Wireless connection directly to notebook?

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  • orrinc
    Member
    • Sep 2005
    • 58

    Wireless connection directly to notebook?

    I'm trying to stream music directly from my Dell Inspiron wireless notebook to a wireless Squeezebox2.

    It works with an Ethernet crossover cable, but I can't get them to find each other or connect via wireless!

    Any ideas?

    (I want to be able to use both devices on my home network, but also set them up as a portable music system elsewhere)

    Thanks!

    Orrin
  • Michael Herger
    Babelfish's Best Boy
    • Apr 2005
    • 24308

    #2
    Wireless connection directly to notebook?

    > It works with an Ethernet crossover cable, but I can't get them to find
    > each other or connect via wireless!
    >
    > Any ideas?


    I assume you're using Windows XP, have installed SP2 and therefore the
    firewall up and blocking. Please read the FAQ about how to set up the
    firewall for use with SlimServer:



    I may be completely wrong. But you didn't give any information about your
    system. So I'm only guessing.

    --

    Michael

    -----------------------------------------------------------
    Help translate SlimServer by using the
    StringEditor Plugin (http://www.herger.net/slim/)
    Michael

    "It doesn't work - what shall I do?" - "Please check your server.log and/or scanner.log file!"
    (LMS: Settings/Information)

    Comment

    • orrinc
      Member
      • Sep 2005
      • 58

      #3
      direct wireless connection

      I have all necessary ports enabled in Win XP SP2 Firewall and MacAfee Firewall, and it does work over a direct wired Ethernet (crossover) cable . . . does that not indicate that the network is configured OK?

      Tge FAQ's indicate that a direct PC-to-Squeezebox wireless connection is supported, but do not offer info on how to configure it . . .
      Last edited by orrinc; 2005-09-18, 22:33.

      Comment

      • dean blackketter
        Gadfly, Former Founder Slim Devices
        • Apr 2005
        • 4427

        #4
        Re: Wireless connection directly to notebook?

        In order to connect wirelessly directly to a Squeezebox2, you'll need
        to set up an "ad hoc" network on your Windows machine, then choose
        that with the player setup.


        On Sep 18, 2005, at 1:39 PM, orrinc wrote:

        >
        > I have all ports enabled, and it does work over a direct wired
        > Ethernet
        > (crossover) cable . . .
        >
        >
        > --
        > orrinc
        >

        Comment

        • orrinc
          Member
          • Sep 2005
          • 58

          #5
          Noah: Right! What's an "ad hoc network"?

          Seriously- how do I set that up (so it will still leave normal network connections intact when I'm home)?

          Windows Help defines it, but doesn't tell how to set it up . . .

          Orrin

          Comment

          • MrC
            Senior Member
            • May 2005
            • 1947

            #6
            Ad-hoc simply means "for the special purpose of". An ad-hoc network is one you create at the moment, for example, for two wireless laptops to share data briefly. Contrast this to "infrastructure" mode, which typically means there is an "infrastructure" available that supports wireless accesss - ie. an Access Point (AP). Its a bit of a poor choice of terms.

            You can search Microsoft's XP support articles to find out more about this.

            Here's one for you - search the page for "hoc".

            Microsoft support is here to help you with Microsoft products. Find how-to articles, videos, and training for Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft 365, Windows, Surface, and more.


            You can create as many network configurations (which are simply a group of network-related preferences and settings) as you desire. As long as you don't change your Home network settings, you'll connect just fine when you return home.
            Last edited by MrC; 2005-09-19, 15:02.

            Comment

            • orrinc
              Member
              • Sep 2005
              • 58

              #7
              Well I somehow floundered my way through it and got it to work! That MS info helped, but it wasn't quite how things were . . . it would be nice to have real explicit directions somewhere for some of us!

              It's great to have that feature, though- next time I'm going to a party I can put a nice pair of amplified speakers and the Squeezebox2 box out for music, and play everything off of my notebook while keeping it in a safe place!

