Computers don't see each other

[Guest]

Ok, I have a wireless linksys router, my desktop is physically connected to
the router (name: STEVE), and the laptop is connected wirelessly (name:
MANDY). Both computers can access the internet, they both have workstation
name DUNLAVEY, but they can't see each other.

Here's the ipconfig from STEVE:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : STEVE

Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :

Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown

IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : ccu601.mlfd.wrx.illicom.net


Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 3:


Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : ccu601.mlfd.wrx.illicom.net

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast
Ethernet NIC

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-10-DC-A1-E6-CB

Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 63.252.229.2

63.252.229.3

63.252.229.4

Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, December 09, 2006
3:52:39 AM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, December 10, 2006
3:52:39 AM

and here's the ipconfig from MANDY:


Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : MANDY

Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :

Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown

IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : ccu601.mlfd.wrx.illicom.net


Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:


Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast
Ethernet NIC

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-A0-D1-DB-7B-F7


Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:


Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : ccu601.mlfd.wrx.illicom.net

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Wireless-B Notebook Adapter

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-66-3B-42-A9

Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.101

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 63.252.229.2

63.252.229.3

63.252.229.4

Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, December 09, 2006
2:48:54 AM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, December 10, 2006
2:48:54 AM

Both computers can ping the router, but they cannot ping each others' IP
address.
The only thing I can see (to my untrained eye) that is different from other
examples I have seen is that on net config workstation, I have the
workstation domain dns name is (null), I think this is probably my problem,
but I haven't seen how to fix this.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[Guest]

Oh, both computers are using XP home SP2, both had their firewalls turned off
while I was trying to get them connected.

 

[Chuck]

Ok, I have a wireless linksys router, my desktop is physically connected to
the router (name: STEVE), and the laptop is connected wirelessly (name:
MANDY). Both computers can access the internet, they both have workstation
name DUNLAVEY, but they can't see each other.

Here's the ipconfig from STEVE:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : STEVE

Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :

Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown

IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : ccu601.mlfd.wrx.illicom.net


Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 3:


Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : ccu601.mlfd.wrx.illicom.net

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast
Ethernet NIC

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-10-DC-A1-E6-CB

Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 63.252.229.2

63.252.229.3

63.252.229.4

Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, December 09, 2006
3:52:39 AM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, December 10, 2006
3:52:39 AM

and here's the ipconfig from MANDY:


Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : MANDY

Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :

Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown

IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : ccu601.mlfd.wrx.illicom.net


Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:


Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast
Ethernet NIC

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-A0-D1-DB-7B-F7


Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:


Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : ccu601.mlfd.wrx.illicom.net

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Wireless-B Notebook Adapter

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-66-3B-42-A9

Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.101

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 63.252.229.2

63.252.229.3

63.252.229.4

Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, December 09, 2006
2:48:54 AM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, December 10, 2006
2:48:54 AM

Both computers can ping the router, but they cannot ping each others' IP
address.
The only thing I can see (to my untrained eye) that is different from other
examples I have seen is that on net config workstation, I have the
workstation domain dns name is (null), I think this is probably my problem,
but I haven't seen how to fix this.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Seeing is a browser issue. Look at "browstat status" from each computer. Read
this article, and linked articles, and follow instructions precisely (download
browstat!):
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighborhood.html#AskingForHelp>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighborhood.html#AskingForHelp

 

[Guest]

Ok, I think I'm closer. I've been following all of the steps and have the
following:

On the desktop, browstat gives me
Status for domain DUNLAVEY on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{4DEF434F-2939-4BCC-9346-15DCA5181A65}
Browsing is active on domain.
Master browser name is: STEVE
Master browser is running build 2600
1 backup servers retrieved from master STEVE
\\STEVE
There are 2 servers in domain DUNLAVEY on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{4DEF434F-2939-4BCC-9346-15DCA5181A65}
There are 1 domains in domain DUNLAVEY on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{4DEF434F-2939-4BCC-9346-15DCA5181A65}

but the laptop gives me
Status for domain DUNLAVEY on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{4A3BC4D7-CF09-4102-A9CA-D97F672C943B}
Browsing is NOT active on domain.
Master name cannot be determined from GetAdapterStatus.

