Setting up a wired LAN for 3 computers (offline)

Hi,

I am trying to network 3 computers together for LAN parties at my house (mostly RTS games like Command & Conquer, Age of Empires, etc.). I have been having some issues. Right now I am using a simple switch with each computer connected to by a cat6 ethernet cable. I tried numerous tests by creating network games on age of empires to see if they could recognize each other.

For ease of explanation, we'll call them computer A, computer B, and computer C. Here is what I determined by creating a network game on each computer:


Computer A
Will not recognize computer B
Will recognize computer C

Computer B
Will recognize computer A
Will not recognize computer C

Computer C
Will recognize computer A
Will not recognize computer B


So, computer B is not recognizable, but computer C is not recognizable only by computer B, and computer A is fully recognizable. This is very strange to me. I have tried this with firewalls off and that didn't matter.

Also, the IP addresses on each computer (for TCP/IP v4) are 192.168.1.102, 192.168.1.103, and 192.168.1.104 The computers all have different names and belong to the same workgroup. I have administrator privileges on all of them. All computers are running windows 7 ultimate x86. Computer A is a desktop with up-to-date hardware, Computer B is a 1 year old laptop, and computer C is a ~6 year old desktop.

I tried pinging them. Here is what happened:

Here's what I got from computer A, pinging computer B:

C:\USER\RYANP~1>ping 192.169.1.103
Pinging 192.168.1.103 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.103: bytes=32 time=16ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.103: bytes=32 time=13ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.103: bytes=32 time=10ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.103: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.103:
Packets:Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 7ms, Maximum = 16ms, Average = 11ms

Computer A, pinging computer C, I get the same exact thing.

Computer B, pinging computer A:
C:\USER\RYAN>ping 192.168.1.102

Pinging 192.168.1.102 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.102:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

and again on computer B, pinging computer C

C:\USERS\RYAN>ping 192.168.1.104

Pinging 192.168.1.104 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.103: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.103: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.103: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.103: Destination host unreachable.

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.104: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

Yes that's not a typo. I typed in 192.168.1.104, and it said reply from 192.168.1.103. I'm not quite sure what that means.

Computer C, pinging computer A

C:\USERS\RYAN>ping 192.168.1.102

Pinging 192.168.1.102 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.104: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.104: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.104: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.104: Destination host unreachable.

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.102: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

computer C, pinging computer B

C:\USERS\RYAN>ping 192.168.1.103

Pinging 192.168.1.103 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.104: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.104: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.104: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.104: Destination host unreachable.

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.103: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),



WHAT THE TECH IS GOING ON?!?!

I think the problem is windows 7. I've been having all kinds of problems with it and I"ll try xp on all 3 and report back with the results

All your results, except for one thing say, "You have a firewall turned on." Better check again. The one thing that points to another possible issue is that the ping times on the successful pings are upwards of 16ms. That's utterly ridiculous for a local, wired network. You should only see something like that on a wireless network. That suggests there is a significant network issue, bad switch, bad or incorrectly wired cabling, etc. If things are wired properly and the switch is working properly, ping times will be <1ms consistently in your setup. EDIT: The destination host unreachable message is coming from the machine you are sending the pings from. That is why the reply contains the local IP address. That was the other question you asked. In other words, your computer is telling you that the machine you are trying to ping absolutely does not exist on the network, or is blocked by a firewall.