Home computer network problem

[Guest]

Hi

I am unable to access a computer on my work group (home computer network).
I get this error message when I try:-

\\"computername" 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 permissions.

The network path was not found. -

I have tried to find Windows help to fix this but haven't been successful.

A couple of other points;
-I should be the administrator for my own home computers! (but I am not
familiar with checking, setting & confirming administrator rights).

-How can my networked computer show in the computer workgroup & yet the
network path be unable to be found?


Further details (if needed about my home network) are that it is a
wireless one using Belkin ADSL modem with wireless G router & the internet
connection is fine. However I have allowed files (& drive) for sharing on the
workgroup computer that I am trying to access- so far unsuccessfully with
this error message & issue preventing me from getting access.

I am most grateful if anyone can give me help and advise. I look forward to
a reply , many thanks.

 

[Malke]

Hi

I am unable to access a computer on my work group (home computer network).
I get this error message when I try:-

\\"computername" 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 permissions.

The network path was not found. -

I have tried to find Windows help to fix this but haven't been successful.

A couple of other points;
-I should be the administrator for my own home computers! (but I am not
familiar with checking, setting & confirming administrator rights).

-How can my networked computer show in the computer workgroup & yet the
network path be unable to be found?


Further details (if needed about my home network) are that it is a
wireless one using Belkin ADSL modem with wireless G router & the internet
connection is fine. However I have allowed files (& drive) for sharing on the
workgroup computer that I am trying to access- so far unsuccessfully with
this error message & issue preventing me from getting access.

I am most grateful if anyone can give me help and advise. I look forward to
a reply , many thanks.

Standard network problems reply - This is most commonly caused by a
misconfigured firewall. Run the Network Setup Wizard on all 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 or Media Center:

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

 

[Guest]

Hi Malke

Thanks for your reply.
I tried rerunning the network setup wizard but when I applied LAN setting it
finished the wizard.
I tried using the wireless wizard but this wouldn't work either.

I have McAfee virus protection on one computer & Norton on the other.
I looked at the website but again unsuccessfully.
I have searched the internet for help again unsuccessfully.
I had earlier contacted Belkin for support but they referred me to microsoft
support website and I cannot find the answer there.

I don't understand computing technicalities much & think I may be beyond
help with this now. Still if anyone feels they can offer more simple
instructions to allow me to fix this & so share folders over my home network
I would again be grateful for your help & will give it another try!
Best wishes

 

[Malke]

Hi Malke

Thanks for your reply.
I tried rerunning the network setup wizard but when I applied LAN setting it
finished the wizard.
I tried using the wireless wizard but this wouldn't work either.

I have McAfee virus protection on one computer & Norton on the other.
I looked at the website but again unsuccessfully.
I have searched the internet for help again unsuccessfully.
I had earlier contacted Belkin for support but they referred me to microsoft
support website and I cannot find the answer there.

I don't understand computing technicalities much & think I may be beyond
help with this now. Still if anyone feels they can offer more simple
instructions to allow me to fix this & so share folders over my home network
I would again be grateful for your help & will give it another try!
Best wishes

The wireless wizard has nothing to do with setting up file/printer
sharing on a local area network (lan). You need to:

1. On each machine, go to the Control Panel and make sure that the
Windows Firewall is Off. If it wasn't Off, turn it Off.

2. On each machine, go to Norton and McAfee and configure them to allow
your lan as trusted. If you don't know how to do this, look in the
programs' Help files. I don't recommend either McAfee or Norton so don't
have those programs running on any machines; therefore, I can't check
the exact location of those configuration options for you. You'll just
need to patiently look - the options are most definitely there.

3. If both machines are XP Home (you didn't say), then you're done
except for making the shares. If one or more of the computers are XP Pro
or Media Center, read what I wrote in my previous post and either enable
Simple Sharing or create identical user accounts/passwords on both machines.

If this is still confusing, consider having a local professional come
on-site to set you up. This is easy and doesn't normally take very long
so shouldn't be too expensive. There is no shame in doing this. I don't
hesitate to call a plumber when I need one. ;-)


Malke

 

[Guest]

Malke

Thanks for your further reply & advice.

I am glad to say I am now making progress with this!
I can now access my second computer on the network.

I spent more time looking at advice on websites (& seemingly many people
have experienced this problem & gone through many ways to solve it & some
apparently remain resistant & unfixed).I did adjust some parameters from
advice from a Microsoft KB article (but have now forgotten which article no!).


However success came when I investigated & adjusted the firewalls. The
windows firewalls were already switched off on both the computers. Then when
I configured Norton firewall to allow this network to be "trusted" on my
second computer I was able to access this computer's shared drives & folders
from its workgroup. (I have McAfee on my server(?) computer & Norton Internet
suite on my second network computer).

Your advice was pretty spot on to check firewalls.

