BleepingComputer.com: How can I get an internet connection to work in my new Ubuntu 9.04 PC?

Hi guys,

Due to no answers and help / support at all in my previous posts, I'm reposting everything again in an easy understanding form...

Recently, I've purchased a monitor for my new PC, that came up with an Ubuntu 9.04 preinstalled... and now, I can work on it. But, I don't have an internet connection from it, and don't know how to make it up. The host PC is on Windows XP. I've tried doing internet from Ubuntu PC several / many times on my own... and even got a host, Windows XP PC to crash (was restoring it after).

If someone knows and can help - please, I'll be really appreciated.

Additional info.: PCs are connected directly - one cable switch to a guest, Ubuntu PC, and other switch to a host, Windows XP PC (from one motherboard's LAN to another motherboard's LAN).

P.S. I was maintaining a host, Windows XP PC for more than 10 months... in a tip-top shape (before that crash).

Thx,
rhino1366

Need more info:

Do you have both computers connected to a hub/router or are the NIC cards plugged into each other (i.e.: one cable, each end plugged into the NIC of each PC)?

Are you running a standalone version of Ubuntu or the one that runs from inside Windows (you start Windows to get to Ubuntu)

Do your NIC cards have green LED lights visible on the cards somewhere near the cable plugs when the cables are plugged in?

When you go to a command prompt (in both Windows and Ubuntu [Linux - Terminal prompt]) and type ping localhost do you get something like the following:

Reply from 127.0.0.1 time<1ms

I'm running a standalone version of Ubuntu 9.04, it is installed on my computer as a primary OS.
No hub/router, no NIC cards - just a crossover (or something like that) cable plugged in each of computers' motherboard LAN ports.
Main / host Windows XP PC's cable modem has a LAN port... maybe I should plug the cable there?
About ping: all I could remember, is that each computer was sending "packages" to another, but wasn't receiving anything. Ubuntu PC's connection was displayed as connected, and Windows XP host PC's ethernet connection was displayed as active (again, no data was received).

That's all for now.
Hope it's enough informative.

Thx,
rhino1366

Edite: What's a NIC cards?

This post has been edited by rhino1366: 22 November 2009 - 03:03 AM

1 hour past... any suggestions?

Thx,
rhino

Unless one of the computer's is acting as the gateway, I think you'll need a switch or router to connect the two.

By saying gateway, you mean an access from a new Ubuntu computer to the internet through a main / host Windows XP one? Yes, it is so...

My questions:

1. Where to plug the other side of a cable, that leads from a new Ubuntu PC? To a main / host computer's LAN port on a motherboard, or to a LAN port of the cable modem?
2. Everything will be set automatically, or I'll need to input the parameters manually?

Please, explain everything in details and in a short step-by-step instructions, that is easy to understand.

P.S. I also need a share of files between the computers.

Thanks in advance,
rhino1366

Edit: Host computer works, by USB connection with a cable modem, so both, mobo's and modem's LAN ports are free. It is a DOCSIS 2.0 cable plugged into a modem to provide the internet.
Edit2: Please, give an answers faster. My computer is without critical security updates and can't work properly without an internet connection... this situation stills for about 4 days.

This post has been edited by rhino1366: 22 November 2009 - 05:31 AM

I need to make sure I understand what you're trying to do:

Do you want to connect the XP machine directly to the Ubuntu machine via a crossover cable hooked up to each computers LAN cards, or do you want to share an Internet connection your XP machine is using via a cable modem with the Ubuntu computer and you DO NOT have a hub/router to connect through?

There are steps you can use to do either, but I need to be sure I understand what you're attempting.

Now - a little tutorial on networking:

For computers to share information, you need three things:

• A network card or physical device you can use to transfer information to and from a computer
  
• A cable - such as an ethernet cable used to network your computers to a central device
  
• A device - such as a hub or router used to connect the signals sent by each computer to a device with the ability to transfer the signals sent to the correct destination

Since you mention you have a cable modem, you have an incoming signal (called bandwidth) from the outside world. Bandwidth is a series of electrical pulses (known as either analog or digital) which carry information from a sender to its destination. In order for your computer to process the incoming signals, your cable modem transfers the signals via an ethernet cable to the NIC (Network Interface Card) on your computer. The information is then processed by software installed to control the operation of the NIC and transferred to the appropriate destination (i.e.: your web browser).

In order to connect your two computers together without a hub/router - you need to connect the crossover cable ends (called RJ-45 connectors or "jacks") to the LAN connectors in the NIC cards. You then need to do the following:

• You need to set the IP Addresses on each NIC card to a static number. In this example, set one to 192.168.2.2 and the other to 192.168.2.3
  
• You need to set the Subnet Mask on each card to the same setting - 255.255.255.0
  
• You need to set a default gateway address to get the computers to talk to each other. Set this to 192.168.2.2

You then need to ping the computers to see if you can communicate with each one. Type ping 192.168.2.2 and see if you get a reply like I told you about before. Then ping 192.168.2.3 and you should get the same response.

If your doing something other than connecting the XP machine to the Ubuntu machine via a crossover cable, then we need to do something different. Let me know if this is the case. If your not sure how to set the IP address for your computer in either XP or Ubuntu, use the following as a guide:

For Windows XP:
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_configure_my_s...ip_address.html

For Ubuntu:
http://www.etuts.resourcesit.com/2009/09/2...ress-on-ubuntu/