LAN help

[grooveattack]

ok easy question. How on earth do i make a LAN network between two macs? i have got a cable plugged into them both but nothing is happening. Just wanted to play a game, thats all.

 

[saMac]

should work

what you're doing should work - make sure you haven't specified any tcp/ip setting for either mac besides DHCP. when they connect, they'll negotiate private IPs.

alternatively, you could specify your own ip settings for both macs. Preferences>>Network>>Ethernet>>Advanced>>TCP/IP

 

[grooveattack]

we have done that but when we go into the game to start a LAN game it wont work. just cant seem to find the game. the game is Age of Empires 3: the asian dynasty.

 

[ebel3003]

I believe you might need to use a crossover cable, rather than a regular patch cable. I may be mistaken though. Alternatively you could use a switch.

 

[misterredman]

I believe you might need to use a crossover cable, rather than a regular patch cable. I may be mistaken though. Alternatively you could use a switch.

Not if you are useing intel macs. At least this is what apple says here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2274

OP: does the cable connection get detected? i mean does the ethernet connection shows up as connected in the Network Pref panel? That would exclude a cable problem at least.
Then you should check which IP addresses each mac has: are they on the same subnet? Are the IP the same except the last number?

 

[ebel3003]

Not if you are useing intel macs. At least this is what apple says here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2274

OP: does the cable connection get detected? i mean does the ethernet connection shows up as connected in the Network Pref panel? That would exclude a cable problem at least.
Then you should check which IP addresses each mac has: are they on the same subnet? Are the IP the same except the last number?

That's good to know. Thanks.

 

[grooveattack]

OP: does the cable connection get detected? i mean does the ethernet connection shows up as connected in the Network Pref panel? That would exclude a cable problem at least.
Then you should check which IP addresses each mac has: are they on the same subnet? Are the IP the same except the last number?

yeah it gets detected, but it will only say 'connected' if i type in an ip address. not that that seems to make a difference. and we made sure we are using different addresses too.
oh and how do i know when it is working? i have never done it before.

 

[misterredman]

Just to be sure, it is usually better to have the IPs differ only in the last number (e.g. 192.168.0.20 and 192.168.0.21 or similar).

You should try pinging the address of the other mac to see if the connection is really working:

ping 192.168.0.20

from the terminal ( of course use the address of the other mac after the ping)

or use the Network Utility app found in tha Applications/Utility folder.

 

[saMac]

Here is an article that might help. i haven't read it all, but it looks pretty intelligible and step-by-step.

**edit: i just looked at it more closely. it sucks, nevermind. move along. the one suggestion it has is to turn on File Sharing.

 

[grooveattack]

this is what the system prefs says, they are exactly the same on both computers apart from the other comps ip addy is: 169.254.42.72

any ideas?