when i tried to join the server my little brother made, i just got "Host Lookup Failed"

what is this?

What were you typing in the IP box to join the game? I think the "Host Lookup Failed" message comes when the IP doesn't exist. Like I sometimes accidentally join my server with "llscu.s" and it gives me that message.

Next time you try, be sure it's a working IP (or domain)! If you're playing on a LAN with your brother, type in your network IP address.

i forgot to tell something...

i played with a guy..
both our ip's were turned off.
and instead of the ip, i typed the name of his pc "braindead"

it worked once..

you can't turn off an IP, unless you mean your connection was off and you were playing against him on LAN. Even then, you would still have a network IP that you'd have to use.

IP *address* :P
The only reason the name of the PC may have allowed you to connect that way is you either have it in your hosts file, or you have the name "braindead" resolving via DNS or other resolution.