Intermittent browsing of XP workgroup

[Guest]

I am having sooo much trouble with browsing my workgroup. But with 4
computers, all on wireless, all going into Stand By at various times of the
day and night, is it any wonder?
Sometimes the XP Pro machine becomes Browser Master at the same time as
other machines
Rarely I can see all shares from both XP home and Pro machines.
Often browstat status says Browsing is not active

The wireless router is a Dlink DSL G-604T serving as the DHCP server
All are on XP Home SP 2 except for one on XP Pro SP 2
All are on the same workgroup
Networking:
All running Client for Microsoft Networks
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
QoS Packet Scheduler
TCP/IP
AEGIS
WLAN Transport

All the TCP/IP's are set to
dynamic IP,
Enable Netbios over DHCP
Enable LMHOSTS lookup (though I have not created any LMHOSTS file)

 

[Richard G. Harper]

Don't use browsing - it's inherently unreliable. Use shortcuts in My
Network Places instead and save yourself the aggravation.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

 

[Guest]

If there is no Browser Master, then the shortcuts don't work. Or is there
some other piece that you've left out?

 

[Malke]

If there is no Browser Master, then the shortcuts don't work. Or is
there some other piece that you've left out?

No, you're missing the point which is that using shortcuts avoids the
Master Browser issues.

1. Remove the Network Places icon from the Display
applet>Desktop>Customize Desktop

2. Create a folder on the Desktop called something useful like
"Network".

3. Use Search and search for "computers on the network". Then find the
network shares you want and right-click each of them and drag to your
new Network folder. Choose "create shortcut". Now when you want to
access those network shares, just double-click the appropriate icon.

4. For workstations that are always on (not laptops), you may wish to
adjust the power settings on the network adapters. Do this from
System>Hardware>Device Manager. Expand the network adapter category and
find your ethernet adapter. Double-click it to get its Properties and
then click on the Power Management tab. Uncheck "Allow Windows to turn
off this device when not in use".

Malke

 

[Guest]

3. Use Search and search for "computers on the network". Then find the
network shares you want and right-click each of them and drag to your
new Network folder. Choose "create shortcut". Now when you want to
access those network shares, just double-click the appropriate icon.

That doesn't work. From an XP home pc, I could find the XP Pro pc and drag
its shares as you suggested. But the other XP home pc, which shows in the
View Workgroup computers, returns the "not accessible. You might not have
permission..." error. From THAT pc (which has the printer on it), I am unable
to see the other 2 (the first XP home, and the XP Pro) either using the View
workgroup computers or from the run command using UNC. Pings by IP address
aren't working either. Are you suggesting that I kill the browser service or
something quirky?

 

[Malke]

That doesn't work. From an XP home pc, I could find the XP Pro pc and
drag its shares as you suggested. But the other XP home pc, which
shows in the View Workgroup computers, returns the "not accessible.
You might not have permission..." error. From THAT pc (which has the
printer on it), I am unable to see the other 2 (the first XP home, and
the XP Pro) either using the View workgroup computers or from the run
command using UNC. Pings by IP address aren't working either. Are you
suggesting that I kill the browser service or something quirky?

No, in that case you have something set up incorrectly on your network
because that method most assuredly works on a working lan. It sounds
like you have an overlooked or misconfigured firewall(s).

Please go through these general steps methodically with all the
computers connected to the network and turned on:

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