I have one remaining problem though! I have allowed a desktop on my second
computer to be shared but when I try to access this I get the same pesky-
access denied do you have admin rights? -message. This is strange as I can
now access all the other folders I have allowed for sharing on that
computer. I run Win XP pro on the "server" computer & Win XP home edn on the
second computer.

(BTW I once took one of my computers to a shop for attention & was told I
needed to remove most of my programs from the drive. It was quite full, but
there was enough space for Win98 to run & the shop did not solve the
problem.This was a wired network issue & I hooked up with a friend who lives
about 40 miles away & we solved it together- I actually spent a whole weekend
again with him trying to sort out slow starting on my computer.One reason for
this is the large amount of memory McAfee uses in the background! Ever tried
getting good help from PC World? I could write more on this! Like many
things an ability to do your own simple DIY is a practical solution to many
problems. It is also very good that there are many sources of information
free & available on the internet & shows the positive side of technology &
the internet).

If & when I get my problem fully fixed (& can access this presently
inaccessible desktop) I will post again. If you can add any more advice I am
again very grateful and have much appreciated your replies & help here.
Best wishes

 

[Malke]

RPD wrote:

(snippage)

I have one remaining problem though! I have allowed a desktop on my second
computer to be shared but when I try to access this I get the same pesky-
access denied do you have admin rights? -message. This is strange as I can
now access all the other folders I have allowed for sharing on that
computer. I run Win XP pro on the "server" computer & Win XP home edn on the
second computer.

Remember the part where I said if one of the computers was XP Pro... the
part I said twice? That's the part you need to do. Here's the
information again for your convenience:

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

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.

Short answer: either enable Simple Sharing on the XP Pro box OR just
create identical user accounts/passwords on each machine.


Malke

 

[Guest]

Hi Malke

Thanks for your continued advice.
You did indeed specify the need to check sharing & that was my next step to
take
(like how the song goes "New York, New York-so good they named it twice" I'm
pleased for your patience & diligence!).

Well, when I checked the Win XP help file it said I needed to run the
network setup wizard to do this (you had also said this earlier-thanks). So I
redid this, but I must have made a mistake with what/which computer internet
connection was being used as after running it I could not connect to the
internet!
I tried to restore my internet connection myself & failed so I used system
restore to return it to yesterday's settings & continue!

Then I noticed my "server/main computer" was running WinXP Home edn just as
the second computer whose desktop I was trying to access.(It is my third
computer that has WinXP pro on-ooops!). No wonder I couldn't find that box
for simple file sharing in >folder options>view tab! (It's not there in WinXP
home edition as you know).
So I continued by changing user accounts on both computers to be the same &
still no result.
It has though finally worked when I set the sharing security level for the
desktop to also allow network users to change files!

GREAT- I have finally achieved my aim & accessed the files across the
network I wanted to access (& now can apply myself back to real life & work
hopefully!).

Many thanks for your great help & advice & best wishes to you

 

[Malke]

RPD wrote:
(snip)

GREAT- I have finally achieved my aim & accessed the files across the
network I wanted to access (& now can apply myself back to real life & work
hopefully!).

Many thanks for your great help & advice & best wishes to you

I'm glad you got things sorted. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.


Malke

 

[Guest]

Hi Malke

Yes that issue is sorted.....but of course with these computers there is
always something else to fix!
Now I am trying to connect to the internet on my remaining (third) networked
computer.For some reason it has decided it doesn't want to connect!
(BTW this is the XP pro computer so that might be the reason as the other
ones are on XP Home??)
-We will all need a holiday when this epic network battle is done - LOL
I will keep you posted as I am determined my home network will work!
Thanks

 

[Guest]

Hi

Just for further interest (?!) I managed to network my 3rd computer (running
Win XP Pro), but only after a struggle!

For some reason WinXP Pro was not running well (help files wouldn't load
properly & other minor issues) so I decided to reinstall it & then fix the
network. This did not go smoothly & somehow I could only do this by booting
from WinXP CD!
I then had real trouble with it reinstalling (it wouldn't copy files
properly & so wouldn't reinstall!).
Eventually after many tries (taking many hours over a few days!) it did all
copy properly & it reinstalled (events included missing hal.dll etc & I tried
the repair console & the drive was also wiped clean! too bad!- just have to
start refilling it & I don't think I lost any vital info!!).

However with my now near expert experience at networking, I
disabled/configured firewalls & enabled file sharing & now am fully
networked! Phew! At least that was easy.

Meantime I installed & configured Java SDK6 on my main computer as I thought
it might be a good thing to use the computer to compute on. After a slight
problem setting the paths for this it is running fine & I can now try & learn
Java & produce some java programs in my spare time!

Now one other matter remaining to fix is to see why the slave drive on that
3rd computer is shown on BIOS at start but not in My Computer! (I wonder how
long this will take to fix!?.....). I should write a book on these
experiences LOL

Best wishes