Need Help with Browser/Name Resolution Problem

[Guest]

I have a 2-computer network (machines are identical) using Windows XP Home
SP2 and connected by a crossover cable. Their names are FRED and WILMA. The
workgroup is STUDYNET. I have confirmed physical connectivity by testing
each comp (and the cable) using a Windows 98 laptop. Some time ago, I tried
to disable ICS and lost network connections. Most recently, I deleted the NIC
and all protocols and ran the setup wizard again on both machines,
identifying them as being part of a network with no Internet connection.

They did not connect. I could not ping either comp by name or IP address.
Each could ping itself. Both comps increased their time to boot up by about
4x.

I looked at the Windows firewall and saw that WILMA had some features that
FRED did not: Peer Name Resolution Protocol (opening UDP port 3540) and
Windows Peer-to-Peer Grouping (opening TCP port 3587). I set Fred to have
the same features. That didn’t change the lack of connections. I then
disabled the firewall on the local connection of both comps. They still do
not connect.

I enabled Net BIOS over TCP/IP on both, but no change occurred. I ran
browstat and saw that both were master browsers. I disabled the browsing
service on WILMA. They still could not ping each other. Both sides would
time out. In Workgroup view, FRED sees only FRED. WILMA returns the error
message: “STUDYNET is not accessible. You might not have permission to use
this network resource. The network path was not found.â€

I can see that there is a name resolution/browser problem, but for all the
reading I’ve done on this forum, I don’t know what to do next. Three points
that might matter:
(1) The store that built our computers gave them both the name “Ch†which
is displayed with the Windows OEM serial number.
(2) I had to restore Windows on FRED at one point and used WILMA’s backup
record to do it, later changing the computer name to FRED. I ran Registry
Mechanic to clean up both comps.
(3) There may be remnants of the Windows 98 computer name in the registry.

Here are the current reports on browstat and ipconfig for each, beginning
with FRED:

Status for domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A1253276-EAD1-42D1-A9E9-3DD99B800697}
Browsing is active on domain.
Master browser name is: FRED
Master browser is running build 2600
1 backup servers retrieved from master FRED
\\FRED
There are 1 servers in domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A1253276-EAD1-42D1-A9E9-3DD99B800697}
There are 1 domains in domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A1253276-EAD1-42D1-A9E9-3DD99B800697}

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : FRED
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-6A-EE-4A-E6
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.107.156
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

WILMA:

Status for domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{964D1183-85C6-4B4B-A144-B96EB9640719}
Browsing is NOT active on domain.
Master name cannot be determined from GetAdapterStatus.

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : WILMA
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection :
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-6A-EF-6D-04
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.183.111
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

 

[Tony]

Here are the current reports on browstat and ipconfig for each, beginning
with FRED:

Status for domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A1253276-EAD1-42D1-A9E9-3DD99B800697}
Browsing is active on domain.
Master browser name is: FRED
Master browser is running build 2600
1 backup servers retrieved from master FRED
\\FRED
There are 1 servers in domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A1253276-EAD1-42D1-A9E9-3DD99B800697}
There are 1 domains in domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A1253276-EAD1-42D1-A9E9-3DD99B800697}

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : FRED
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-6A-EE-4A-E6
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.107.156
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

WILMA:

Status for domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{964D1183-85C6-4B4B-A144-B96EB9640719}
Browsing is NOT active on domain.
Master name cannot be determined from GetAdapterStatus.

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : WILMA
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection :
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-6A-EF-6D-04
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.183.111
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

You do not have a DNCP server allocating IP addresses. You can fix this by
either enabling ICS on one PC. This will act as a DHCP server and allocate
an IP address to the other one. If you are not going to use them for
internet sharing, you could allocate static IP's e.g. 192.168.0.1 and
192.168.0.2 with sub net mask 255.255.255.0 (XP will fill that bit in for
you).

If you are not sure where to put the IP addresses, go to network
connections, right click on the Local Area Connection Icon, select
properties.

The reason it is taking longer to boot is that windows is searching for a
DHCP server to allocate an IP address. It eventually times out and
allocated a 169.xxx.xxx.xxx address.

