New To Networking

[Dark Messenger]

Hi gang!

Just had my first attempt/experience at networking two pc's together using a hub, two Nics, ethernet cable (looks like a big phone line, rj-45 type connectors I think) with one pc running windows xp and the other windows me.

I used the network setup wizard on windows xp which created a nsetup.exe program on the floppy disk which i ran on the winme machine. I selected no internet connection for either computer to make it simpler to do (I hoped anyway =p ) and now have two pc's that seem to see each other in either 'my network places' or 'network neighborhood' (for winme)

My question to the group is how long does it typically take for you to transfer a 600mb file between two networked pc's (like in my example). The first time I set up the network it said 22 minutes...now its saying 24 minutes.

Is that a long time or normal for an ethernet transfer of a file that size?

Thanks-in-Advance,

-DarkMessenger

[cpugeniusmv]

Theoretically:

With a 100 Mbit link: 600 MB == 4800 Mb @ 100 Mb/s --> 48 seconds

With a 10 Mbit link: 600 MB == 4800 Mb @ 10 Mb/s --> 480 seconds (8 minutes)

But those are theoretical limits. In either case, you're a good way over. There are more factors to consider, such as processor speed, RAM, and hard disk performance on both machines.

[Dark Messenger]

I'm not entirely sure that I set it up right. I had to add an user account to the windows xp machine which matched the one on my windows me login. otherwise it wouldn't let me access the shares on the xp machine it have an area about \\xpcomputer\$ICS enter your password.

Only by creating a new user account on the xp machine which matched my login name and password on the winme machine was I able to access shares on the xp machine from the winme one.

I think I have the 10baseT card but thought it was 100something dash 10base 10 card which meant it could do either.

The Xp machine has an intel 1.8ghz processor with intel motherboard and 512mb ram and an internal ide hdd at whatever the normal rpm is for such a thing.

The winme machine has an 80gig harddrive and 384mb ram and 500mhz soyo ema +1.1 motherboard.

How do you check the disk performance and given the specs I gave can you hypothesis a theory.

Is it slow cpu speed on one the pc's that's slowing things down?

The shares in winxp 'my network places' look a little confusing..in addition to showing the shares on the winme computer it also shows shares on its self. I think I accidentally transferred (copied) the same file to both folders having the same name on each machine, i.e. 'new folder'.

I transferred the approx 600mb to 'new folder' on both machines and the first time I did it tranferring from winxp to winme machine took about 22minutes in explorer time left message.

Then I thought I was transferring it again to the same folder and it only took 4minutes.

totally removed the network by taking out the nics and disabling sharing in both computers and reinstalled everything redoing the network wizard and now I get 24min transferring from the winxp machine to the winme machine and about 48sec transferring from winxp to winxp in network connections....then again my memory (mine not the computer's ) is faulty..it could have taken between 2 and 4 minutes to transfer the file on the winxp machine from a normal folder to the shared folder through network neighborhood.

Iniitially though when I first transferred the 600mb for the second time thinking I transferring it again to the shared folder called 'new folder' on the winme machine and got a four minute transfer time. I thought I had done it right..not knowing of course what I had done right..but in retrospect I think I only transferred the file between folders on the same pc.

The only other thing I might try is rerunning the network configuration wizard on the winme machine and keeping the workgroups the same on both pc's and seeing if somehow magically running the network wizard on the winme machine fixes things.

One other possibility is I may have generic drivers installed for the Nic on the winxp machine as I think plug and play recognised and configured it automatically.

So I could try updating the drivers.

[Dark Messenger]

okay in task manager for windows xp under the networking tab it says this:

Local Area Connect = 10Mbps = Operational

and I believe I have 10/100 cards (same type card in each machine).

[Krell]

The two NICs may also be set to different speed, one may be set to Auto, the other to 10\100

Look at the connection properties, then the "Connect Using" > then "Configure"

See what the connections are set to. Try setting them to the SAME, either Full 100 or Auto, which some cards dont do well with.


Also, keep i mind that your 500mz machine could be slowing you down, use Task Manager to see if you have a high CPU usage while moving the file. You can also use the Network Tab in Task Manager to get an idea of actual throughput.

Make sure you are not hindered by firewall and antivirus etc!!!


.


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[Dark Messenger]

Thanks cpu and krell. This is really frustrating for me.
I looked at the task manager while attempting to move the large file again Actual size is only

526Mb or 551,667,712 bytes size on disk is 526Mb or 551,669, 760 bytes

network utilisation is only at 37percent and fluctuates 30~38percent with 37to38 percent being most common.

I'm using a Windows Xp Professionel Oem version by Dell as my operating system on the winxp computer if that helps any.

I do not have service packs installed. Everything is default with the exception of .Net framework.

[Dark Messenger]

16minutes remaining at the time the above post was made and presently 14.

[Krell]

While you may think it's frustrating, it's still quite common. Youre only as good as ur weakest link.

Provide more detail on the network cable you use, any router or hub, ur not USB right?

Use Aida32 to verify ur NICS n get updated drivers.




