Hey all,
I plan to have a LAN party with my friends next week. There are three of us. I have a hub. we have one PC and 2 laptops. The operating systems are Win XP,ME, 98. Will it make a difference.?? Can i connect all three event though no two have the same OS??

Dear nakulgupta,

My personal experience is: YES

When I hear you talk about a LAN party,
I suppose that it is for gaming...

Well, all games written for the Windows32 platforms use the Microsoft DirectX libraries to support multi-play.

And DirectX - since Windows 95 - provides for multi-play in different ways, including LAN.

(Also for 2 players with a null-modem cable on the COM serial ports)

Greetings,
John.

Yup all of them can connect as long as TCP/IP and/or NetBeui protocols are installed on all of them. Make sure their computer names are different though or else there'll will be a namign conflict.

Thanks a ton...hope someone's on IRC if i have a problem

What about the connection??? Is there a need to uses the UP-LINK slot in the hub??
Also what about the Configuring the IP-Address .. Is there a need to configure or can set to DCHP settings ..

Config the IP addy is not needed Usually (Depending on the HUB type) it config's it automatically (I host TONS of LAN partys for CS, Star Craft, Diablo 2, Lineage, Anarchy Online, and the list goes on) and the computers should be able to connect to eachother just fine, so you shoulden't need any thing extra, it should have all that is needed right there aslong as you have CAT-5 cables, A crossover cable (For I-Net access, an I-net CAT-5, and finnaly the HUB which you said you had.

have fun at the lan party.

i am not exactly sure if this will work with windows 98 but i have done it with xp and me....you can set up a home or small office network on your xp machine...open wizard choose other, then network with no internet connection...and choose a network name and your machines name...then insert your xp disk into your me machine and when it autoplays...select preform other operations....and set up small or home office network...do the same thing as you did with your xp machine but change the computers name so its different from other machines...restart both computers...and your network should work

but again...i havent done this with 98 yet...but i have with me, xp, 2000 and 2003 server....and it works great...

dunno if i'm to late or not:
set one computer's ip fixed. like 192.168.0.1.
best a xp pro, 2000, or 2003 one. xp home should work too. dunno about 95/98
then connect all of them to the hub. the other computers should get an ip address in the 192.168.0.x range now. should work like a charm.

microscopic^earthling said everything
I suggest you to setup your network as DHCP, then you don´t need to set your own IP.
Actully, don´t install too much protocols in your system.

Also make sure you and your friends bring TONS of lan cables. I once went to a lan and we didn't have enough. Had to drive home and get some. But have fun with yours!