 

[Tony]

You do not have a DNCP server allocating IP addresses.

Sorry, bad form following up ones own reply!! Sorry for the typo - DNCP
should read DHCP

 

[Guest]

You do not have a DNCP server allocating IP addresses. You can fix this by
either enabling ICS on one PC. This will act as a DHCP server and allocate
an IP address to the other one. If you are not going to use them for
internet sharing, you could allocate static IP's e.g. 192.168.0.1 and
192.168.0.2 with sub net mask 255.255.255.0 (XP will fill that bit in for
you).

If you are not sure where to put the IP addresses, go to network
connections, right click on the Local Area Connection Icon, select
properties.

The reason it is taking longer to boot is that windows is searching for a
DHCP server to allocate an IP address. It eventually times out and
allocated a 169.xxx.xxx.xxx address.

Thanks, Tony. Since I don't want to mess with ICS, I'll assign the IP address manually. Currently, both computers are getting IP addresses automatically. Do I assign the new address to only one and let the other stay on automatic? If not, what IP address for the other?

 

[Tony]

You will have to allocate a different address to each one. Use 192.168.0.1
for one and 192.168.0.2 for the other. They should both have the same
subnet i.e. 255.255.255.0

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

I have a 2-computer network (machines are identical) using Windows XP Home
SP2 and connected by a crossover cable. Their names are FRED and WILMA. The
workgroup is STUDYNET. I have confirmed physical connectivity by testing
each comp (and the cable) using a Windows 98 laptop. Some time ago, I tried
to disable ICS and lost network connections. Most recently, I deleted the NIC
and all protocols and ran the setup wizard again on both machines,
identifying them as being part of a network with no Internet connection.

They did not connect. I could not ping either comp by name or IP address.
Each could ping itself. Both comps increased their time to boot up by about
4x.

I looked at the Windows firewall and saw that WILMA had some features that
FRED did not: Peer Name Resolution Protocol (opening UDP port 3540) and
Windows Peer-to-Peer Grouping (opening TCP port 3587). I set Fred to have
the same features. That didn’t change the lack of connections. I then
disabled the firewall on the local connection of both comps. They still do
not connect.

I enabled Net BIOS over TCP/IP on both, but no change occurred. I ran
browstat and saw that both were master browsers. I disabled the browsing
service on WILMA. They still could not ping each other. Both sides would
time out. In Workgroup view, FRED sees only FRED. WILMA returns the error
message: “STUDYNET is not accessible. You might not have permission to use
this network resource. The network path was not found.”

I can see that there is a name resolution/browser problem, but for all the
reading I’ve done on this forum, I don’t know what to do next. Three points
that might matter:
(1) The store that built our computers gave them both the name “Ch” which
is displayed with the Windows OEM serial number.
(2) I had to restore Windows on FRED at one point and used WILMA’s backup
record to do it, later changing the computer name to FRED. I ran Registry
Mechanic to clean up both comps.
(3) There may be remnants of the Windows 98 computer name in the registry.

Here are the current reports on browstat and ipconfig for each, beginning
with FRED:

Status for domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A1253276-EAD1-42D1-A9E9-3DD99B800697}
Browsing is active on domain.
Master browser name is: FRED
Master browser is running build 2600
1 backup servers retrieved from master FRED
\\FRED
There are 1 servers in domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A1253276-EAD1-42D1-A9E9-3DD99B800697}
There are 1 domains in domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A1253276-EAD1-42D1-A9E9-3DD99B800697}

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : FRED
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-6A-EE-4A-E6
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.107.156
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

WILMA:

Status for domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{964D1183-85C6-4B4B-A144-B96EB9640719}
Browsing is NOT active on domain.
Master name cannot be determined from GetAdapterStatus.

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : WILMA
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection :
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-6A-EF-6D-04
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.183.111
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

You have to solve the ping problem first. High-level networking
functions (browsing, file sharing, workgroups, NetBIOS, etc) can't
work until the computers can ping themselves and each other by IP
address and by computer name.

