Setting up simple network between XP and 98SE

I have two laptops, one running WinXP and the other Win98SE.

The XP system connects to the internet only rarely, either via dial-up
modem or via DSL (through either an Ethernet port or a USB Ethernet
adapter). The 98SE system almost never has the need to connect to the
internet.

For nearly two years I have also connected these two laptops to each
other via wireless (the XP system has an internal wireless adapter, and
I have installed a NetGear PCMCIA wireless card to the 98SE system) in
order to play a particular two-person game on them, and they have
worked perfectly together.

Recently, I found it necessary to upgrade the XP system to SP2. Since
then, the wireless connection between them has behaved differently:

1) shares on the 98SE system can be seen by the XP system, but the 98SE
system cannot see shares on the XP system (which is the way I would
prefer to run the game);

2) when I run the game the other way round, I get very frequent
failures in the communication between them, often necessitating the
restart of the game on both systems.

Note: at no time do I have the need to run ICS on these systems.

I have researched these groups to find a solution to this; I have found
very many threads, but hardly any that are similar to my needs, and
those usually include ICS (which for me is an unnecessary
complication).

I believe I should be able to set up a simple two-node wireless network
(preferably with static IP addresses) where both nodes can see shares
on the other, and also allow the XP system to access the internet when
it needs to.

Can anyone point me in the direction of instructions to set this up?

 

Hi
ICS is needed to share Internet connection. So if you do not share, do not
use it.
The difficulties in the connection between the computers might stem from the
additional security of SP2. Make sure that the Firewall exceptions is
configured correctly. If you are disciplined and can remember to switch On
the Firewall when you are connecting to the Internet you can try playing the
games with the Firewall disabled.
May be this can Help,
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg0204.mspx
Jack (MVP-Networking).

 

Thanks for your suggestion.

However, I am convinced that my problem is not directly associated with
my firewall. I have disabled the Windows Firewall and installed a
third-party firewall; the latter I have configured (temporarily, while
trying to get this mini-network to function the way I would like it to)
to allow all traffic. I am not connected to the internet, and I have
seen no evidence of nearby wireless hotspots or other PCs with wireless
capability.

What I am hoping to find is some sort of step-by-step guide to setting
up this *very* simple network (granted, it does have the complication
of trying to get cross-platform connection between XPSP2 and 98SE).

In my searching of these groups, I have found lots of posts with
details of problems (and solutions) on networks that are *somewhat*
like mine, but they usually seem to include a router and/or an ICS
requirement... neither of which apply to my network.

For example, for ICS to work, I understand that DHCP is needed; but for
my network, I believe I do not need it (at least for the wireless
network adapter) and therefore I should be able to set up static IP
addresses on both PCs. Yet I do not seem to be able to find really
clear information on how to do this: that is, what I need to enter in
the IP and subnet mask fields, how to turn DHCP off/on (if this is
necessary on the system that does occasionally need to connect to the
internet), what the 'node type' I see on my 'ipconfig /all'
should/should not be, etc.

Does anyone know of such a guide? I would very much appreciate finding
one.

Regards,
John Gross

 

See if this page helps:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/bowman_02april08.mspx

For IP address you could use:
Computer 1 IP address 10.0.0.10 Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Computer 2 IP address 10.0.0.12 Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0

With a direct computer to computer connection their is no DHCP server, so
you don't need to turn it off.

--
David Hettel

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group for everyone
to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions addressed directly to me in
E-mail or news groups.

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Thanks for your suggestions. I had already seen the Barb Bowman
article(s), but had not yet tried her suggestions.

Unfortunately, nothing seems to have worked for me (Note: the Bowman
article describes - I assume - a wireless network between XP and XP,
and is also, I think, pre-SP2... which is exactly when what worked
before stopped working).

I am continuing to hunt for information useful to my setup, but if
anyone can point me in a direction that will shorten my search, I would
be very grateful.

Regards
John Gross