home IT help

I got a new netbook and want to use the DVD/CD drive from my laptop to load programs onto it. I set up a network via the wizard and the computers see eachother but all I can access are the shared folders. How can I access the laptop drives from the netbook? Ithe computers are hooked up together via a cable that came with a router. Cause that's all I've got. And since they see eachother I figure I must be able to work this out. Thanks in advance!

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So they are plugged straight into each other? And not into the router?

You need to share the optical drive on the existing lappy. Double click on my computer, then right-click on the drive and click on sharing. Let the wizard guide you from there.

I figured with only the 2 computers a straight connection would be easier. I'm not sharing internet on them. Just want to dump info from big laptop to small netbook. I'll give that a try. And thanks!

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It recognizes the drive. But as a folder. And when I insert an audio CD it pulls the tracks as 1KB rather than the whole track. ?

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Nevermind the main laptop reads it the same. But I can't get the tracks to play on the netbook.

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The network icon claims limited or no connectivity yet the net book and see the laptop. And can recognize the CD drive. And can show the audio files. But can not access them.

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I think part of the problem is that on the laptop the CD drive is D: and the netbook also has a D: for a harddrive. Do I change that in the bios?

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Once you've shared you're cdrom on the other laptop try mapping it on the other laptop and change its drive name.

Got it mapped and it shows up as its own drive now (z:). But still won't read from the audio disc in the drive. It recognizes the drive. Says there are audio files but won't play them.

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I've been playing around with IP addresses. Is that something that needs to be set to anything specific?
And subnet masks? I have IP on both set to 10.10.10.1 and mask to 255.255.255.0.

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Scratch that. Laptop is set to 10.10.10.1. Net book is 100.10.10.1.

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Well, let's start here at the beginning...

I don't think that you can "stream" audio from a CD drive on one PC and play it on another PC. Never tried it, don't think it will work.

Normally when you have two PC's (I'll use the term PC here to mean PC / laptop / server, basically anything except the router / modem) connected with only a cable, you need it to be a crossover cable, which is wired differently. Switches (usually expensive ones) are auto-sensing, which means they can use either type of cable, but typically for a PC - PC connection, you need a cross over cable. I'm actually surprised, especially considering the next part...

Your IP address / subnet mask need to be similar. Easy way is to make the subnet mask 255.255.255.0, and then the IP addresses have to be the same for the first three numbers, such as 192.168.1.10 and 192.168.1.11. DON'T make the last octet .1 or .255 or higher, and you will be fine.

If you plug both PC's into the router, you shouldn't have to worry about the IP address or the cables you have (which are almost assuredly straight cables, not cross over).

Either way, you need to test connectivity. Start by opening a DOS window on both machines, and don't close it. Hit your windows key plus R. In the dialogue box, type in CMD and hit enter. If you don't have a Win key, then look for "command prompt" somewhere on your start menu.

IPConfig will give you your IP information.
Hostname will give you your PC name.
Ping is a connectivity test.
So let's say your two IP's are 192.168.1.10 and .11. From the .10, you would run ping 192.168.1.11, and you would be looking for 4 responses. AS long as you get them, you are OK. After that, you would try pinging the hostname of the other PC, so from PC1, you would type ping PC2. If that doesn't work, then you will have to do everything throught the IP address as your DNS isn't working. If you want to know, look it up, but the router usually handles it.

If everything you told me is true, I'm amazed that it's partially working, but don't use an audio CD. Try to read some sort of a data CD, like an install disk or something...

PIN me if you have more questions. 248A5E17

Originally Posted by JustPlainJef

Well, let's start here at the beginning...

I don't think that you can "stream" audio from a CD drive on one PC and play it on another PC. Never tried it, don't think it will work.

Normally when you have two PC's (I'll use the term PC here to mean PC / laptop / server, basically anything except the router / modem) connected with only a cable, you need it to be a crossover cable, which is wired differently. Switches (usually expensive ones) are auto-sensing, which means they can use either type of cable, but typically for a PC - PC connection, you need a cross over cable. I'm actually surprised, especially considering the next part...

Your IP address / subnet mask need to be similar. Easy way is to make the subnet mask 255.255.255.0, and then the IP addresses have to be the same for the first three numbers, such as 192.168.1.10 and 192.168.1.11. DON'T make the last octet .1 or .255 or higher, and you will be fine.

If you plug both PC's into the router, you shouldn't have to worry about the IP address or the cables you have (which are almost assuredly straight cables, not cross over).

Either way, you need to test connectivity. Start by opening a DOS window on both machines, and don't close it. Hit your windows key plus R. In the dialogue box, type in CMD and hit enter. If you don't have a Win key, then look for "command prompt" somewhere on your start menu.

IPConfig will give you your IP information.
Hostname will give you your PC name.
Ping is a connectivity test.
So let's say your two IP's are 192.168.1.10 and .11. From the .10, you would run ping 192.168.1.11, and you would be looking for 4 responses. AS long as you get them, you are OK. After that, you would try pinging the hostname of the other PC, so from PC1, you would type ping PC2. If that doesn't work, then you will have to do everything throught the IP address as your DNS isn't working. If you want to know, look it up, but the router usually handles it.

If everything you told me is true, I'm amazed that it's partially working, but don't use an audio CD. Try to read some sort of a data CD, like an install disk or something...

PIN me if you have more questions. 248A5E17

Jef WOW! you know your sh!t....

It worked when I didn't have any IP or mask numbers but since adding those it stopped. I could put info into the shared folders from PC1 and then access the shared folder on PC2 and copy it over. I'll have to locate a cross cable as neither of mine are. I do have a router, a linksys wireless, but it was set up years ago and when I plug it in it has my old network name requiring a wpa password I no longer have. No idea how to get around that. But if what I understand from you is right, I should be able to plug both PCs into the router with out needing the cross cable? It was my theory that the only *input* plug on the router would be the one labeled internet and that the other four would be output only as that was the purpose of the router, bring internet in and push it out to other computers. I'll give it a try when I get the time. Thanks Jef!

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Plug both into your home network router and set them both back to DHCP. You CANNOT have two computer with the same IP address and you also have the wrong subnet. For a 10.x.x.x you need 255.0.0.0 not 255.255.255.0

Anyways, once they are both plugged in your problem is that you need to rip the audio tracks to mp3 (or whatever file format you want) -- you cannot just copy and paste the audio tracks.

DHCP? Got me with that one.

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Originally Posted by WillBerry

Jef WOW! you know your sh!t....

It's what I do. Do you know TV's and home theaters???


Gregerator, I haven't heard from you since earlier today, did you get it working?