XP(Home) cannot connect to small network with 2 other Win98 PCs

[Guest]

I have a small 3 PC network with 2 Win98SE PCs and 1 WinXP
(home) PC. All have 128MB or RAM. There is a DSL line
connected through the network.
THe problem: the XP machine got disconnected from the
network and I cannot get it to map the shared drive on one
of the Win98 machines. It is not a cabling issue, because
the XP connects to the Internet. I have gone through all
the steps recommended to connect the XP to the network
several times with no luck. ICF (Internet Connection
Firewall) is disabled as recommended. I can ping the Win98
PCs from the XP, but cannot ping the XP from the WIn98
PCs. All the computers can see each other. I'm not sure
what else to try.

Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

I have a small 3 PC network with 2 Win98SE PCs and 1 WinXP
(home) PC. All have 128MB or RAM. There is a DSL line
connected through the network.
THe problem: the XP machine got disconnected from the
network and I cannot get it to map the shared drive on one
of the Win98 machines. It is not a cabling issue, because
the XP connects to the Internet. I have gone through all
the steps recommended to connect the XP to the network
several times with no luck. ICF (Internet Connection
Firewall) is disabled as recommended. I can ping the Win98
PCs from the XP, but cannot ping the XP from the WIn98
PCs. All the computers can see each other. I'm not sure
what else to try.

Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks!

Disable and then un-install all firewall programs (Norton Internet
Security, ZoneAlarm, etc) while troubleshooting the network.

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

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

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
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