i was in the mtb forum section for ASUS a7n8x deluxe and noticed a quib previous forum link

unfortunately, i did not enable 3com b4 installing xpp...
i am having troubles setting up a home network with shared internet
is there a way for me to fix the 3com problem, or might the problem be elsewhere? realtek on the laptop? d-link switch?

How is your network setup & what are you trying to do ?

The machine with the a7n8x is the one you want to use as gateway I presume.

Do you have a cable modem plugged to the LAN port or an aDSL modem/router ?

Yes, i'm trying to set-up shared internet/small home network through Asus A7n8x as the gateway via onboard (3com LAN/1394)MAC miniport bridge to d-link switch; onboard nvidia to cable internet modem
thank you for your quick response, sorry i wasn't more explicit
whenever i have xpp set up my home network it bridges the noninternet connections together...

Ok so I take it the 3Com card is connected to a hub/switch & is acting as a DHCP server.

What makes you think that the card doesn't work ? Your laptop can't get an IP from the Gateway machine ?

If your switch happens to be a router, connect both PC and laptop to the router (LAN-ports), connect your internet to the WAN-port. Then setup your router as per manual, enabling DHCP. Your PC/laptop network TCP/IP settings should be set to: obtain IP automatically and obtain DNS automatically.

I have cable internet. The Nvidia nForce MCP Networking Adapter is shared and connected to the cable modem. The 3Com_Integrated_Fast_Ethernet_Controller and 1394_Connection have a MAC_miniport_Bridge which connects to the DLink switch the other computers connect to the switch as well, my tower has been set up to be connected to the internet and share, the other puters connect through a residential gateway/My_tower computer... i disabled look up LMHosts and netBios as per the XP security tweaks but auto DNS and IP is still enabled

There was a post about 3com not working well if not installed during XP install here

The laptop can connect directly to the internet, but not when i try networking

It's not that the 3Com NIC should be installed during the XP install, it's just that it's better to not deactivate it in the BIOS before installing then reactivating it after the XP install is done.

Open a command prompt on your laptop & type ipconfig.

For IP adress, you should have something like 192.168.0.x if you using the Windows Internet COnnection Sharing on the Gateway machine. Do you have that ?

PS. What does the 1394 connection have to do with the network ?

yes the bridge on my laptop says it has an address, XPP decided that my Realtek_LAN and 1394_net_adapter should be bridged during the set-up wizard for small bizness/home network to connect to a 'local_gateway'/nother_puter == my tower...
as far as i'm concerned 1394 is nothing to me, i have tried getting rid of the bridge and letting the Realtek_LAN act on its own as my internet connection, and as the connection to another computer, and etc...

sorry i have to cut this short, my 10 month old son needs attention

ipconfig can also be gui accessed by right_click=status... support_tab on my connection right?

ipconfig gives the same information as using the ouse right click/status tab==support, info == ip address

This 1394-stuff confuses the hell out of me. What does a firewire port do with internet?

As I said before, if your switch is a router,.....
If not, get one (with NAT and Firewall and VPN). I would make life a lot easier for you.

To me at least, your way of (trying to) set up, makes no sense at all.

Aside from the 1394 connection, the rest makes sense.

I'll try to go step by step with ouy on how to share the connection.

On the a7n8x machine, right-click on Network Neighbourhood & choose properties.

Right click the nVidia lan connection & choose properties. In TCP/IP settings, choose obtain an IP adress automatically & obtain DNS server adresses automatically. Now click on the SHARING tab & tick "Activate Internet COnnection Sharing" for this connection. You will then have a message saying that the other LAN connection ( the 3Com one thus ) will be configured with a static IP adress ( 192.168.0.1 ) & it will serve as a DHCP server.

Now, your laptop, which is connected to the 3Com NIC ( through the DLink ) switch should be configured as such :

Obtain an IP Adress automatically & Obtain DNS server adress automatically. Reboot the laptop, launch a command prompt & type ipconfig.

You should have :

IP Adress : 192.168.0.2
Netmask : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway : 192.168.0.1

Do you have that ?

Ethernet adapter Nvidia on the tower connected to internet
Connection-Specific DNS Suffix: snbrca.adelphia.net
IP Address.........:67.20.72.254
Subnet Mask......:255.255.255.0
Default Gateway:67.20.72.1

Ethernet adapter 3Com on the tower connected to DLink Switch
Connection-Specific DNS Suffix:
Autoconfiguration IP Address:169.254.203.141
Subnet Mask.........................:255.255.0.0
Default Gateway:

!!!!!!!!! so should i put the default gateway for
Ethernet adapter Realtek on the Laptop connected to DLink switch
Connection-Specific DNS Suffix:
IP Address.........:169.254.193.87
Subnet Mask......:255.255.0.0
Default Gateway:

to be 169.254.203.141 ?

problem fixed, i was "borrowing" a switch from a brother-in-law who in turn was borrowing it from his friend, it may have been faulty and not working right, SO i shelled out for a router and i am all good, besides now i don't have to worry too much about the other computers around me now that they aren't networked together