Cannot connect to a workgroup

[helphelphelp]

I just reformat and install XP Pro. I am trying to connect to my workgroup
but is not working. Other computers can view it but cant access the shared
folder. My computer can connect to internet so Is not the LAN problem.

What can I do? Thank you

 

[helphelphelp]

The error mgs is " xxx is not accessible. You might not have permission to
use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find
out if you have access permission. The list of servers of this workfroup is
not currently available."

I check the file sharing options and all is on. What else to do to see the
rest of the workgroup? Thank you

 

[Malke]

The error mgs is " xxx is not accessible. You might not have permission to
use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find
out if you have access permission. The list of servers of this workfroup is
not currently available."

I check the file sharing options and all is on. What else to do to see the
rest of the workgroup? Thank you

For XP, start by running the Network Setup Wizard (see caveat in Item A
below).

Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally
caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two
firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party
firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on
all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating
system does not permit it.

For XP and Windows 2003 Server, MVP Hans-Georg Michna has an excellent
small network troubleshooter. It may also be useful with Vista.

http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm

Here are some general networking tips for home/small networks:

A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network
(LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing
File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network
Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.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 2006/07) which acts as a
firewall, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually
configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be
192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct
subnet. Do not run more than one firewall.

B. For ease of organization, put all computers in the same Workgroup.
This is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab.

C. Create matching user accounts and passwords on all machines. You do
not need to be logged into the same account on all machines and the
passwords assigned to each user account can be different; the
accounts/passwords just need to exist and match on all machines. If you
wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular
user's account) for convenience, you can do this. The instructions at
this link work for both XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center:

1. 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.

2. 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.


Malke

 

[helphelphelp]

Hi,

I have off all the wirewall, all coms are using one same workgroup name, I
do not create account and password and I turn on Simple File Sharing Enable.
But I still cant see other coms. Any more help? Thank you

 

[Malke]

Hi,

I have off all the wirewall, all coms are using one same workgroup name, I
do not create account and password and I turn on Simple File Sharing Enable.
But I still cant see other coms. Any more help? Thank you

Obviously you've missed something. Go through the steps again. The error
message you listed indicates that you most probably do *not* have your
firewall configured correctly and/or your user accounts/passwords do not
match. As I suggested in my previous post, it is most efficacious to
create matching user accounts/passwords and, on XP Pro machines, disable
Simple File Sharing.

If you still can't figure it out, either go through Mr. Michna's
troubleshooter which I already gave you or have a local computer
professional come on-site to set you up correctly. Here is the link to
the troubleshooter again for your convenience:

http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm


Malke