Wired ethernet problem

Soldato
Joined
23 Mar 2005
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3,882
Hopefully a really simple one - but I can't spot the problem.

Trying to move large files between my main machine and the server. I am running a wireless network via an ASUS router which works perfectly. Too slow for large files as the main machine is on a wireless G card :eek:

I use a TP-Link TL-SG100SD gigabit switch (unmanaged) which I use to connect the machines only when I need to transfer. I disable the wireless (so it doesn't cheat) I have set both machines up on the same subnet (255.255.255.0) in the standard IP range (192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.3 with the default IP gateway set to the standard 192.168.0.1) - Windows 8.1 machine is in WORKGROUP.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't :mad: When it works the ping is about 0 and the transfer rate is about right for the kit at about 40Mb/s. But the last few times I have not been able to get the machines to see each other.

WHS v2 and Windows 8.1 - main machine as per the screenshot link below (why won't the image show?)

14ugzf8.jpg
 
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I would run the "Troubleshoot problems" tool in Network and Sharing Center.
- Done that - it complains about the lack of DNS (presumably because windows assumes that every network leads to the internet) - the mini reset of the adapter doesn't fix the problem unfortunately.

By see each other do you mean going into networking center and seeing the machines. Can you still ping them? They getting an IP address from the router ok?

When it works I can see them in network centre and the ping works - when it doesn't, each machine only sees itself and the ping fails.
-Also, I have set the ip addresses and subnet masks by hand as it didn't 'plug and play'. Hence they are set next to each other.
 
I've added the DNS on both sides - didn't think to use google! No joy - interestingly none of the netsh commands seem to work with win 8.1 :confused:

I have noticed that the ADSL router appears as an infrastructure device in the network folder, but the TP-Link doesn't - is that because it's unmanaged or is it the problem?

Interestingly I can't get a ping out of 192.168.0.1, but then I haven't set any of the TP-Link details - again as it's unmanaged I assumed that happened automatically :confused:
 
Just to clarify:

2 Entirely seperate networks:
  1. Wireless - Asus ADSL router (sky broadband)
  2. Wired - TP-Link with ONLY 2x ethernet cables (PC - switch - PC)

When trying to run the wired network I disable the wireless card on the main PC to prevent the machine using the wireless to transfer the files - so when that is going on there is only ONE network - the wireed one - which consists of WHS v2 + switch + Win 8.1 machine.

I will wipe the IP settings and see what it does - from memory it was the old 255.255.0.0 subnet mask issue - hence the manual addresses.
 
Thanks for the help guys - I have ended up with a slightly different solution for now that if it works actually solves a couple of problems...

I changed the IP set to 10.1.1.10/11 with 10.1.1.1 as the default and 8.8.8.8 for completeness (not sure it actually does anything as the lan network has no internet access...)

Strangely, the PC can ping the WHSv2, but the WHSv2 can't ping the PC (timeout) :confused: so I mapped the folder I need to dump stuff in onto the PC using its IP address (//10.1.1.10/stuff) and it seems to work a treat! (This has the added bonus that I can guarantee that the transfer happens over lan so I no longer have to disable the wireless every time :) )

Couple of things - as Bledd suggested the network was set to public (as it is showing as unidentified) - I altered the setting via secpol so it is now private but that now means any unindentified network is now private - not ideal - any simple way to 'identify' the lan network (google only provided a load of driver and software related fixes - nothing concrete)
 
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Interestinly I found this on another site:

Apparently windows 7 uses the MAC address of the default gateway to identify networks. I was able to fake a default gateway by using the IP address of an active computer on the network. This is not a solution I am happy with though because it means that if this computer is off, my network becomes unidentified again. This also seems like it would be a problem if there is a router failure.

I find it very hard to believe that this is what the Microsoft engineers intended because it doesn't make any sense from a networking standpoint.

1. In order to have a secure private network - you must have a connection to the outside world?

2. In order to use your internal network - your router must be functioning properly?

Am I understanding everything correctly? Things are working now so I seem to understand, but it just doesn't make any sense. Why would they have done this?

Might give it a go with the server IP as the gateway and see what it does.

Edit: Worked a treat on the PC (with the default gateway set to 10.1.1.10 - the WHSv2) - now identifies as Network and allowed me to set it as private! Interestingly on the WHSv2 it still shows as unidentified and public.
 
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