Ethernet Hookup

I asked a while ago if using two ethernet cards would work. One of them going to the cable modem, and the other going to the Empeg. People told me it would work, but i seem to be having trouble.

The system recognized the second ethernet card, and in XP, it shows it in the system tray, but the second connection will not respond. When i hook it up to the Empeg using a crossover cable, it doesnt' pick it up.

The reason i'm doing this is because i don't have a hub or anything, and it would be difficult setting that up at my house, Currently, everytime i want to synch with the Empeg, i lose internet. I want to be able to do both at the same time.

You are going to need a crossover cable to hook up to the empeg if you are not going to use a hub.....

My bad, going off to learn how to read....

What IP Address/Netmask do you have set on your PC and what are the settings on your Empeg?

Are you using DHCP to configure the Empeg?

Is it getting an address successfully (Check the About screen)?

-Geoff

I am using DHCP to configure the empeg. Thing is, the empeg works fine with the original ethernet card, it recognized it and everything. But when i hook anything (Empeg or DSL) into the second ethernet card, it doesn't recognize it, it just shows the red X over the icon in system tray. I don't understand why it won't accept anything.

If it was Win98 I would say it's because the card isn't woring right, probably has a conflict with something else. But I know very little about XP. There should be a way to get into System through Control Panel to check.

A little red X usually means it isn't plugged in...

Go to a DOS prompt and type in "ipconfig /all"
Your second interface should be in there somewhere

- Trevor

it's probally having issues getting a ip address when your cable modem is on the network as well. That is probally DHCP and configuring your PC, but not assigning an address to the empeg. Speculation...but can you go to the menu on the empeg and pick the about option, then rotate the knob to get it to scroll down. What does it say in the section with IP address and subnet mask?

Your computer isn't likely configured to route DHCP requests and/or perform NAT (network address translation). On top of that your ISP may not allow you to lease more than one public IP even if the empeg's DHCP request is getting through.
Set the empeg to a specific (not DHCP) non-routed IP address (something like 192.168.1.2) and also set the secondary NIC (the one connected to the empeg) to not use DHCP and assign it an address in the same subnet (like 192.168.1.1), make the subnet mask on both 255.255.255.0 where applicable.
This in effect creates a private network off the internet inside your house just for your empeg. I'm guessing it should work.

ha, worked and i have no clue what i did. I uninstalled the card, then put it back in. It still didn't work, rebooted, ran Emplode and it found it. I didn't have to mess with DHCP settings or anything. weird.

Ok, this is really weird. It worked for a a couple days just fine. Now, it connects, but it randomly changes its IP address while its connected in Emplode. I connected with the IP 169.254.203.144, then i checked it on the player a few minutes later and it was 169.254.63.5. Obviously, when i synch it doesn't connect cause its at a different IP then when it started. Its still using DHCP to connect.

That would be because 169.254.xxx.xxx addresses are failed DHCP requests. Windows will pick a random address in that range and retry every 3 minutes to contact a DHCP server to retrieve a valid IP. So, if there's no DHCP server to contact, it will just be an endless cycle. If there isn't a specific reason you're using DHCP, i'd recommend setting a static IP.

Ok, so i tried setting the IP of the Empeg to 192.168.0.1, that didn't work. I've also tried what i think Davekirk recommended, and that didn't get it either. If 169.25.xxx.xxx are failed IP requests, how come it connects and lets me synch within 10 minutes of connecting?

little 4 port hubs are under $50, and might make everything easier for you. I'm currently usinga wireless hub w/ built in 4 port hub that only cost $150, And I share my DSL connection via wireless link to my laptop in my bedroom. Never had any connection problems.

What product is that?

My wireless router is a Linksys BEFW11S4, has built in firewall, 4 port switch and DHCP. Has a pretty easy to use web interface to setup the box. It's at most computer stores for $179, but I got mine off ebay for $150. Try doing a search for BEFW11S4

I just looked on ebay for regular 4 port hubs and found them for under $20, but you will need DHCP service running somewhere, possibly a windows server of linux server can do that easily. I used to have a netgear 4 port hub a couple years back in my house and didn't have dhcp running at all and worked fine for me. I was also able to share my dial up connection w/ 2 other computers in the house. Ahww, the good old days.

I've got a BEFW11S4 V2 also, using it now actually I got mine on amazon, new retail box for $155.95. Hmm... I just checked amazon and it seems that they've gone up. However Ajump.com has it for $149 and the WAP11 (just a wireless access point) for $130. I'd definitely stick with the BEFW11S4, for $20 more you get a 4 port 10/100 switch, DSL/Cable router, firewalling, port forwarding, DHCP, etc. Anyway, if all you want is DHCP then it's probably overkill, linux and windows both do DHCP very easily. Although, having DHCP in a little box that doesn't take up power/space is always a good thing. Hey, and you never know when you might go wireless; you can't beat getting all those features for $150. Plus, building your own antenna to get 10+ mile range to hook up to another WAP at a friends house is fun

I'm not helping any, am I? :P