Ethernet network won't work without third (wireless) computer.

[Stan Hilliard]

If the routers IP adsdress is 192.168.1.1 you reported that the Win98 PC was
the same. How can that be?

As I look back at the IPconfig result that I posted above at 6/08/09
12:19 AM, I misinterpreted the it. The 192.168.1.1 was actually the
DSN server. The Win98SE computer was 192.168.1.3
Stan Hilliard

What is your routers IP address? Normally it is 192.168.1.1 but you have
your Win98 computer setup for that address.

The router's IP address is 192.168.1.1

The Win98SE computer's [Network] [TCP/IP] [Properties] are/were set as
follows:
[IP address] = "Obtain an IP address automatically."

Don't run DHCP or DNS on the
Win98 computer that should only be active on the router.

The Win98SE computer's [network] [TCP/IP] [Properties] are/were set as
follows:
[DNS Configuration] = "Disable DNS"

The only mention I see of DHCP in the Win98SE computer's [Network]
[TCP/IP] [Properties] are as follows:
[WINS Configuration] = "Use DHCP for WINS Resolution"

 

[Stan Hilliard]

Now that that all worked what is the actual problem you are having now?

After doing some homework I was able to identify the fact that the
laptop with XP-Home contained the master browser. This would explain
why Network Neighborhood stopped working when I disconnected the
laptop. I tried to fix this by disabling the laptop's master browser
thinking that one of the other computers would take over that role.
But they did not so far.

Here are the other settings:

Laptop: XP-Home:
Programs>Administrative Tools>Services>Computer Browser>General
Startup Type: I changed Automatic to Disabled

Win98SE:
In File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
Browser Master = Automatic

XP-Pro:
Programs>Administrative Tools>Services>Computer Browser>General
Startup Type is Automatic

Q -- How can I make XP-Pro computer a master browser so that Network
Neighborhood will work again?

Stan Hilliard

 

[Jack [MVP-Networking]]

Hi
Try this,
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters
REG_SZ IsDomainMaster True or False" , Set it to True.
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking)

 

[Stan Hilliard]

Hi
Try this,
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters
REG_SZ IsDomainMaster True or False" , Set it to True.
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking)

I made that change FALSE --->TRUE to the registry of the XP-Pro and
the XP-Home laptop. The Win98SE register does not have
....services\browser\parameters. Still no master browser is shown. Here
I what I have on the XP-Pro:

From nbtstat -n:
Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.3] Scope Id: []
NetBIOS Local Name Table
Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
HOMEBUILT <00> UNIQUE Registered
WORKGROUP <00> GROUP Registered
HOMEBUILT <03> UNIQUE Registered
HOMEBUILT <20> UNIQUE Registered


From IPconfig /all
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : homebuilt
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : IC Plus IP100 10/100 Fast
Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-50-8D-82-87-D7
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.3
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, June 13, 2009
7:41:00 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, June 14, 2009
7:41:00 PM

 

[Stan Hilliard]

Hi
Try this,
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters
REG_SZ IsDomainMaster True or False" , Set it to True.
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking)

I made that change FALSE --->TRUE to the registry of the XP-Pro and
the XP-Home laptop. The Win98SE register does not have
...services\browser\parameters. Still no master browser is shown. Here
I what I have on the XP-Pro:

From nbtstat -n:
Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.3] Scope Id: []
NetBIOS Local Name Table
Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
HOMEBUILT <00> UNIQUE Registered
WORKGROUP <00> GROUP Registered
HOMEBUILT <03> UNIQUE Registered
HOMEBUILT <20> UNIQUE Registered


From IPconfig /all
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : homebuilt
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : IC Plus IP100 10/100 Fast
Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-50-8D-82-87-D7
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.3
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, June 13, 2009
7:41:00 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, June 14, 2009
7:41:00 PM

I spoke to soon. I shut off all three computers and the cable modem
and the router. After startup the Win98SE is the master browser. I was
hoping it would be the XP-Pro.

I do not understand this because I did not change the Win98SE but I
did change the registries of the two XPs. Also, network neighborhood
works between the Win98SE and the wireless XP-Home laptop. But the
XP-Pro only sees itself. (Except it can see the others PCs by the
desktop shortcuts that use their computer names.)

