Home Network Probs - change OS?

[Martin]

Hi All,

Just wondering if the easiest way to solve my network probs might be to
change the Win98SE machines to Win2K (or Me)?

To re-cap:

1 x Win XP Pro SP2, 2 x Win 98SE, hub, ADSL modem/router - all PC's and
router connected via hub, router is DHCP server (and default gateway). Zone
Alarm Pro running on all PC's and Windows firewall disabled. PC names added
to trusted zone of ZA on all, as well as the network addresses.

Problem has been that the XP machine will map the shared directories of the
other PC's, but when you look at Workgroup Computers in My Network Places
you can't see the other PC's. XP machine is not viewable from the 98SE
machines, neither is shared folders on XP machine. All machines ping each
other fine.

Have tried disabling the browser on the XP machine and enabled on 98SE, and
also tried (with only 1 98SE connected the network) disabling 98 browser and
starting XP browser.... not much change to anything!

So, by the time I go through all this again and try sorting out problems,
would it be easier to just dump 98SE? Is that where the problems are coming
from?

Oh yeah - one extra thing (in case it matters) - the 98SE machines get their
IP address from the router DHCP, but if I set a fixed IP address then they
stop working on the network totally (i.e. no internet access), even if the
IP address assigned is the same as the one set by the DHCP server (and DHCP
server disabled). The XP machine has a fixed IP address due to the need for
port forwarding (yes, all addresses are within the same subnet, etc..)

 

[Carey Holzman]

I'd simply replace the network cards and get three matching ones.

I've set up several networks with mixed XP/98/Me machines and never had a
browsing issue, but I always use name brand equipment.

Carey

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Hi All,

Just wondering if the easiest way to solve my network probs might be to
change the Win98SE machines to Win2K (or Me)?

To re-cap:

1 x Win XP Pro SP2, 2 x Win 98SE, hub, ADSL modem/router - all PC's and
router connected via hub, router is DHCP server (and default gateway). Zone
Alarm Pro running on all PC's and Windows firewall disabled. PC names added
to trusted zone of ZA on all, as well as the network addresses.

Problem has been that the XP machine will map the shared directories of the
other PC's, but when you look at Workgroup Computers in My Network Places
you can't see the other PC's. XP machine is not viewable from the 98SE
machines, neither is shared folders on XP machine. All machines ping each
other fine.

Have tried disabling the browser on the XP machine and enabled on 98SE, and
also tried (with only 1 98SE connected the network) disabling 98 browser and
starting XP browser.... not much change to anything!

So, by the time I go through all this again and try sorting out problems,
would it be easier to just dump 98SE? Is that where the problems are coming
from?

Oh yeah - one extra thing (in case it matters) - the 98SE machines get their
IP address from the router DHCP, but if I set a fixed IP address then they
stop working on the network totally (i.e. no internet access), even if the
IP address assigned is the same as the one set by the DHCP server (and DHCP
server disabled). The XP machine has a fixed IP address due to the need for
port forwarding (yes, all addresses are within the same subnet, etc..)

I don't think that changing the OS would help, and it isn't necessary.
All versions of Windows can network with each other.

When you assign a fixed IP address, make sure to also assign the
proper default gateway and DNS server addresses.

I don't think that ZA is causing the problems. However, your router
acts as an incoming firewall, protecting your computers from Internet
hackers, so it's safe to disable ZA and see if anything changes.

You can add shortcuts to desired shared disks and folders in XP's My
Network Places: click "Add a network place" and follow the prompts.

These tips should help you get everything to work:

1. Disable XP's built-in firewall when running ZoneAlarm.

2. Use only one protocol for File and Printer Sharing. If the network
needs more than one protocol, unbind File and Printer Sharing from all
but one of them. Details here:

Windows XP Network Protocols
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/network_protocols.htm

3. Make sure that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled on all computers.
Details here:

Enable NetBIOS Over TCP/IP (NetBT)
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/troubleshoot/netbt.htm

4. Run "ipconfig /all" on XP and look at the "Node Type" at the
beginning of the output. If it says "Peer-to-Peer" (which should
actually be "Point-to-Point") that's the problem. It means that the
computer only uses a WINS server, which isn't available on a
peer-to-peer network, for NetBIOS name resolution.

