Win 98 Netgear FA311 Road Runner not working

[Tach55speedup]

I have 3 computers at home. One is WINXP one is WIN2000 and the third is Win 98se. I have successfully connected the Win2000 and XP pro computers and can share files and access the internet with them. Now I am trying to add the Win 98se computer. I am using Road Runner for internet access and originally set it up on this WIn98se computer using the USB drivers to connect to the USB port of the Surfboard 4100 cable modem. I am now trying to install a NIC (netgear FA311) and add this WIN98 computer to the network I have now with the other two computers. I am having a heck of a time getting the darn thing to work right.

here's what I have so far:
1. The lights are on at the router and the NIC
2. I see the computer listed in the router setup page. It sees the computer's name and the IP and the MAC address.
3. I tried the NIC in my XP machine and it worked fine (didn't have to install any drivers it just worked automatically).
4. When I run winipcfg I notice that at the top of the fully expanded view it list the Host name and the DNS servers. In the Host name it is the name of the computer and then it has the .rr.com added to it. Then DNS servers are the Road Runner servers. Down under gateway it has the IP of the router and its own IP address is correct too. So it must be communicating with the router. I can't figure out where it is getting the Host name info (obviously the computer name I put in but the road runner domain name is what I am confused about) . I have searched the registry and all over the computer to find where it is using the road runner DNS servers and host name. I suspect that when I first had the USB drivers installed when I use to have it connected directly to the Cable modem with the usb cable that it somehow installed and setup the host name and the DNS info. I don't know where to go to delete this.I assume that I should delete this.

I have tried to reinstall the card in all the other slots and have re-installed the network components (although it seems like it is not quite right. It has TCPIP by itself and the Network adapter is by itself without the arrow connecting them together. It shows the bindings in the bindings tab but in the list it does not show the connecting arrow between the adapter and the protocol. Anyway I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what to try next. I am dying to reformat the damn thing and install Win XP pro on it but I don't have the money for even an OEM copy of it right now. So I am hoping to get this to work with the present software.

Thank you (even if you can't help I appreciate that you have at least read the whole message.)

-Tach55

[JackMDS]

You are mixing too many things together.

The problem seems to stem from the Win98 Network settings not from the FA311.

Road Runner DNS and any thing related to the Internet should be part of the equation after you have a functional Network.

Your three computers should be able to Network between them through the Router’s Switch regardless of the Internet or RR. The computers IPs are provided by the Router's DHCP not RR.

Log onto this page you will find a collection of links that will help you to find where the trouble comes from.

Link: Basic Networking. (http://www.ezlan.net/basic.html)

.

[Tach55speedup]

Well I got it working. I am not sure what did it but I have suspicions it was related to Zone Alarm. I had not connected with that computer for about a year and had disabled the startup of zone Alarm in the msconfig under startup. The reality was that certain components were still present I think and probably prohibited access in or out because it detected that Zone Alarm had stopped.

Well anyway I removed Zone Alarm and reinstalled the NIC yet again. I removed all the drivers and followed a very specific procedure from the Netgear website and when I booted back up I once again installed the drivers. Then after it restarted I went to winipcfg and released and renewed. The DNS came up as the ip of my router and not Road Runner (which is what was still in the system from before and it never got rid of it despite releases) I then found that I was good to go.

One final question. I successfully connect to this machine (WIN98)and access the shared folder. I get asked for username and password and I just use the same one that I use for that PC and I'm in. But going the other way from the WIN 98se PC to the WinXPpro it asks for a password only. I don't know how to setup this password. My Win2000 PC connects to the XP PC and it asks for username and password. But the Win98 machine is only asked for a password. So how do I give access or create a user for this Win98 PC? I am just interested in sharing a printer.

Thank you