CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

Zebu Fellenz · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567

Here's a problem for you experts to figure out for me. Thumbs Up

We have a wireless network in the house with a few PC's and my iMac connected. I am using an Airport Extreme to extend this wireless network to the shop where the HTPC and theater are.

It is "somewhat working" I can get on the HTPC and see the other computers in the house, running Windows 7, or Windows XP, I can also see my iMac. I can access these machines fine from the HTPC but there is no Internet connection on the HTPC, anyone have any guesses as to what could be going on?

I have a Thinkpad with XP on it also in the theater. I will try this and see if the result is any different.

Thanks,

Erik

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale

sounds like routing. you can reach the other machines in your house because they are on your local network. but you don't have the correct gateway set to let your HTPC reach other machines outside your house.

if, in a CMD window, you type the command "ipconfig" you should see a default gateway set.

Zebu Fellenz · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567

Zaphod,

I just tried what you suggested.

The gateway is 192.168.1.1 and if I ping it from a PC inside the house it works fine, doing the same thing in the shop comes up with a time out, and a 100% loss of data sent.

However when I do the "ipconfig" on a PC in the shop the gateway comes up as 192.126.1.1 just like it does in the house, it just fails when I try to ping it.

Any ideas on what I can do to resolve this? I will be trenching in a ethernet line this fall, but would like to get something working until the hard line goes in.

Thanks,

Erik

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale

hey Erik,

hmmmm, is there a typo there? you said that the gw is 192.168.1.1 in the house and 192.126.1.1 in the shop

the 192.126.X.X is a different network that 192.168.X.X and that might explain some things...

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale

okay, i've tried to find the docs on the apple site and like i suspected, the airport can hand out IP addresses (is a DHCP server).

if there is no typo above, then what i suspect is that you have two networks - one is on the apple side that gives out addresses in the 192.126.X.X range and then the other set of addresses (192.168.X.X) in the house.

the airport, is attached to both networks. 1) it's own wireless net and 2) the house network it's plugged into

so, since the airport sees both networks, it will bridge the two and let the info move between the two. but the airport itself cannot reach the outside world because it does not have a gateway set. because it can't see the internet, neither can stuff on the wireless net.

how to solve? i'd start by turning off the DHCP services on the airport or your other DHCP server. one server is going to get one network across the house and the shop.

if that doesn't work, i'd try to get a gateway set on the airport.

both of these solutions require that you get onto the gui of the airport.

the last thing i'd try is to get a Dlink or linksys WAP, plug it into the network and away you go Smile

now a lot of this is conjecture, based on what you described, the 2 different net numbers and what i gleened from the minimal docs that apple has on the web site, and not having my sticky claws actually on the network... Smile

Zebu Fellenz · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567

zaphod · Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Posts: 2002 Location: Cloverdale

well, that blows that theory Smile

but i would still check the airport express settings for those things - only 1 dhcp server on your net and is it a bridge or a router? if the airport is a router then you need to set the gateway on the shop PC to be the airport.