# Networked computers can ping IP but not name



## wolvenbane (May 3, 2010)

Greetings all, and before I go too far THANK YOU in advance for any help I receive. I'm extremely frustrated at this point so forgive me for going off topic.

I am trying to network two computers to share internet access as well as files and a printer. I had ICS working until Saturday when my crossover cable died. 

So I have installed a nice switch and am using straight cables (checked the documentation on the box to make sure I didn't have to use crossovers) to connect the two computers. The two computers can ping each other by IP but not by name, and they cannot see each other in My Network Places.

Comp 1 - Laptop - Win XP Pro SP2 - Host for wireless broadband (EVDO)
Comp 2 - Desktop - Win XP Pro SP3 - Connects through lappy

Steps I've taken on both computers:
Run the network setup wizard. (Turned off antivirus while it ran)
Ensure they are both on the same workgroup (I called it HOME).
Disabled Win Firewall and turned off Zone Alarm completely.
Guest account is enabled.
ICS is enabled on the normal connection - wireless broadband - but not on the e-net. It was working correctly with this setting pre-switch.
TCP/IP protocol seems to be functioning correctly.
Checked all services are running (COM+, DHCP, etc) and automatic.
Made sure File & Printer Sharing is enabled.
Made sure shared folders are marked as shared.
Licked all ethernet cords. Just kidding - making sure you're still with me.

I just can't figure out what the problem is. The computers can ping each other by IP address (192.168.0.x) with no packet loss. If I try to ping by computer name it fails. And like I said they can't see each other on the network.

I really want to share the internet connection most of all. As long as that works I can put up with USB drive transfers for files and printing.

Thanks all!


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## Dave Atkin (Sep 4, 2009)

Hi there,

If you can ping an IP address but not the name it normally suggests that you have a DNS problem. Are they both on DHCP or static addresses? What have you set your DNS IP Address to? 

To share the internet access have you bridged the wireless and wired network connections?

Cheers


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## wolvenbane (May 3, 2010)

The IP addresses are manually configured for the network. For the host it's 192.168.0.1 and for the client it's 192.168.0.3. I haven't set the DNS at all though; not sure how to do that.

I have not bridged the wireless broadband with the local network connection. I hadn't had them bridged before when the connection was sharing properly.

I think this may not be the problem though - just a symptom of a larger problem. I got an error yesterday "generic host process for win 32 has encountered an unexpected error and needs to shut down" and all traffic (net & lan) shut down. I'm going to research this error first, try to fix it, then will get back to fixing ICS.

It would be nice to stay one step ahead though. If you could post some info on DNS please - how to configure / what it should probably be - I'd appreciate it.


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## Dave Atkin (Sep 4, 2009)

You configure the DNS in the same place as you do the IP address. For a home network the Primary DNS Server is normally the router.


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