have no clue right now...)

meanwhile, suggestions as what to check next?

--Lucky

[Lucky]

crap! it's the cable!  :(
I don't think it's over 300 feet long (that is the limit right? something like that??

i'll put my tester back on it & report back.. probably messed up the ends..  oh, & i'll test it in both directions too. just thought of that & didn't figure it makes a difference, but it might..?

--Lucky

[Extent]

328 ft.  but only 295 ft from the patch panel to the wall jack.

It is strange for pings to get back unmolested while the cable is bad enough to cause that serious a fault.  let us know your findings.

[Lucky]

the cable tests ok... now what? I made sure it wasn't kinked or routed near anything like flourecent lights...  the NIC card in my main PC has VCT -virtual cable tester software, but the problem there is if the cable isn't plugged in only at the nic card it reports it as 'open' if i plug it into the router it won't allow me to run the test...(greyed out)

I guess i'll check to see if I hit it with a staple or something...

btw, VCT reports the length at 22 meters, a hair over 72 feet, I knew I was no where near 300'.  if I find a stapled cable, how do i splice it?

--Lucky

[Bruce]

It still sounds like it could be a cable issue. The tester you are using will only verify that you did not cross any wires. It can not test the ability to handle data.

You should stick with your plan to test the system on another connection. Or conversly test the connection with another machine. Then you should be able to narrow down whether it is the wire or the system.

The fact that it drops the first ping packet is not a good thing. Inside a network all packets should make it through..

Hopes this helps,

Bruce.

[Lucky]

it wasn't the first packet, just one of them

It turned out to be the wire. I plugged my laptop in to the shop connection & it didn't work.

I cut the wire in the bathroom & crimped on a new end & volia it worked, so the cable is bad outside the house (where there are staples)  once the rain stops i'll pull a new line from the bathroom to the shop. I have a straight thru modular connector i'll use to connect them. not the best soulution, but it'll work enough to confirm & configure the network.  when I have a few extra $$ to replace the whole cable I will.

Of all the things I can do on a pc, networks are the biggest pain.  they're fine at first, but if something goes awry, then I start messing with settings, & i'll spend a week trying to get it straightened out. I will too, just agrav ating in the meantime, lol

Thanks for your advice guys.  too bad there isn't a "return to default" button...