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[Dark Messenger]

Thanks again, krell. Download completed or transfer completed a minute ago while I was trying to find the location for the things you mentioned. In the winxp machine I can't seem to find the place where you manually assign ip address and network masks for the network.

It's like their hidden or something and only thing I can get access to is a wizard.

I'll try to provide the information you've asked for. I'll check my drivers (when I can find em) and update them to the disk I have and will look on the website for newer ones if I can find the right link. I don't think the drivers I have now are for anything higher than win98. Pretty sure they aren't.

Will post back with more information. I have a copy of the aida32 program and will run it and get back with

you soon on what I find.

[Krell]

Start > Run > %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe ::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\::{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}\::{7007acc7-3202-11d1-aad2-00805fc1270e}


might work

if you see My Network Places, right click, chose properties

.

[Dark Messenger]

The two NICs may also be set to different speed, one may be set to Auto, the other to 10\100

Look at the connection properties, then the "Connect Using" > then "Configure"

See what the connections are set to. Try setting them to the SAME, either Full 100 or Auto, which some cards dont do well with.




Attempting to answer this. On the winxp machine Right-clicked on My Computer>Hardware >Device Manger> Network Adaptors and saw it read:

Winbond W89C940-Based Ethernet Adapter (Generic)

which I know is wrong because I have a Linksys "fast ethernet" 10/100 Network card installed there.

Also the driver says this:

Driver Provider Microsoft, Digital signer is Microsoft Windows Xp Publisher.


Gonna check the WinMe machine now for the same type info:

Its showing Linksys Linepci II Ethernet PCI Adapter (which is right)

[Dark Messenger]

Start > Run > %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe ::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\::{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}\::{7007acc7-3202-11d1-aad2-00805fc1270e}


might work

if you see My Network Places, right click, chose properties

.


When I do that I see two things:

I see a dial-up network connection and a Lan High-Speed Internet connection.

I'm on the dreaded D-word for 56-k hence the two connections. the Lan is for my two networked pc's and the dialup connection for my internet access.

I haven't changed anything there.

[Krell]

Linksys Ethernet PCI II Network Adapter Is Detected As Winbond W89c940

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;282715&Product=winxp



http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?childpagename=US%2FLayout&packedargs=page%3D2%26cid%3D1115416835852%26c%3DL_ Content_C1&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&SubmittedElement=Linksys%2FFormSubmit%2FProductDow nloadSearch&sp_prodsku=1121811353362



.

[Dark Messenger]

How do I do this:



Look at the connection properties, then the "Connect Using" > then "Configure"

See what the connections are set to. Try setting them to the SAME, either Full 100 or Auto, which some cards dont do well with.


in Windows xp?

[Krell]

I see a dial-up network connection and a Lan High-Speed Internet connection.

Right . . this is where you can view your connection properties and "Configure"

Get the drivers installed FIRST and reboot


.

[Dark Messenger]

Right . . this is where you can view your connection properties and "Configure"

Get the drivers installed FIRST and reboot


.

This is confusing. I downloaded the driver and unzipped it to this location:

C:\nc100v2

The highest operating system it supports is win2000. (I have xp). But I read the readme.txt for 2000 anyway thinking it may work better than the one I have and came across this in the readme text:




B.3. Windows 2000:

1. Turn on power and boot up Windows 2000.

2. Rename mxnic.sys (located on \winnt\system32\drivers)
and net713.inf, net713.pnf (located on \winnt\inf).


It says to rename mxnicsys but doesn't say what to rename it to?

It looks like it wants me to rename net713.inf to be net713.pnf?

I can do the second part..could this be an omission by not specifying what to rename mxnic.sys to?

I'm wondering if I need to just rename it something like mxnic.old. Should I remove this device from control panel?

Gonna play try renaming and will let you know what happens.

I can't find the information on the type of cabling that I have but I think it is the RJ-45 type connectors. The cables are blue if that helps?

[Krell]

Then theyre not what you need

Use Aida32, verify what you really have, pull the damned thing out of the PC and read the chipset if you have to, then google an XP driver.

See what you get if you dont know what youre after

http://www.network-drivers.com/companies/597.htm




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[Dark Messenger]

An update. I had a

Linksys EtherPCI LAN CARD II installed on both the XP and ME machines. Got that info off the card its self, thanks, krell.
It does have a winbond chip on it that reads W89C940F.

I removed the Linksys EtherPCI LAN CARD II from the WinXP machine because it would not allow me to install the correct drivers for it. Plug and play even aida32 kept recognising it as the Winbond card mentioned earlier.

The drivers only support winnt4 and 95/98 no higher. There are NO XP Drivers for this card =[

I'm not even sure the winMe machine is using the correct drivers for the one in it but it at least does recognise it as a Linksys card mentioned earlier on page one of this thread.

I replaced the PCI ethernet card on the WinXP machine with this one:

Network Everywhere Fast Ethernet 10/100 network card which oddly enough was recognised and installed properly by XP.

I changed no settings putting it in the SAME slot as the previous ethernet card and my network still functions.