NetBT is enabled on the laptop, and all of the other settings from the above
link (great site, btw) look correct. Would the fact that the laptop's
wireless card isn't built in? My Network Places doesn't even show a LAN.
The desktop at least has always shown the router.

Thanks for your help so far, hope you have some more insight you can share.
Steve

 

[Chuck]

Ok, I think I'm closer. I've been following all of the steps and have the
following:

On the desktop, browstat gives me
Status for domain DUNLAVEY on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{4DEF434F-2939-4BCC-9346-15DCA5181A65}
Browsing is active on domain.
Master browser name is: STEVE
Master browser is running build 2600
1 backup servers retrieved from master STEVE
\\STEVE
There are 2 servers in domain DUNLAVEY on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{4DEF434F-2939-4BCC-9346-15DCA5181A65}
There are 1 domains in domain DUNLAVEY on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{4DEF434F-2939-4BCC-9346-15DCA5181A65}

but the laptop gives me
Status for domain DUNLAVEY on transport
\Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{4A3BC4D7-CF09-4102-A9CA-D97F672C943B}
Browsing is NOT active on domain.
Master name cannot be determined from GetAdapterStatus.

NetBT is enabled on the laptop, and all of the other settings from the above
link (great site, btw) look correct. Would the fact that the laptop's
wireless card isn't built in? My Network Places doesn't even show a LAN.
The desktop at least has always shown the router.

Thanks for your help so far, hope you have some more insight you can share.
Steve

Steve,

It's pretty simple. Mandy is not getting SMBs - its own, or Steve's.
1) Check NetBT on both computers.
2) Check for personal firewalls and all other security components and suites on
Mandy.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/your-personal-firewall-can-either-help.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/your-personal-firewall-can-either-help.html
3a) Check for LSP / Winsock corruption on Mandy.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/problems-with-lsp-winsock-layer-in.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/problems-with-lsp-winsock-layer-in.html
3b) See if the Services gives us a clue. Download PSTools, and run CPSServ from
both computers.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/04/cpsserv-comprehensive-psservice-source.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/04/cpsserv-comprehensive-psservice-source.html

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your help. I think I have it almost figured out. It turns out
that my wife had both Norton and MS firewalls on (sigh) and I had only found
and dealt with one of them. Now that Norton is disabled, we're kinda
working. If you can point out where the quirks are coming from, I think
we'll be in business here. The only two things that have popped up since we
got it running have been a couple of weird issues with the printer and the
shared documents. When the machines first saw each other, Windows asked her
computer (laptop) to install the control program for the printer. Ok, but
afterwards it asked my computer (desktop) to do the same, though it has
always been installed on that machine. It doesn't seem to be anything
serious, but I want to make sure. The other issue is with our shared
documents. We each want to share "My Documents" so we can access everything
from both computers. However, when we go to open the My Docs folder from the
other computer, we see our own folder. i.e. if I go to My Network Places and
open the SharedDocs on Mandy's Computer, then open the shortcut to My
Documents found there, I see my own My Documents folder, not hers. The
reverse is true if I'm on her computer. I suspect it is a naming issue, but
as you've figured out I know diddly-squat about this networking business.

The following is the results for the CPSServ runs from the computers:

Start CPSServ V1.10 - STEVE

Find Computer Browser ("browser")

Checking \\MANDY...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\MANDY:

Checking \\STEVE...
Found browser on:

\\STEVE


Find DHCP Client ("dhcp")

Checking \\MANDY...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\MANDY:

Checking \\STEVE...
Found dhcp on:

\\STEVE


Find TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper ("lmhosts")

Checking \\MANDY...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\MANDY:

Checking \\STEVE...
Found lmhosts on:

\\STEVE


Find Remote Registry ("remoteregistry")

Checking \\MANDY...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\MANDY:

Checking \\STEVE... No active service named remoteregistry found.