              Orrin

              Comment

              • MrC
                Senior Member
                • May 2005
                • 1947

                #8
                orrinc, good to hear you got your setup working. Since it is fresh in your mind, you would be the perfect person to write up a fine set of instructions! I'll be happy to proof-read and give feedback.

                Comment

                • dean blackketter
                  Gadfly, Former Founder Slim Devices
                  • Apr 2005
                  • 4427

                  #9
                  Re: Wireless connection directly to notebook?

                  And put it on the wiki!



                  On Sep 19, 2005, at 2:08 PM, MrC wrote:

                  >
                  > orrinc, good to hear you got your setup working. Since it is fresh in
                  > your mind, you would be the perfect person to write up a fine set of
                  > instructions! I'll be happy to proof-read and give feedback.
                  >
                  >
                  > --
                  > MrC
                  >

                  Comment

                  • orrinc
                    Member
                    • Sep 2005
                    • 58

                    #10
                    I'd love to post the instructions, but it came about through random fumbling- I'm not sure how I finally got it to work, but it was a combination of WinXP network setup and Squeezebox player and server settings . . . It was far from intuitive, and It's not perfect yet- I still have issues trying to switch from "Home Network" mode to "Stand-Alone Noptebook-to-Squeezebox" mode.

                    Also, I seem to get weird IP addresses in "ad-hoc" mode; don't know if this is normal or ????

                    I wish someone who understood Windows networking setup better than I do would write simple instructions for setting up an "ad hoc" wireless network and connecting a notebook and a Squeezebox to it. It doesn't seem to be covered in any of the Windows help I looked at- it's buried somewhere in the network setup wizards!

                    Comment

                    • Jim Dibb
                      Member
                      • Jun 2005
                      • 65

                      #11
                      Re: Wireless connection directly to notebook?

                      The weird IP addresses are the automatic address assignments that are used
                      in adhoc mode. Are they on the 169.x.x.x? That's what I find on my adhoc
                      connections.

                      On 9/26/05, orrinc <orrinc.1vzcqb (AT) no-mx (DOT) forums.slimdevices.com> wrote:
                      >
                      >
                      > I'd love to post the instructions, but it came about through random
                      > fumbling- I'm not sure how I finally got it to work, but it was a
                      > combination of WinXP network setup and Squeezebox player and server
                      > settings . . . It was far from intuitive, and It's not perfect yet- I
                      > still have issues trying to switch from "Home Network" mode to
                      > "Stand-Alone Noptebook-to-Squeezebox" mode.
                      >
                      > Also, I seem to get weird IP addresses in "ad-hoc" mode; don't know if
                      > this is normal or ????
                      >
                      > I wish someone who understood Windows networking setup better than I do
                      > would write simple instructions for setting up an "ad hoc" wireless
                      > network and connecting a notebook and a Squeezebox to it. It doesn't
                      > seem to be covered in any of the Windows help I looked at- it's buried
                      > somewhere in the network setup wizards!
                      >
                      >
                      > --
                      > orrinc
                      >

                      Comment

                      • orrinc
                        Member
                        • Sep 2005
                        • 58

                        #12
                        Yep! 169.254.136.30!

                        Not sure if I'd need/want to change that, but it sure isn't a number I would have picked!

                        Comment

                        • MrC
                          Senior Member
                          • May 2005
                          • 1947

                          #13
                          There's nothing weird about this IP address. It is part of the standard automatic IP range used on local links. This is defined in RFC 3330.
                          169.254.0.0/16 - This is the "link local" block. It is allocated for communication between hosts on a single link. Hosts obtain these addresses by auto-configuration, such as when a DHCP server may not be found.
                          Since you are not likely to be running a DHCP server, and probably haven't set IP addresses for both sides of your ad-hoc network, a 169.254 ip address is used to facilitate the connection.

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