home network access issue

  • Thread starter Thread starter frankg
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frankg

4 computers (3 on XP and 1 on 98) all connected to the internet and to one
another via a router (which in turn is connected to a dsl modem).

All the computers can see each other and access files. However one of the
machines (on XP) which happens to also have the printer connected to it,
almost (i say almost 'cos sometimes it's ok) always is not accessible, and
therefore nor is the printer.

When trying to access it via network placess, I browse to the workgroup and
it lists it there, but I cant get to the drives, folders, files or printer.
They ARE shared. The printer is also shared.I get an error message "
computer-2 is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this
network resource. Contact the admin of this server to find out if you have
access permissions. The network path was not found."

I poked about in control panel> administrative tools but couldnt see
anything there to 'turn on' but there may be ?

I did find on occasion, not consistantly though, that if i booted up my
computer (computer-1) first, then the troublesome one with the printer
attached (computer-2) , it is more likely to be able to be accessed. But
right now that's not working so computer-2 and it's printer cant be accessed
from computers 1, 3 or 4.

I just tried switching off 2 machines (only had 2 of 4 machines running) and
was immediately able
to connect to the printer sharing machine.....and so that means what ? That
too many machines switched on are overtaxing the routers ability to provide
a stable newtwork and printer sharing ? And the solution is what - to buy
a switch with a parallel printer port on it, and plug that and the
printer (in the switch) into a lan port on to my router ?

Only one user on each machine

Can anyone offer clues?
 
"frankg" said:
4 computers (3 on XP and 1 on 98) all connected to the internet and to one
another via a router (which in turn is connected to a dsl modem).

All the computers can see each other and access files. However one of the
machines (on XP) which happens to also have the printer connected to it,
almost (i say almost 'cos sometimes it's ok) always is not accessible, and
therefore nor is the printer.

When trying to access it via network placess, I browse to the workgroup and
it lists it there, but I cant get to the drives, folders, files or printer.
They ARE shared. The printer is also shared.I get an error message "
computer-2 is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this
network resource. Contact the admin of this server to find out if you have
access permissions. The network path was not found."

I poked about in control panel> administrative tools but couldnt see
anything there to 'turn on' but there may be ?

I did find on occasion, not consistantly though, that if i booted up my
computer (computer-1) first, then the troublesome one with the printer
attached (computer-2) , it is more likely to be able to be accessed. But
right now that's not working so computer-2 and it's printer cant be accessed
from computers 1, 3 or 4.

I just tried switching off 2 machines (only had 2 of 4 machines running) and
was immediately able
to connect to the printer sharing machine.....and so that means what ? That
too many machines switched on are overtaxing the routers ability to provide
a stable newtwork and printer sharing ? And the solution is what - to buy
a switch with a parallel printer port on it, and plug that and the
printer (in the switch) into a lan port on to my router ?

Only one user on each machine

Can anyone offer clues?
Click to expand...

As you can see from reading messages in this news group, browsing a
workgroup using Network Neighborhood and My Network Places is
unreliable. That's especially true in mixed 9x/XP networks, and
especially true if computers turn on and off frequently.

In my opinion, it's not worth the trouble to try to get network
browsing to behave. You can access another computer directly by
typing its name in the Start | Run box in this format:

\\computer
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
What is the implication if I cannot access either PC by typing \\computer ?
I have 2 XP Home PC's with SP-2. One is a DELL and the other an HP. The DELL
is the base PC for my cable modem and it is a wired network with a D-Link
DI-704UP. I can access and transfer from the HP to the DELL but the other
way all I get is "HP not accessible. You might not have permission to use
this network resource." Thank you, Steve T.
 
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