If that's the case, run the registry editor, open this key:

HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netbt\Parameters

and delete these values if they're present:

NodeType
DhcpNodeType

Reboot, then try network access again.

If that doesn't fix it, open that registry key again, create a DWORD
value called "NodeType", and set it to 1 for "Broadcast" or 4 for
"Mixed".

For details, see these Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

Default Node Type for Microsoft Clients
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;160177

TCP/IP and NBT Configuration Parameters for Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314053
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Martin]

I don't think that changing the OS would help, and it isn't necessary.
All versions of Windows can network with each other.

When you assign a fixed IP address, make sure to also assign the
proper default gateway and DNS server addresses.

Yes, on the XP machine the gateway & DNS server addresses are the router
address, as per router instructions. Other machines are setup to be
assigned an IP address.

I don't think that ZA is causing the problems. However, your router
acts as an incoming firewall, protecting your computers from Internet
hackers, so it's safe to disable ZA and see if anything changes.

Yes, I've tried that with no change whatsoever, so I agree that ZA is
probably not the problem..

You can add shortcuts to desired shared disks and folders in XP's My
Network Places: click "Add a network place" and follow the prompts.

These tips should help you get everything to work:

1. Disable XP's built-in firewall when running ZoneAlarm.

Done... always has been this setting.

2. Use only one protocol for File and Printer Sharing. If the network
needs more than one protocol, unbind File and Printer Sharing from all
but one of them. Details here:

Windows XP Network Protocols
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/network_protocols.htm

3. Make sure that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled on all computers.
Details here:

Enable NetBIOS Over TCP/IP (NetBT)
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/troubleshoot/netbt.htm

Yep, done that.

4. Run "ipconfig /all" on XP and look at the "Node Type" at the
beginning of the output. If it says "Peer-to-Peer" (which should
actually be "Point-to-Point") that's the problem. It means that the
computer only uses a WINS server, which isn't available on a
peer-to-peer network, for NetBIOS name resolution.

If that's the case, run the registry editor, open this key:

HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netbt\Parameters

and delete these values if they're present:

NodeType
DhcpNodeType

Nope, no such settings specified...

I haven't made the registry changes you suggested yet, I though I might post
the results of the ipconfig & browstat commands to see what the experienced
people find. The browser is running on XP but disabled on 98SE:

**From the XP machine:

*ipconfig /all:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : FAMILY
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter MSHome Network:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet
Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0D-87-15-7F-5D
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.13
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

*browstate status:

Status for domain MSHOME on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{335BC845-7894-4B2F-8A11-4025EAE5C203}
Browsing is active on domain.
Master browser name is: FAMILY
Master browser is running build 2600
1 backup servers retrieved from master FAMILY
\\FAMILY
Unable to retrieve server list from FAMILY: 64


**Now, to the 98SE machine:

*ipconfig /all:

Windows 98 IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . : JESS
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Node Type . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
NetBIOS Scope ID. . . . . . :
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . : No
NetBIOS Resolution Uses DNS : No

0 Ethernet adapter :
Description . . . . . . . . : PPP Adapter.
Physical Address. . . . . . : 44-45-53-54-00-00
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . :
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Primary WINS Server . . . . :
Secondary WINS Server . . . :
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . :
Lease Expires . . . . . . . :

1 Ethernet adapter :
Description . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8029(AS) Ethernet Adapt
Physical Address. . . . . . : 00-40-05-57-1F-19
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.5
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . : 255.0.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Primary WINS Server . . . . :
Secondary WINS Server . . . :
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . : 12 21 04 3:02:23 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . :


* browstate status: Gives the following error:

The BROWSTAT.EXE file is
linked to missing export NETAPI32.DLL:I_BrowserQueryEmulatedDomains


So, can anyone with more knowledge than me suggest the next move???????

TIA