Need some help from the Networking Gurus

[gr8fl4porsche]

I need a little networking help.

I have 5 workstations, DSL modem and a network printer running thru a router/switch/firewall.

All PC's have XP Pro with SP2.

4/5 units have no issues.

Unit 5 can access all other units but the others cannot access unit 5 in the Network Neighborhood. All units are under the same Workgroup.

When trying to map to unit 5 - a username/pass request comes up - there are no passwords on any unit.

Group Policy - Network Access - Sharing and Security model for local accounts

4/5 units have the Guest Only- local users authenticate as guest - option set

Unit 5 has - Classic - local users authenticate as themselves - option set and is greyed out with no option to change.

This explains why unit 5 can access the network drives but the others cannot access unit 5.

Network printer works fine 5/5.
Internet works fine 5/5.

Any ideas on how to remedy this problem - I am stuck.

[legion]

Reinstall Windows on all machines.

J/K...that's the answer I've always gotten every time I have called Microsof support...I stopped calling them in '98.

It's been a while, but do you have the drives shared on unit 5?

[gr8fl4porsche]

Yes drives are shared.

Funny about reinstalling windows because that is what I am going to try this morning - reinstall XP on unit 5 and start over.

[legion]

I've reinstalled Windows on more machines than I care to remember. The problem is, you can never get an answer from Microsoft like:

"You should have the file RipOff.exe in your C:\windows\screwed\you\ directory. That is the file that controls the functionality you are missing. If you don't have it, simply pull it from the Unstable.cab file on your installation CD..."

If our cars were like Windows, we'd think nothing of pulling over to the side of the road, turning off the ignition, and restarting the engine to fix minor mechanical problems. To fix big ones, we'd pull the engine out, then put it back in.

Do you have a name assigned to unit 5? Does unit 5 have a firewall (somehow blocking traffic and not allowing the other units to see it)? Do you have something like GhostSurf installed on unit 5?

Chances are, it's none of these things.

[rcecale]

Originally posted by legion
Does unit 5 have a firewall (somehow blocking traffic and not allowing the other units to see it)?

I think I would start here on Unit 5. It may be helpful to search the Windows Help in XP

Hit START > HELP & SUPPORT and enter "XP Firewall" in the Search box at the top of the page. There will be a link to "Enable or disable Internet Connection Firewall" under Pick A Task". Click that and it will take you where you need to be to disable it.

I agree that this just may not do it for you, but it's a good place to start. IMHO

Randy

[Saintly]

**note: if you cannot see the control panel items listed below, go into control panel and select Classic View from the left side menu.**

First thing is to go to the control panel, Security center and switch off the firewall while we test. if the mapping then works you would switch the firewall back on and have a look at the firewall settings for shared drives.
If it doesn't work and still asks for a username and password then try useing the password you gave for the administrator account when WinXP was being installed.
Finaly if you cannot remember that password go to control panel, user accounts, advanced, advanced user management (button). select the local users folder. on PCs 1 to 4 you will probbly find that the guest account is enabled and on PC 5 it is disabled.

On a side note, with all of these PCs able to access the internet you are placing your systems at much higher risk by not using usernames and passwords (using the guest account) it would be better if you created user accounts on each PC and used them to allow access to shared folders.

Don't forget to switch your firewall back on when everything is working correctly.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Figured it out.

Under the properties of the shared drive on unit 5.
Security
Advanced
Owner
Owner was listed as administrator without user name.
Changed to the specific user name and all is well

[EdT82SC]

Hey, great job.

I have one that's puzzling me too. I have two machines. One is win2K, and the other is XP. When I upgraded the XP box from service pack 1 to service pack 2 a few weeks ago the XP box no longer sees anything in it's network neighborhood. The win2K box can still see the XP box in network neighborhood. I am able to access the win2K box from the XP box if I use the IP address instead of machine name. So \\192.168.1.xxx works, but \\jewell does not. This would be the solution if I wern't using DHCP. The IP addresses of the computers changes every once in a while. Any ideas on where to start?

[rcecale]

Looks like a DNS issue.

One way to resolve it would be to add jewel to the HOSTS file and provide the IP address. (HOSTS file is located at C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc (or at C:\WINNT\System32\Drivers\etc, depending on how your installation was set up)

Just open the HOSTS file with Notepad and add an entry at the bottom. There is an example provided, pointing to 127.0.0.1.

This is really just a band-aid though, because it doesn't resolve your DNS issue. And, if the IP Address of Jewel ever changes, it will stop working.

Randy

[EdT82SC]

I don't think this is DNS really. The XP box (hal) can access the internet using hostnames. It's more of a windows networking resolving names problem. Neither jewell (win2K) nor hal (XP) are in my ISP's dns.

[rcecale]

No, Ed, you're right. Neither of your computer's IP addresses are listed in your ISP's DNS tables. They ARE owever listed in your home network.
Your 192.168.1.XXX address indicates you're running a private home network. For whatever reason, the one computer is unable to resolve the name to the IP address of the other. windows uses DNS to resolve these.
Try setting the IP addresses of each machine to be static, not using DHCP. While you're there, add the IP address of your router to the DNS Advanced settings in each computer. Chances are the IP address is 192.168.1.1.

