Networking Problem (ICS)

[Silestanix]

Alright, so what I've got at home, is 4 PC's, all networked up via Ethernet and a Netgear hub, set IP Address and ICS, with the Internet Connection on a Server PC in the games room. It's all been working Hunky Dory until the 25th August when my mum came home after 2-3 weeks away since the 5th August. Her PC comes on, etc etc, loads the desktop and everything; but there isn't any connection to the network!

Her PC comes up on the server PC when I click 'view workgroup computers' in the tasks list on the left, and also on my Laptop, and the downstairs PC, but she cannot access the network, or see our PC's, or access the internet. We can't access her PC's shared documents folder or anything either.

I've gone through all of the local security policies on the server PC, nothings been changed at all, no changes have been logged in the audit since I'm the only one who has access to it, no one else knows the password. I've re-run the network setup wizard as well. All the PC's are assigned an IP address by me, Server being 192.168.0.1, and the other 3 PC's following on such as .10, .20, etc at the end and their gateways all being the server PC's addy.

I spent the best part of 4 hours on this, and as a PC nut and techie, I, for the life of me, cannot work out why it's stopped working...Help?!

Thanks!

Harry.

 

[jpskiller]

Can you ping her machine from the other's and like wise in reverse, have you checked network card/cable and tripled checked all firewall settings

 

[NiallerS320]

ermm sorry for asking the obvious, but if you have everyone networked to a netgear router, why are you using ICS? Surely each machine should be allocated an address using DHCP from the netgear (though static ip works just as well) having the netgear as the gateway as opposed to the server, if they need to access their files just map the networked server drives to the client PCs.

Have you tried setting the gateway as the router in your mum's PC settings.

 

[whizzkid11]

Hi Harry,

Assuming that the configuration is connected with using a Netgear HUB and not a Router - and that your server PC is acting as the DHCP server (whcihs it would if configured using ICS) - I would ask a couple of questions:

1. Was this all working fine before your mum went away or is this a new system introduced to your network?

2. Assuming it was fine before she went away - have there been any service pack/Firewall updates etc - I mean the automatic ones? I know that recently MS released a few critical security updates?

Its sounds like a security/firewall issue on your mums PC, try pinging it from a elsewhere and see fit permits ping respones.

What OS version etc are you running? Also you may be limitted to number of concurrent connections allowed to the server.

 

[WLeg]

Disconnect from the internet, turn off all security software ( zonealarm, fiewwalls, etc). try pinging from another PC. If you don't have the basic IP connectivity...it won't work. Once you have got IP conectivity turn on one at a time the software you disabled.....testing each time.

 

[HughJarse]

Why are using Internet connection sharing?
I would let the router do its job, DHCP.

 

[pos.k]

I notice that you're allocating IP addresses going up in 10's instead of 1's. Is the IP pool range wide enough on the router to accommodate all of these numbers?

what I mean is that if the router setup has a pool of say 192.168.1.1 up to 192.168.1.50, if you make this new machine .60 it will not be found on the network. Try making it 192.168.1.25, or better still, do as the other guys here say and let the DHCP sort it out while you make some tea. (This is also not as frivolous as it sounds, as sometimes depending on the router, you need to plug them in, reboot everything, and give the hardware time to sort itself out)
hope this helps.

 

[fuzzer]

ICS is rubbish and i suspect your using it due to having a modem that doesnt have an ethernet out and only USB.

Don't waste any more time not to mention electricity on running a "server" to host your ICS , just go and buy an all in one router. £40 or so and all sorted no hassle.

 

[Silestanix]

Afternoon guys, thanks for the responses.

Its running via a HUB, not a router...Fuzzer, I might do that, was thinking of it before as well. Its a small BT modem, with a USB lead going to the PC to dial up the broadband connection, and a line going to the phone socket. I've seen a D-Link one for 350 so might buy that.

It was working fine before she went, and no ones used it while she was gone.

I've mapped the server PC's 200gb hard drive to all PC's as storage space, its all accessible from other PC's, just not hers. I tried to ping out from her PC, but nothing, same if I reverse ping.

It's doing my head in. I also hooked up my own laptop to her ethernet connection, it worked fine. Possibly a bad ethernet socket on the mobo?

 

[Sp!ke]

Uninstall the network card from device manager on your Mums PC and reinstall it again. (Probably scan for changes and it'll do it automatically). Then set it up again, sounds like the driverand/or the tcp stack may be corrupted. Once reinstalled, make sure client for Microsoft Networks is listed on the TCP/IP stack.

Once it can ping your ICS server, As others have said, go and buy a router and save yourself some time and money. Then set all the clients to use dhcp and be done with it.

 

[HughJarse]

buy a router, you can get them for 30 40 quid and all your problems will be fixed ( I hope !)

It makes life so much easier - honest, ICS is real pain in the rear.