Networking Help Please (read: smart people enter)

[Roranora]

Okay.. like a lot of threads in this section, who better is there to turn to than BG in various times of need, right?

I know little about networking but I cannot connect to Xbox Live now without disconnecting my PC's internet and vice versa. I'm pretty sure my Xbox (not 360) is using the same IP as my computer. (1.. Is that a logical/fitting problem? and 2.. How do I fix that?) I had previously had both working simultaneously before, but one day when my XBL wouldn't connect, I called Microsoft and they had me enter my MAC address into my Xbox, which connects it fine, but at the cost of disconnecting my PC. Before I was told to enter my MAC address, dicking around with shit like someone who has no idea what he is doing, I changed the network settings on my Xbox to manual and entered all the IP/DNS nonsense in my computer's connection details into my Xbox. Yes, even the exact same IP on my computer, but now I can't clear it. I can only change it back to Automatic from Manual, but it won't let me clear the IP field and other fields. =/

Other possibilities? Shitty modem? Ethernet Switch going bad? I don't have a router, but I've 2boxed countless hours of FFXI on PC/PS2 using this same switch. And, my computer has no problem sharing the wireless wifi thingie for my DS Lite/Wii as of a few days ago, but I can't fix my Xbox. ; ;

Thanks in advance if anyone can help me fix this.

[Devek]

What type of internet do you have?

A lot of dsl connections these days require the use of modems that use "sticky bits". If the sticky bit comes loose it will prevent you from putting more than one device behind it because of CPU calibration issues.

[Roranora]

basic cable internet.. Cox if it matters, which is clearly why I'm reluctant to call them.. they'll just tell me I need to buy a new modem from them and try to sell me some bigger plan, where I will doubtfully get any honest, competent help

[Devek]

Oh cable..

I have cable too and lately there have been lots of incorrectly configured static routes on the corerouters.

Not much you can do about it I am afraid besides switch to DSL.

[Roranora]

Why would my PS2 connect fine without disconnecting my PC?

[Sigi]

The issue is that you have two systems trying to access your router from the same IP address.

On your PC, WITH the Xbox active, go to start, run, command.

type the following:

ipconfig /release <press Enter>
ipconfig /renew <press Enter>

If your router is setup to act as the DHCP server for your network, should resolve your issue.

[Roranora]

I tried that Sigi.. no-go. I don't have a router though, just a modem and a switch (hub).

[Devek]

Now this is in the proper forum I won't troll you anymore

Anyway.. while your cable modem is technically a bridge your cable company has gone through great lengths to insure you only plug one device into it. There are only so many publicly available IP addresses out there and you are only paying for one of them.

You have to buy a router and that is that. FFXI doesn't work well behind a router so you kind of have to get lucky and buy one that works well for it The only one that is cheap and I can confirm that is great for FFXI and other games is the Linksys wrt54gl and that will cost you about $40-$60 which isn't bad. If you get the more expensive Linksys wrt54gs you'll be crying and wondering why it takes a few seconds longer to zone in than you are used to. What appears to be two slightly different models of the same brand make that big of a difference... one has 32 megs of ram on it the other doesn't

[Sigi]

for the record, Linksys has had a tendency of sucking severely. Belkin has been very good (at least for my tendencies ) Get a router, hubs are a no-no unless you buy another IP from your cable provider (read: $$$).

PS, when you say switch, do you mean an actual switch or a hub? if it's a full switch, there might be a way to work around it... it escapes my memory, but some switches have a way to mimic a router's functionality (what, it's been six years since I've worked on a switch!). Consult the documentation, might give you a head's up. If it's just a hub, no dice.

[Kimiko]

Ahhhh, Cox you say? Unfortunatly they won't be able to help you setting up your router/hub/switch since it's outside their allowable support boundaries. Though, one idea I can think of is to shutdown everything (computer, XBOX, switch, modem), then call up tech support and have them reprovision the modem for you. Once that's done, bring up the modem, then the switch, and lastly the computer (they won't troubleshoot the XBox either). If that doesn't work, and the tech support guy doesn't suck ass, he should be able to least determine where the fault lies from there.

Also, check what IP address your getting. If your getting a 169 or a 192, bypass the switch then do ipconfig /release & /renew first. If that doesn't work, hard reset the computer and the modem. If it's still locked or it gives you a DHCP error while renewing, you most likely need a TCP/IP stack reset which requires advanced techs to do.

edit: And yes... I do work for them. /wrist

[Furtwangler]

I had a problem with my Linksys about 3 months ago, got this. Given , its a bit more pricey but it'll hold up longer than probably any model the Linksys makes.

[Phizzy]

Simple fix.

Buy a pci ethernet card or maybe your pc has 2 already on it or you have an extra pci ethernet card laying around.

Assuming you are running xp go to Network Devices(can be found in control panel) Click the ethernet device that contects to modem. Go to properties last tab Enable internet connection sharing.

Now you will need a crossover(4 pins reversed) cat5(ethernet) cable to connect directly to your xbox or hub.

Basically could be 20-30 bucks cheaper if not free depending on what types of computer parts are laying around your house or friend resources.

That's how I network my 2 pc's together mostly because it was free since I have lots of cat5 cables & 2x ethernet onboard on my motherboard.

Hub just spilts the connection & doesn't work well connected directly to a cable modem.

[Koga]

edit: And yes... I do work for them. /wrist

Where are you working at?
I work for them too

[Devek]

Since both of you work for cox..

What is up with the constant 2 min here and there outages every day now?

The modem is up.. it can drive traffic.. I can even hear the broadcasts from the 20000000000000000000 other people on my segment... I can ping my gateway..

Something wrong deep down the line. Cox's Internet got really gay when they raised our download speeds the last time, it is obvious they can't provide that type of service at all.

Anyway.. I don't see why you guys are trying to play the brand game. As I said.. it depends on the model. There are models of every brand out there that will total fail for ffxi and gaming in general so saying "get X brand" is really a bad idea. All you can do for people is to say "I used X model and I never get d/c and I zone instantly without r0"