I will shut down everything overnight. Tomorrow I will post status of
properties.

Stan Hilliard

 

[Stan Hilliard]

I inserted messages below.

02:08 -0500, Stan Hilliard

I have three PCs on a home network. OSs are XP-Pro-SP2 connected by
Ethernet to Win98SE, and by wireless, XP-Home-SP3 on a Laptop.

Question -- Why can't the two Ethernet-connected PCs see each other
unless the laptop is also on with the wireless connection established?

Here is the hardware configuration:
Comcast cable to Motorola SB5120 Surfboard cable modem.
Ethernet: Modem to Win98 PC.
Ethernet: Win98PC to Netgear WNR2000 wireless router.
Ethernet: Netgear WNR2000 to XP-Pro-SP2.
Wireless: Netgear WNR2000 to Netgear Adapter WN511B on XP-Home laptop.

Using windows explorer, the two Ethernet-connected PCs cannot see each
other unless the laptop is on and connected by wireless. Then all
three computers see each other in explorer. When I break the wireless
connection to the laptop the Ethernet connected PCs again cannot see
each other.

Why is the laptop necessary for the Ethernet network to work? How can
I change this situation?

Stan Hilliard

Network browsing in Network Neighborhood and My Network Places depends
on having one computer, designated as the "master browser", keep track
of the computers and respond to browsing requests from other
computers. If that computer leaves the network, the other computers
are supposed to notice and elect another computer as the "master
browser".

Is there a way to specify which computer is the master browser?

This process is inherently unreliable. You can spend a lot of time
troubleshooting it, but I don't think it's worth the trouble.

A while back I tried to use Acronis 9.1 to backup my Win98SE to a HDD
on the XP-Pro computer. I couldn't make the connection at that time.
Perhaps it will work now that I know that the XP-Home Laptop has to be
connected in order to connect the other two computers. But I would
like to be able to make that connection not depend on having the
laptop.

Here are two ways to access another computer without using network
browsing:

1. Click Start > Run, type the other computer's name in "Open" box in
this format, and click OK:

\\computer

I tried that and it worked.

2. Create a desktop shortcut to the other computer, specifying the
location of the item as:

\\computer

I have done that and it works.

Now that that all worked what is the actual problem you are having now?

After doing some homework I was able to identify the fact that the
laptop with XP-Home contained the master browser. This would explain
why Network Neighborhood stopped working when I disconnected the
laptop. I tried to fix this by disabling the laptop's master browser
thinking that one of the other computers would take over that role.
But they did not so far.

Here are the other settings:

Laptop: XP-Home:
Programs>Administrative Tools>Services>Computer Browser>General
Startup Type: I changed Automatic to Disabled

Win98SE:
In File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
Browser Master = Automatic

XP-Pro:
Programs>Administrative Tools>Services>Computer Browser>General
Startup Type is Automatic

Q -- How can I make XP-Pro computer a master browser so that Network
Neighborhood will work again?

Stan Hilliard

Hi
Try this,
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters
REG_SZ IsDomainMaster True or False" , Set it to True.
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking)

I made that change FALSE --->TRUE to the registry of the XP-Pro and
the XP-Home laptop. The Win98SE register does not have
...services\browser\parameters. Still no master browser is shown. Here
I what I have on the XP-Pro:

From nbtstat -n:
Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.3] Scope Id: []
NetBIOS Local Name Table
Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
HOMEBUILT <00> UNIQUE Registered
WORKGROUP <00> GROUP Registered
HOMEBUILT <03> UNIQUE Registered
HOMEBUILT <20> UNIQUE Registered


From IPconfig /all
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : homebuilt
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : IC Plus IP100 10/100 Fast
Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-50-8D-82-87-D7
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.3
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, June 13, 2009
7:41:00 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, June 14, 2009
7:41:00 PM

I spoke to soon. I shut off all three computers and the cable modem
and the router. After startup the Win98SE is the master browser. I was
hoping it would be the XP-Pro.

I do not understand this because I did not change the Win98SE but I
did change the registries of the two XPs. Also, network neighborhood
works between the Win98SE and the wireless XP-Home laptop. But the
XP-Pro only sees itself. (Except it can see the others PCs by the
desktop shortcuts that use their computer names.)