I now get 56~57 percent network utilisation with very low cpu usuage around 4~10percent on the xp machine.

The winMe machine is default new installation, no service packs no browser updates.

I can now transfer the same file mentioned earlier in 16minutes which is a vast improvement over the earlier 24minute speed shaving 8 minutes off the transfer time.

This is much more acceptable but I'd still like to see more as my dialup network utilisation usually uses 99~100 percent of its capacity.

I am using 10baseT cables (read the manual that came with the network starter kit).

I also have a 5 port workgroup hub and according to the manual both original cards (the one I removed from the XP machine and that is still in the WinMe one) are both 10baseT versions.

The cables are each 15foot.

The network starter kit contained:

* Two EtherPCI LAN II cards (10baseT version)

* 5-Port Workgroup Hub

* Two 15-foot 10baseT network cables

* 3.5" Program disk (which contained the drivers for the two ethernet cards above)

* and one user guide which I finally found now to give you this information

and

* a partridge in a Pear tree (just kidding on this one =D )

[Dark Messenger]

Would running ipconfig on both machines help with diagnosing the problem?

I did run it on both and found that when pinging the XP machine by name there was a long delay.

I'm wondering if there's something I can set on the ME machine to make it faster such as making an entry

into the LMhosts file with the computer name of the XP machine and its ip address?

Also wondering if I need to set up some default gateway, ip address and subnet mask manually on the winMe machine to make it work well?

did a tracert on the winxp machine to the ip of the WinME computer and it was fast as hell. So was pinging the the WinME computer from the XP machine either by name or ip but conversely pinging the XP machine from the ME machine by name was very, very slow. Seemed like 15seconds to eternity.

[Dark Messenger]

Posting this from the networked computer (Me machine) with ICS enabled. Funny thing I'm able to share the internet connection alright with no noticeable lag but still have problems sometimes accessing the shares on the xp machine.

Noticed something else. All the files on my desktop on the xp machine are marked read-only. Looks like they are checked read-only with a grey background behind them. I can untick the checkbox but they immediately re-check themselves.

Anyone know what could be causing this behaviour?

[Dark Messenger]

Last one for a bit. While looking at the Network settings in My Network Places on the XP machine I noticed their was an option to allow other users on the network to use my internet connection so I ticked it.

That's how I was able to access the internet from the other pc.

The reason I couldn't access the shares on the XP machine was because I had changed the password on the WindowsMe machines logon from having a password to not using one then I remembered that in the XP machine I had to create a user account to match the one I log in with on the winME machine WITH A PASSWORD.

did I say that right? I had previously created a user account on the xp machine to match the name I use to login on the ME machine with and created a password for it.

Sometime during all this experimentation I stopped using a password to login on the winME machine having changed it either under password or users so I wouldn't need one.

That ^_^ is why I couldn't access the shares on the xp machine. After changing it so that I had to use the password again and making it match what I had entered as the password for the user account on the xp machine I was once again able to access the shares on the xp machine and at 80percent utilisation!

However surfing the net slowed it down slightly on the winme machine while transferring that large file again.

WinMe started giving errors. I had tried to setup Internet Explorer 6 on it (for windows 98) and it wanted to download updated version for that operating system but for some reason it failed and I didn't get a complete installation. Don't know if anything changed..seemed like it failed pretty immediately to me.

WinMe had previously given me errors with explorer.exe and iexplore.exe before tho so this is nothing new.

That could be the reason that my network utilisation on the lan dropped from a whopping 80 percent down to 30percent again where it remains at now. I'll do some rebooting, playing around and documentation and try to figure out exactly what steps I took to enable ICS and still access the xp shares from winme.

Apologies to those who were not fascinated with these discoveries.

-DM

[Dark Messenger]

Finally finished this.

So I put a new (different NIC) into the WinXP machine which was a:

Network Everywhere Fast Ethernet 10/100 network card.

Then I removed the other Linksys EtherPCI LAN CARD II card from the WinME machine and

replaced it with a:

CNET PRO100WL PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter

The problem I was having before with the new Network Everywhere Fast Ethernet 10/100 (in the WinXP machine) and the old Linksys EtherPCI LAN CARD II card in the WinME machine was this:

I could GRAB a file FROM the XP machine using the WinME computer at very fast speeds using about 80percent of my capacity in resource monitor on xp...but when I would try to send the same file back it would bog down very slow to only 30 percent capacity and slow the ME computer to a crawl.

On the 5-Port hub the XP machine was plugged into slot 5 and the ME one into slot 3.

After replacing the Linksys EtherPCI LAN CARD II card in the WinME machine with this one:

CNET PRO100WL PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter I also switched the slot that it was plugged into from Port3 to Port1 in case there was a problem with a bad port or something.

Anyway fired up both machines after making these changes and am very SATISFIED with the results.

I can now grab that 526mb file at a whopping 11minutes and send it back just as fast without it bogging down my computer's resources.

Thanks krell and cpu for offering support/sympathy and everyone else for their patience in letting me solve this here.

Thanks a bunch guys and maybe this might help someone else..who knows? =D