Find Server ("server")

Checking \\MANDY...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\MANDY:

Checking \\STEVE...
Found server on:

\\STEVE


Find WF / ICS ("sharedaccess")

Checking \\MANDY...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\MANDY:

Checking \\STEVE...
Found sharedaccess on:

\\STEVE


Find Workstation ("workstation")

Checking \\MANDY...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\MANDY:

Checking \\STEVE...
Found workstation on:

\\STEVE

End CPSServ V1.10 - STEVE

and

Start CPSServ V1.10 - MANDY

Find Computer Browser ("browser")

Checking \\MANDY...
Found browser on:

\\MANDY

Checking \\STEVE...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\STEVE:


Find DHCP Client ("dhcp")

Checking \\MANDY...
Found dhcp on:

\\MANDY

Checking \\STEVE...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\STEVE:


Find TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper ("lmhosts")

Checking \\MANDY...
Found lmhosts on:

\\MANDY

Checking \\STEVE...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\STEVE:


Find Remote Registry ("remoteregistry")

Checking \\MANDY...
Checking \\STEVE...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\STEVE:
No active service named remoteregistry found.


Find Server ("server")

Checking \\MANDY...
Found server on:

\\MANDY

Checking \\STEVE...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\STEVE:


Find WF / ICS ("sharedaccess")

Checking \\MANDY...
Found sharedaccess on:

\\MANDY

Checking \\STEVE...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\STEVE:


Find Workstation ("workstation")

Checking \\MANDY...
Found workstation on:

\\MANDY

Checking \\STEVE...Unable to open Service Control Manager database on
\\\STEVE:

End CPSServ V1.10 - MANDY

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[Chuck]

Thanks for your help. I think I have it almost figured out. It turns out
that my wife had both Norton and MS firewalls on (sigh) and I had only found
and dealt with one of them. Now that Norton is disabled, we're kinda
working. If you can point out where the quirks are coming from, I think
we'll be in business here. The only two things that have popped up since we
got it running have been a couple of weird issues with the printer and the
shared documents. When the machines first saw each other, Windows asked her
computer (laptop) to install the control program for the printer. Ok, but
afterwards it asked my computer (desktop) to do the same, though it has
always been installed on that machine. It doesn't seem to be anything
serious, but I want to make sure. The other issue is with our shared
documents. We each want to share "My Documents" so we can access everything
from both computers. However, when we go to open the My Docs folder from the
other computer, we see our own folder. i.e. if I go to My Network Places and
open the SharedDocs on Mandy's Computer, then open the shortcut to My
Documents found there, I see my own My Documents folder, not hers. The
reverse is true if I'm on her computer. I suspect it is a naming issue, but
as you've figured out I know diddly-squat about this networking business.

Steve,

Don't let any of the "experts" here fool you - when we started out, none of us
knew diddly-squat about this networking business either. Experience is what you
need, and you are getting it.

To start with, XP Home provides Guest only network access. With you and Mandy
putting files into your personal storage space on each computer, you aren't
going to be able to see those files from the other computer. You'll have to
setup a shared file space, or put the files into "C:\Documents and Settings\ All
Users", as "...\Steve\..." and "...\Mandy\..." are useless for network sharing
under Guest access.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/06/file-sharing-under-windows-xp.html#Guest>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/06/file-sharing-under-windows-xp.html#Guest

And looking at CPSServ, for each computer, we get:
* "Unable to open Service Control Manager database on (other computer)..."
* "No active service named remoteregistry found.".
Both are normal returns, for XP Home.

So now that we know that you have Norton Personal Firewall involved, you have to
decide what to do.
* Read the Norton documentation, configure it, and disable Windows Firewall.
* Un install NPF, using all instructions from Symantec, religiously.

There are loads of threads in this forum already about folks who have discovered
what a pain in the @ss NPF is, both to configure, and to disable. I used the
"Nuke and Pave" technique to remove Norton Antivirus repeatedly myself, back
before I made myself Symantec Free. I'll bet NPF is like NAV.

With NPF identified, "Check for LSP / Winsock corruption on Mandy." becomes more
indicated now.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/problems-with-lsp-winsock-layer-in.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/problems-with-lsp-winsock-layer-in.html

 

[Guest]

Excellent. Everything is working fine now. Thanks for the time and help, I
really appreciate it.

Steve

 

[Chuck]

Excellent. Everything is working fine now. Thanks for the time and help, I
really appreciate it.

Steve

That's great news, Steve. Thanks for letting us know - we appreciate that.