Recently I've been having some troubles with networking. I'm trying to network a Windows XP computer to Windows 98. They both have the same network cards - Pulse H1012, and both have the same drivers installed. Though whenever I connect the two together, they always say that it is disconnected. The 2 network cards are working perfectly, as I had the internet running through one of them. I think what is at fault is my selection of cables.
Right now I'm using CAT 5 cables. I'm not sure if these are right for networking, as I'm using the same type for my broadband, and remember the 2 cables being different. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas please tell me, as I really want to get this network working.
ADT_CLONE
ID:277168
 Oct 13 2006, 7:59 pm
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In my experience crossover cables are often red, but that's not a reliable indicator.
Look closely at the plugs on the ends, with the clips pointing away from you. You should see little coloured wires. In a crossover cable, the pattern of colours will be in a slightly different order on each end. If it's a normal (straight-through) cable, the pattern of colours will be exactly the same. | |
Well, its a blue cable. And the pattern goes like this:
White, Orange, White, Blue, White, Green, White, Pink. I'm not sure if that is in a pattern or not. | |
No, I mean look at both ends and compare them. Is the sequence of colours the same? If yes, then it's a normal cable. If no, then it's a crossover cable.
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Ok, I did, and it doesn't look like they are crossover. Oh well, I'll have to get some more cables at the next computer markets.
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Yeah, patch cables require a switch, router, or hub to work. A switch is pretty cheap to get, I got a good one some time back for $15.00, has five ports and auto-speed detection.
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Yeah, I'm considering getting a switch as well. They didn't have any last computer markets, but the one before I think they had 8 or 5 port switches for $20.00. Thanks for all the help.
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http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ item-details.asp?EdpNo=458463&CatId=865
That's the one I got, works very very well. (Not that I need to use it anymore, my DSL modem has a router built-in.) | |
If you're trying to connect them directly to each other, you'll need a crossover cable. It's the same as a normal cable, except that the wires are crossed around (hence the name). But yeah, it's different, so you will need to get a new one.
If your existing cable is a long one and you want to minimise the cost, you could get a short crossover cable (a metre or whatever the shortest one you can find is) and a connector for connecting two cables to each other. Then you can plug the crossover cable and the normal cable together, and together they'll behave like a crossover cable. The important thing is that you must have an odd number of crossover cables, since every time the signal goes through one it "switches around". (If you connect 2 crossover cables together, they'll switch the signal around twice and the end result will behave like a normal cable.)