Temperamental Windows XP Network

Temperamental Windows XP Network

I have an unusual networking problem with my home network.
I’m running an old-school coaxial cable network which looks a little something like this:


1st Comp --------- 2nd Comp ---------- 3rd Comp
Win XP Pro---------Windows 98---------Win XP Home
ADSL


The problem is that occasionally and for no apparent reason the network speed between computers 1 & 3 drops to a speed so slow it takes around 30mins to load a simple web-page. File sharing between the 2 computers also drops to the point that it’s unusable. Strangely, communication between computers 1 and 2 remains fine, and communication between computers 2 and 3 also remains fine.

Just to make things more confusing, occasionally without warning or any intervention the network seems to right itself and everything will work perfectly. Then just as spontaneously things will start to go wrong again.

I have been running this network for some time without any problems and it is only since replacing the 3rd computer in the network have these problems started.

Any assistance you could offer would be most appreciated.

What was the third computer? Was it another Windows XP Home?

Why don't you get a router... (lol)... coax is too old skool . The router will make it faster than it ever was between 1 and 3 beucase there will be no other computer in between.

Originally the third computer in the network was running Windows 98.

I know coax is very old school, but due to the layout of my house and the age of the original computers when I first installed the network, coax was cheapest and easiest option.

I’m switching to wireless soon, but in the meantime I want to get things running smoothly again as my 3rd computer is essentially useless due to the network's unpredictability.

Properly connected, the second computer isn't really "in between", it's just a tap off the common connection (with perhaps some signal restoration inside number two that COULD fail). Hardware failures aren't frequent, but I'd replace the card in computer number three or swap it with computer number two and see if the problem followed it.

I'm just sayin anything here... But you know network path names and stuff are different in Win98 and all WinNTs... maybe it has to convert it 2 times instead of once, and that makes it really. If you don't like opening your computer try switching #2 and #3 around and see if that changes anything.