Posted by Bill's News on 12/04/05 20:02

angrie.woman@gmail.com wrote:
> I have winmx installed on my desktop - runs fine.
>
> DH wants me to install it on his XP laptop, which belongs to his
> company.
>
> Am I going to be able to do this? I downloaded v3.53, and tried to
> install it. I didn't get very far. I saw "WinMX was unable to make
> an
> outgoing TCP connection to it's test servers. This could be because
> this computer isn't directly connected to the internet, you are an a
> LAN, and need to use a SOCKS proxy server to make outgoing TCP
> connections, or there is a temporary network problem."
>
> I tried to go into network settings to start exploring the firewall
> status and such, but I see a message that says something like "Some
> settings are disabled because you don't have authorization to change
> them" and sure enough - it does not appear that he can acess the
> firewall settings.
>
> Now, many of you here know me well enough to realize that most of
> these messages might as well be Chinese to me. I know he is running
> XP, this is a company laptop, he is plugged into my home desktop's
> DSL modem, and (according to his Network Settings) Local Area
> Connection 3 (Cisco Systems VPN Adapter) is enabled.
>
> I really appreciate any help, but please be as simple as possible -
> things like ports, servers, and other things are about 2 notches
> above
> my comprehension level.
>
> Is there anything I can do, or is he just bound to be MXless?
>
> A
> My email address has an extra g in it

Often, when a Win PC which was running on a LAN is moved to another
connection (in this case from an office to your DSL), the IP address
of the machine needs to be released and renewed. This is because the
protocol endeavors to keep an IP address thru its lease period.

Access XP's Help-Run-Cmd DOS-like window and type:
IPCONFIG

This will show you the IP address used by the machine. If it's not
the same as your IP (or a subset thereof) then type

IPCONFIG /?

This will show you the command's option structure.

By this time, you probably no longer need to do this, unless your pal
has reconnected to the company LAN and is now back at your DSL a short
time afterward - if the latter is the case, and assuming that there is
only one NIC in your pal's PC, type:

"IPCONFIG /release {Enter}"
you'll get a response suggesting that you are disconnected

and then type

"IPCONFIG /renew {Enter}"
there will be a pause, perhaps a few seconds, then the IP address
assigned will be shown.

At this point, you can then utilize WinMX as a secondary from that
machine without any need to set up a firewall or router (the ports
should be checked as unable). And that would be best too, when your
pal attempts to utilize WinMX at the office for the short time it will
take for the admin to spot the traffic and suggest his/her immediate
dismissal ;-)

Since the machine might be transported between home/office, it's
probably better to utilize winmx as a secondary or to set up a second
user account on the machine for use at home. I'm pretty sure that
this will allow the machine to operate with different net profiles.

Then, for your pal to use the PC at home as a primary, he/she will
need to be able to:
1) connect to a modem at home.
2) perhaps release/renew as outlined above
3) set up winmx to utilize specific port(s) and configure the local
firewall/router to permit inbound traffic on it/them.

This may not apply, if the company's admin has crippled users from
altering configurations - but this seldom is the case except in quite
large companies and where the PC is not expected to be transported.

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