I will shut down everything overnight. Tomorrow I will post status of
properties.
Stan Hilliard

I change the Win98SE master browser to disabled and the LM Announce to
Yes to see if that would cause the SXP-Pro to become assume the role
of master browser. It did not. So I changed the Win98SE settings back
as they were.

Starting after that, the XXP-Pro can see the Win98SE by using the
desktop shortcut \\Win98SEname, but the Win98SE cannot see the XP-Pro
by the same method.

I found some startup errors in the logs of the XP-Pro PC. I list them
below as they might be related to this problem with network
neighborhood. I am sorry that the list is so long but I didn't know
which ones to leave out. These are from:

[start] [rt click--my computer] [management] [system tools]
[event-viewer] [system]


0 ==== 00000000000000
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Server
Event Category: None
Event ID: 2511
Date: 6/14/2009
Time: 8:52:48 AM
User: N/A
Computer: HOMEBUILT
Description:
The server service was unable to recreate the share forum1-26 because
the directory C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\tsamplingforum26 no longer exists.
Please run "net share forum1-26 /delete" to delete the share, or
recreate the directory C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\tsamplingforum26.

(INSERTED NOTE: In the CMD window "net share forum1-26 /delete"
produces:
"This shared resource does not exist.")

1 ==== 1111111111111111
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Dhcp
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1003
Date: 6/14/2009
Time: 11:45:27 AM
User: N/A
Computer: HOMEBUILT
Description:
Your computer was not able to renew its address from the network (from
the DHCP Server) for the Network Card with network address
00508D8287D7. The following error occurred:
The semaphore timeout period has expired. . Your computer will
continue to try and obtain an address on its own from the network
address (DHCP) server.
Data:
0000: 79 00 00 00 y...

2 ==== 22222222222222
Event Type: Error
Event Source: UPS
Event Category: None
Event ID: 2481
Date: 6/14/2009
Time: 11:45:32 AM
User: N/A
Computer: HOMEBUILT
Description:
The UPS service is not configured correctly.

3 ==== 33333333333333333333
Event Type: Information
Event Source: WMPNetworkSvc
Event Category: None
Event ID: 14204
Date: 6/14/2009
Time: 11:45:40 AM
User: N/A
Computer: HOMEBUILT
Description:
Service 'WMPNetworkSvc' started.

4 ==== 44444444444444
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7023
Date: 6/14/2009
Time: 11:45:42 AM
User: N/A
Computer: HOMEBUILT
Description:
The Windows Driver Foundation - User-mode Driver Framework service
terminated with the following error:
A device attached to the system is not functioning.

5 ==== 55555555555555
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7000
Date: 6/14/2009
Time: 11:45:42 AM
User: N/A
Computer: HOMEBUILT
Description:
The Upload Manager service failed to start due to the following error:
The account specified for this service is different from the account
specified for other services running in the same process.

6 ==== 66666666666666
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7023
Date: 6/14/2009
Time: 11:45:42 AM
User: N/A
Computer: HOMEBUILT
Description:
The Uninterruptible Power Supply service terminated with the following
error:
The UPS service is not configured correctly.

7 ==== 77777777777777777777
Event Type: Information
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7036
Date: 6/14/2009
Time: 11:48:27 AM
User: N/A
Computer: HOMEBUILT
Description:
The QoS RSVP service entered the stopped state.

8 ==== 88888888888888888888
Event Type: Information
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7036
Date: 6/14/2009
Time: 11:50:36 AM
User: N/A
Computer: HOMEBUILT
Description:
The Portable Media Serial Number Service service entered the stopped
state.

9 ==== 99999999999999999999
Event Type: Information
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7036
Date: 6/14/2009
Time: 11:50:45 AM
User: N/A
Computer: HOMEBUILT
Description:
The Computer Browser service entered the stopped state.

10 ==== 10 10 10 10 10
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7023
Date: 6/14/2009
Time: 11:50:45 AM
User: N/A
Computer: HOMEBUILT
Description:
The Computer Browser service terminated with the following error:
This operation returned because the timeout period expired.

I would appreciate diagnosis of any of these errors.

Stan Hilliard