ad-hoc connection ok; ping not ok

Hello, I posted this in a related thread, but I'm not sure if anyone saw it
there.... I'm sorry for posting twice.

I have a WinXP desktop connecting directly to a cable modem, which is in
turn connected to a broadband service. This setup is working fine.

I'd like to create an ad-hoc network mainly so that my laptop, which I very
infrequently bring home, can transfer files; I would ideally also like to
connect to the internet using the ICS features of XP (running on the desktop).

To this end I installed a wireless NIC in the desktop, and configured it in
ad-hoc mode. (I already had the card, so figured spending money on a new
router was unnecessary...) I have created a the ad-hoc network, and both the
laptop and the desktop state that they are connected at 54Mbps, no problem
there.

However, even though subnet for both wireless adapters is 255.255.255.0 and
they are set to manually use IP addresses of 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.0.2
respectively, and I can happily ping localhost or the 'local' wireless
adapter, I cannot ping the other computer across the ad-hoc network.

Any suggestions? Any way of troubleshooting this setup?
Thank you,
Elliott.

elliott wrote:
> Hello, I posted this in a related thread, but I'm not sure if anyone saw it
> there.... I'm sorry for posting twice.
>
> I have a WinXP desktop connecting directly to a cable modem, which is in
> turn connected to a broadband service. This setup is working fine.
>
> I'd like to create an ad-hoc network mainly so that my laptop, which I very
> infrequently bring home, can transfer files; I would ideally also like to
> connect to the internet using the ICS features of XP (running on the desktop).
>
> To this end I installed a wireless NIC in the desktop, and configured it in
> ad-hoc mode. (I already had the card, so figured spending money on a new
> router was unnecessary...) I have created a the ad-hoc network, and both the
> laptop and the desktop state that they are connected at 54Mbps, no problem
> there.
>
> However, even though subnet for both wireless adapters is 255.255.255.0 and
> they are set to manually use IP addresses of 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.0.2
> respectively, and I can happily ping localhost or the 'local' wireless
> adapter, I cannot ping the other computer across the ad-hoc network.
>
> Any suggestions? Any way of troubleshooting this setup?
> Thank you,
> Elliott.

Have you checked for firewalls in both computers? See
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...02april08.mspx

Lem,

Many thanks for getting me focused again after a day of head-scratching.

I had originally disabled both firewalls, and still no connection.

What I did was return to Ms. Bowman's article (which I went over
painstakingly many times previously) and notice that I was trying to
duplicate her directions using the manufacturer's wireless software /
connection manager.

When I reverted both PC's back to Wireless Zero Configuration I could step
through things and get them to work magically. I am amazed at how easy
Windows makes this considering how difficult it was for me to try and tinker
out a solution 'manually'.

Thank you for your reply,
Elliott.

"Lem" wrote:
> Have you checked for firewalls in both computers? See
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...02april08.mspx
>

elliott wrote:
> Lem,
>
> Many thanks for getting me focused again after a day of head-scratching.
>
> I had originally disabled both firewalls, and still no connection.
>
> What I did was return to Ms. Bowman's article (which I went over
> painstakingly many times previously) and notice that I was trying to
> duplicate her directions using the manufacturer's wireless software /
> connection manager.
>
> When I reverted both PC's back to Wireless Zero Configuration I could step
> through things and get them to work magically. I am amazed at how easy
> Windows makes this considering how difficult it was for me to try and tinker
> out a solution 'manually'.
>
> Thank you for your reply,
> Elliott.
>
> "Lem" wrote:
>> Have you checked for firewalls in both computers? See
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...02april08.mspx
>>

Glad you got it sorted. Windows is kinda like Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow's little girl: http://www.bartleby.com/59/6/therewasalit.html