I don't know what registry cleanup and restoring you did, but it might
have damaged the entries for TCP/IP. Run this command on each
computer to repair TCP/IP, then reboot:

netsh winsock reset catalog

Turn off the Windows Firewall. Un-install all other firewall programs
(Norton, McAfee, PC-cillin, ZoneAlarm, etc). Don't just disable them.
Un-install them. Note that some antivirus programs include firewall
features that must be configured to allow access on the local area
network -- for example Norton Antivirus 2006 has "Internet Worm"
protection.

Since there's no DHCP server on your network, your computers are
assigning themselves automatic private IP addresses in the 169.254.x.x
range. Those addresses could change from one boot to the next.
Consider assigning them static IP addresses in the ranges reserved for
private networks by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority:

10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255

Examples of pairs of private network addresses are:

10.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.2, subnet mask 255.0.0.0
172.16.0.1 and 172.16.0.2, subnet mask 255.240.0.0
192.168.0.1 and 192.168.0.2, subnet mask 255.255.255.0
--
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

 

[Guest]

You have to solve the ping problem first. High-level networking
functions (browsing, file sharing, workgroups, NetBIOS, etc) can't
work until the computers can ping themselves and each other by IP
address and by computer name.

I don't know what registry cleanup and restoring you did, but it might
have damaged the entries for TCP/IP. Run this command on each
computer to repair TCP/IP, then reboot:

netsh winsock reset catalog

Turn off the Windows Firewall. Un-install all other firewall programs
(Norton, McAfee, PC-cillin, ZoneAlarm, etc). Don't just disable them.
Un-install them. Note that some antivirus programs include firewall
features that must be configured to allow access on the local area
network -- for example Norton Antivirus 2006 has "Internet Worm"
protection.

Since there's no DHCP server on your network, your computers are
assigning themselves automatic private IP addresses in the 169.254.x.x
range. Those addresses could change from one boot to the next.
Consider assigning them static IP addresses in the ranges reserved for
private networks by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority:

10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255

Examples of pairs of private network addresses are:

10.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.2, subnet mask 255.0.0.0
172.16.0.1 and 172.16.0.2, subnet mask 255.240.0.0
192.168.0.1 and 192.168.0.2, subnet mask 255.255.255.0
--
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

Thanks, Steve. I had removed Norton antivrus a few days ago, but I've been
afraid to mess with the TCP/IP stack or winsock without some advice to do so.
I do have AVG antivirus running, and there are entries for it in the Windows
firewall. I'll either check to make sure it doesn't have a firewall or I'll
uninstall it until the network is cleaned up. My IP addresses have stayed
remarkabley stable, but Tony, too, noted that the range needs to be other
than the 169.xxx. My local network is tight, so I plan to leave the firewall
turned off except on the Internet connection.

The pinging has been erratic. Sometimes Fred or Wilma can get 2 or 3 packets
through, but more often it times out using either name or address.

Is there anything you see that I have done that needs to be undone? Or do I
just repair the protocol, reset the addreses and leave the rest alone if that
gets them connected?

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Thanks, Steve. I had removed Norton antivrus a few days ago, but I've been
afraid to mess with the TCP/IP stack or winsock without some advice to do so.
I do have AVG antivirus running, and there are entries for it in the Windows
firewall. I'll either check to make sure it doesn't have a firewall or I'll
uninstall it until the network is cleaned up. My IP addresses have stayed
remarkabley stable, but Tony, too, noted that the range needs to be other
than the 169.xxx. My local network is tight, so I plan to leave the firewall
turned off except on the Internet connection.

The pinging has been erratic. Sometimes Fred or Wilma can get 2 or 3 packets
through, but more often it times out using either name or address.

Is there anything you see that I have done that needs to be undone? Or do I
just repair the protocol, reset the addreses and leave the rest alone if that
gets them connected?

You're welcome, Charlie. You don't NEED to change the IP addresses,
because Microsoft designed automatic IP addressing to work in your
setup. However, assigning static IP addresses will make the computers
start up faster since they won't wait for a non-existent DHCP server
to assign addresses.

