Network Path Not Found

[Guest]

Would like to access a shared folder on desktop computer from a notebook
computer. Both the workstation and notebook belong to the same LAN. I click
View Workgroup on the notebook. It says, "WHQ not accessible. You might not
have permission to use this network." But I am logged on as Sysytem
Administrator. why am I not allowed to view the computer on the LAN?

 

[Malke]

Would like to access a shared folder on desktop computer from a
notebook
computer. Both the workstation and notebook belong to the same LAN.
I click
View Workgroup on the notebook. It says, "WHQ not accessible. You
might not have permission to use this network." But I am logged on as
Sysytem Administrator. why am I not allowed to view the computer on
the LAN?

This is most commonly caused by a misconfigured firewall. Run the
Network Setup Wizard on both computers, making sure to enable File &
Printer Sharing, and reboot. The only "gotcha" is that this will turn
on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party
firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like
Norton 2005/06) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. If you have
third-party firewall software, configure it to allow the Local Area
Network traffic as trusted. I usually do this with my firewalls with an
IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would
substitute your correct subnet.

If one or more of the computers is XP Pro:

a. If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user
accounts/passwords on all computers.

b. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the
Simple File Sharing enabled.

Simple File Sharing means that Guest (network) is enabled. This means
that anyone without a user account on the target system can use its
resources. This is a security hole but only you can decide if it
matters in your situation.

Then create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
Shared Documents folder.

If that doesn't work for you, here is an excellent network
troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna. Take the time to go through it
and it will usually pinpoint the problem area(s) -
http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm

Malke

 

[Jim]

Would like to access a shared folder on desktop computer from a notebook
computer. Both the workstation and notebook belong to the same LAN. I
click
View Workgroup on the notebook. It says, "WHQ not accessible. You might
not
have permission to use this network." But I am logged on as Sysytem
Administrator. why am I not allowed to view the computer on the LAN?

Every time that I have received this message, it meant that the remote
computer was not connected to the internet. In short, you can't connect
because the remote computer is not connected. I usually have this trouble
when I am using a wireless connection. My laptop is only connected to the
network when there is someone logged onto the computer. FYI, I am most
interested in learning how to make my wireless connection "always on" just
like the ethernet connection.

All of the privileges in the world will not allow you to connect to a remote
computer which itself is not connected to the network.
Jim

 

[Steven L Umbach]

That is kind of a generic message saying that there is some sort of problem
that may be related to network connectivity or name resolution. Usually a
lack or permissions gets you an access denied message or a credential
prompt.

First see if you can ping the other computer by name and IP address. You can
use the command ipconfig /all to see tcp/ip info for an XP computer. If ping
fails by both name and IP you probably have a personal/host firewall
blocking access to the other computer. The link below may be helpful.

Steve

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=308007

 

[Guest]

Thank you for clear, concise reply. As soon as I entered the IP Address for
the notebook in the trust account in firewall running on workstation the
notebook was able to access the shared files & printers on the workstation.

Thank you for the info on Advanced settings. A tighter security setup will
be considered as soon as the usage patterns for the LAN become understood.

 

[Guest]

I agree, how to make a wireless connection "always on" just like an ethernet
connection is a very interesting topic.

 

[Guest]

I typed ipconfig /all and then pinged the Ip address and the device name.
It worked. Next I entered Setup for the gateway, could not find a problem
with DSL connection.

Next I shut-off Third Part Firewall running on the workstation and file
sharing on the workstation worked from the notebook. So I entered the
notebook's ip address as a trusted item in the firewall on the workstation
and restarted the firewall. I still had file access from the notebook;
defferred further consideration of best way to configure firewall until
workflow on LAN is better understood.

 

[Steven L Umbach]

Great to hear you have made progress. Adding the computer's IP as trusted
should work and still allow the firewall to protect you from other untrusted
hosts.

Steve