I am running a home computer network. I have a cable modem with 4 ports and
a Firewall. I have three computers insite my network. All three computers
can see the outside internet (all can surf the web). Two of the computers
can see both of the other two computers, but I have one computer that cannot
see the other two.
The one that cannot see the other two, can see them if I search the
WORKGROUP but if I click on either of the two computers then it says
\\computer is not accessble.
All three computers are running Microsoft XP.
My laptop is the one that cannot see the two desktops. The desktops can see
the laptop.
Any thoughts
Dan,
Check all computers for a firewall misconfiguration. Firewalls are the most
common cause for this type of problem, at least the ones reported here.
The next thing to check would be the browsers (I'm not talking about Internet
Explorer here). Identify the two computers that stay online the most, and
designate them the browsers for your workgroup (all computers are in the same
workgroup right?).
Make sure the browser service is running on the browser computers. Control
Panel - Administrative Tools - Services. Verify that the Computer Browser, and
the TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper, services both show with Status = Started. Disable
the browser on the other computer.
After checking / disabling / enabling as above, power all computers off to reset
the browser settings on each. Then power the browser computers on, and finally
the other computer on.
The Microsoft Browstat program will show us what browsers you have in your
domain / workgroup, at any time.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305
You can download Browstat from either:
<
http://www.dynawell.com/reskit/microsoft/win2000/browstat.zip>
<
http://rescomp.stanford.edu/staff/manual/rcc/tools/browstat.zip>
Browstat is very small (40K), and needs no install. Just unzip the downloaded
file, copy browstat.exe to any folder in the Path, and run it from a command
window, by "browstat status". Make sure all computers give the same result.
For more information about the browser subsystem (very intricate), see:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188001
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305
<
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winntas/deploy/prodspecs/ntbrowse.mspx>
Finally, look at registry key [HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa], value
restrictanonymous. The browser requires anonymous access.
<
http://www.microsoft.com/windows200...2000/techinfo/reskit/en-us/regentry/46688.asp>
<
http://www.jsifaq.com/subf/tip2600/rh2625.htm>
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=246261
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=296403
The above articles refer to Windows 2000. Remember WinXP is NT V5.1, and Win2K
is NT V5.0.
Have you used the Registry Editor before? If not, it's a scary tool, but it's
pretty simple once you get used to it. Here are a couple articles that might
help:
<
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...home/using/productdoc/en/tools_regeditors.asp>
<
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/registry>
Just remember to backup the key (create a registry patch) for
[HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa] before making any changes, if
appropriate.
From the Annoyances article:
You can create a Registry patch by opening the Registry Editor, selecting a
branch, and choosing Export from the File menu. Then, specify a filename, and
press OK. You can then view the Registry patch file by opening it in Notepad
(right-click on it and select Edit). Again, just double-click on a Registry
patch file (or use Import in the Registry Editor's File menu) to apply it to the
registry.
--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.