The Winsock reset is completely safe. If pinging works some times and
doesn't work at other times, the problem probably isn't caused by a
firewall. A firewall either lets pings through or doesn't let them
through. Erratic results could be caused by defective network
hardware (NIC, hub, switch cable), network cables running too close to
electrical power cables, or by buggy network card driver programs.
--
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

 

[Guest]

You're welcome, Charlie. You don't NEED to change the IP addresses,
because Microsoft designed automatic IP addressing to work in your
setup. However, assigning static IP addresses will make the computers
start up faster since they won't wait for a non-existent DHCP server
to assign addresses.

The Winsock reset is completely safe. If pinging works some times and
doesn't work at other times, the problem probably isn't caused by a
firewall. A firewall either lets pings through or doesn't let them
through. Erratic results could be caused by defective network
hardware (NIC, hub, switch cable), network cables running too close to
electrical power cables, or by buggy network card driver programs.
--
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

I made all the recommended changes, but they still cannot ping each other.
When originally set up, this netowrk operated perfectly, so I tend to doubt
that there is a hardware issue. I have tried the current cable anbd a new
one and found both work. Here are the latest readouts:

Status for domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A1253276-EAD1-42D1-A9E9-3DD99B800697}
Browsing is NOT active on domain.
Master name cannot be determined from GetAdapterStatus.

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : FRED
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-6A-EE-4A-E6
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Status for domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{964D1183-85C6-4B4B-A144-B96EB9640719}
Browsing is active on domain.
Master browser name is: WILMA
Master browser is running build 2600
1 backup servers retrieved from master WILMA
\\WILMA
There are 1 servers in domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{964D1183-85C6-4B4B-A144-B96EB9640719}
There are 1 domains in domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{964D1183-85C6-4B4B-A144-B96EB9640719}

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : WILMA
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection :
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-6A-EF-6D-04
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

FRED had been the MBR, but when I rebooted them, WILMA was up first and
tookthe honors. (I left the browser enabled on both machine.) When WILMA
rtied to ping FRED, the response is "cannot find host." FRED now returns the
same response, whether I ping by name or IP address. Any other things I can
try?

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

I made all the recommended changes, but they still cannot ping each other.
When originally set up, this netowrk operated perfectly, so I tend to doubt
that there is a hardware issue. I have tried the current cable anbd a new
one and found both work. Here are the latest readouts:

Status for domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{A1253276-EAD1-42D1-A9E9-3DD99B800697}
Browsing is NOT active on domain.
Master name cannot be determined from GetAdapterStatus.

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : FRED
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-6A-EE-4A-E6
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Status for domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{964D1183-85C6-4B4B-A144-B96EB9640719}
Browsing is active on domain.
Master browser name is: WILMA
Master browser is running build 2600
1 backup servers retrieved from master WILMA
\\WILMA
There are 1 servers in domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{964D1183-85C6-4B4B-A144-B96EB9640719}
There are 1 domains in domain STUDYNET on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{964D1183-85C6-4B4B-A144-B96EB9640719}

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : WILMA
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mixed
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection :
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-6A-EF-6D-04
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

FRED had been the MBR, but when I rebooted them, WILMA was up first and
tookthe honors. (I left the browser enabled on both machine.) When WILMA
rtied to ping FRED, the response is "cannot find host." FRED now returns the
same response, whether I ping by name or IP address. Any other things I can
try?

Don't waste time looking at Browstat, NetBIOS, computer names, or
master browser settings until both computers can ping each other by IP
address.

I don't see how you can get a "cannot find host" response when FRED
pings an IP address. On my computer, pinging by IP address either
succeeds, times out, or gets a "destination host unreachable" error.

Download and install the latest Windows XP network card drivers for
both computers. You might have to use a different computer and
transfer the driver via CD or USB flash drive.

Try explicitly setting the network cards' speed and duplex modes (e.g.
100 Mb, full duplex). Automatic sensing isn't always reliable.

If you're using a crossover cable, try substituting a network switch
and two regular cables.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
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