Help with new wireless network. Please!

[psp02ls]

Hi. Been trying to fix this for days, but nothing's worked yet.

My setup is as follows:

1 laptop with XP home SP2 connected to an adsl speedtouch usb modem providing broadband access. The laptop has a wireless card.

I have a safecom 4 port wireless cable/dsl router (http://safecom.cn/code/sub/category.asp?prdid=28&subcatid=2) sitting in the middle of the house.

I have another 2 laptops both running XP home SP2 with identical wireless cards (Motorola Wireless Notebook Adapter WN825G).


Problem:

2 of the computers can see each other over the network. The other can't. They are all part of the same workgroup (MSHOME). I can only get the laptop with the modem online, despite sharing the connection.

All I want to do, is to allow internet sharing over the wireless network, through the first laptop. The router provides DHCP and NAT, but i'm partly sure this is the problem. I've been trying lots, to no avail. Surely this isn't too difficult? Any advice etc would be greatly received. This is doing my head in. :brickwall

Many thanks in advance.

[psp02ls]

bump

Someone must have a few suggestions? Plz

[FishBoy]

Shouldn't your broadband modem be connected to the wireless router via an ethernet cable? And then the other laptops connect wirelessly to the router to get their internet connectivity? That's the way I've set up all wireless networks in the past...

[psp02ls]

That's what I thought would be the case, but my modem is USB and doesn't allow this. I'm connected to Toucan (a tiscali reseller). Isn't it strange that the first laptop doesn't see any other computers on the network. I can ping to it from others but it just isn't seen in windows. It really is driving me crazy, since it should be simple.

[tizza]

Sounds a bit daft but..

Make sure you turn off zonealarm, nortons etc , all firewalls, then you will be able to connect and see other computers on the network.

Also, are the laptops new? Are you sure they dont already have internal wireless cards in? I made this mistake and now have two pci cards spare!

[Francis]

When you shared the internet connection, the PC normally starts to provide DHCP and NAT services to the other PC's, if your router is also providing these it'll cause problems
Get yourself another ADSL modem (£25-30?) with an ethernet port, connect it to your phoneline and the WAN port on your router.
When you shared the connection on your PC, did your IP settings change? Set them all up with different IP's in the same subnet and the router as your gateway, keep them in the MSHOME workgroup and check that simple file sharing is disabled.