limited connectivity error - LAN connection - IP address problem

[dbarkley]

I have an ethernet connection using a realtek network card which all tests say is working okay.
I am trying to setup a direct connection to a laptop.
The LAN status says "Limited Connectivity" and I cannot see the other computer in network places.
Using the repair IP address from the status window does not work.
When I look in Administrative Tools/System/Event Viewer ..

I get the message
"Your computer has automatically configured the IP address for the Network Card with network address 00400554B0F3. The IP address being used is 169.254.75.253."
I have read through this forum and tried various things like ipconfig renew/refresh from the CMD line; and the 'netsh winsock reset catalog' suggestion.
I have tried turning off firewalls, and checked that automatic assign IP addresses is correct in the connection settings.

It seems as if 'something' is setting an IP address (as above) .. but I cannot find it ..
Any help would be much appreciated ..
thx, Della

 

[zephead]

what do you mean "direct connection"? if you want to connect your computer with another, your best bet is a router.

 

[dbarkley]

what do you mean "direct connection"? if you want to connect your computer with another, your best bet is a router.

thx zephead .. we have actually had a 2 pc network (direct cable ethernet) operating okay for quite a while, but I always used IPX or NetBui before .. since moving to XP I havent investigated these, just trying to use TCP/IP. Also we do not share an internet connection (ICS) .. as we both have dialup modems and separate internet connections.
Della

 

[Samstoned]

are you both on the same workgroup?
also check permissions ?

 

[dbarkley]

are you both on the same workgroup?
also check permissions ?

yes .. same workgroup .. but I cannot get that far to even see the other computer.

Also .. the other computer .. the laptop .. when we connect it (same setup, ethernet LAN) to another laptop .. can see the network, groups and shared folders okay, so we reckon we have the network setup options right ..

 

[Nodsu]

Both computers should have their IP addresses set automatically by Windows (169....) or set manually. Turn off all firewalls, make sure both computers are in the same workgroup.

 

[DelJo63]

all computers on the same physical subnet need to have ip addresses in common
meaning the first three numbers in aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd are the same and are different only in the ddd portion.
In addition, the subnet mask must be alike or ensure that some ip addresses are not excluded
Typical subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 or sometime 255.255.254.0
Usually, there's a gatway address; a target which is used to send packets out
of this machine and hopefully towards the other machine.

For all machines, use the Run->cmd and enter

ipconfig /all​

You should have similar results on all machines, so look for major differences eg: gateway on one is 0.0.0.0 or not shown while other have non-zeros,
or ip address on one start 169.254 another starts with 192.168

The 169.254.y.z addresses are pecuilar

ms article comments on auto-config:
example : IP-address assigned via Auto-IP-Configuration :
Windows IP Configuration
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Autoconfiguration IP Address.. . . : 169.254.4.69
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . :

 

[dbarkley]

thank you

thanks to everybody for your help and suggestions.
And the answer is:

I had some problems last year with virus/worms and went into Administrative Services and disabled everyhting I wasn't using .. now I have enabled everything again .. (particularly IPSec) and my network is working .. now all I have to do is work out what can be disabled ..
thanks again for the help ..
Della