Randy

[azasadny]

Randy,
You're pretty smart for a Marine!

Just kidding, I was a USN Corpsman for 9 years, did several tours with 1st and 3rd MarDiv, finishing in Saudi Arabia... I enjoy your posts!

[rcecale]

Ummm....Thanks, Art! (I think! )

Appreciate your service to our country! Corpmen are deinitely a special breed. I think you'll find a friend in any Marine who knows you for THAT kind of service.

I noticed you're in Wyandotte. I grew up in Wayne County. Graduated from Wayne memorial H.S. Wyandotte H.S. was in our athletic league. I remember playing you guys in footbal. Man, that was a while ago. It's amazing what a small world it really is.

Randy

[azasadny]

Randy,
Yes, it's a very small world. My wife and I grew up in Trenton and when I got out of the Navy in July 1991, we moved back here to be close to the family. I enjoyed the time I spent with the USMC. I got all my promotions and medals while serving with you guys. Once in awhile I run into a Marine or Sailor I knew from years past and it makes me think how interconnected we all are.

[EdT82SC]

Randy, I appreciate the help, but setting everything static won't work for me. My ISP has this bad habit of doing annoying things like moving DNS servers without telling anyone. Everyone is required to be using DHCP so we all automatically get the new DNS server address, right?

I really think it has something to do with new security stuff added into XP service pack 2. This setup did work up until I loaded service pack 2. Do I need to do something to enable myself to have access to other machines in the workgroup I belong to? Here is the error message I get when I double-click on the my workgroup name (edandelisa) in windows explorer:

Edandelisa is not accessible. You might not have permission for this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions. A list of servers for this workgroup is currently not available.

Anyone know where I can give myself access to the workgroup I belong to? TIA

[rcecale]

Ed,

"Windows Firewall in Windows XP SP2 is globally enabled by default. This means that, by default, all the connections of a computer running Windows XP with SP2 have Windows Firewall enabled, including LAN (wired and wireless), dial-up, and virtual private network (VPN) connections. New connections also have Windows Firewall enabled by default. "

That being said, you may want to take a look here and see if this helps you get your connections back.

I am only up to SP-1 on this machine. I tried updatiing to SP-2 a couple of weeks ago and it didn't like it, so I rolled it back to SP-1. I have SP-2 on a box at home so I'll see if I can make some time to have a look at it and post some more info then. As far as I recall though, I believe it may be as simple as disabling the firewall, making all your connections, and then re-enabling the firewall again. I believe it remembers your connections and their settings. Of course, I could be wrong though...

Randy

edit: Ed, btw, you haven't said whether or not you're using a router or just ICS through a hub, connecting all your pc's.

[EdT82SC]

Hey Randy,

I am using a Linksys WRT54G wireless router with the sveasoft microcode. I asked an IT guy who used to work for me years ago, and he had a suggestion. There is a DNS domain setting in windows under the computer name tab on the computer properties. First you bring up the dialog where you configure the windows domain vs. workgroup setup. There is another button on that dialog that I think says "More" that brings up another dialog. You can set a dns domain in there. He said to make sure that matches the dns search domain in the TCP/IP properties, and also that this matches on the win2K machine as well. So I am going to check that first. His guess is that the SP2 upgrade could have messed this up.

If that doesn't work for me I will look at the technet stuff you posted the link too. My first thought was windows firewall, but I have no idea where any of that is configured. Thanks for the help.

[EdT82SC]

It turns out the solution was adding the IPX protocol. I tried this after doing a google search:

Google

And the search result on www.annoyances.org gave all kinds of suggestions. Some of these worked for some people, and not for others. I tried suggestion after suggestion until I added IPX. Adding the IPX protocol must make some configuration change that enables something that I don't understand. I didn't add IPX on the win2K box. I only added it on the XP box where I was having trouble. So I wasn't really using IPX, but just having it installed allowed windows to talk to windows. It doesn't make sense. It is like me learning German so I can speak English to someone.

I hope noone else ever has to deal with this one.

[rcecale]

Originally posted by EdT82SC
It turns out the solution was adding the IPX protocol. I tried this after doing a google search:

That's quite interesting. Came on here to post some drivel on WinXP SP-2 and found you had solved your issue.

IPX is used by Novell Netware. Wonder what that had to do with anything???

Anyway, glad you got her working!!!

Randy

[EdT82SC]

Another follow-up on this one. The XP service pack 2 install enabled automatic updates. So a few nights ago my wife tells me that a dialog poped up when she did a shutdown telling her it was installing updates. I told her not to worry about it. Well the next day her PC can't connect to the Win2K box again! Somehow, whatever updates were installed must have switched some mysterious windows settings that made things not work again. So the solution was uninstall IPX, and reinstall IPX. It's the stupidest thing because I am not using IPX! I then immediately turned off automatic updates. I swear that windows has been getting worse and worse with each release. I don't know how non-technical people are able to use it.