LAN messed up my ftp access

[Ginchy]

Hi there,

I am posting this here after failing to get an answer on my ISP`s own
support Newsgroup.

Past week I couldnt retrieve my directory listing for my website on ftp....I
could log in
ok but could not retrieve directory. I keep getting an error:- "Cant build
data connection"##

I tried bt support by e mail and got a reply in 2 hrs!!!!

I could not understand the answer as it was too technical but it pointed me
towards my LAN

I had been messing with this as I tried to get my xp pro and win98se
machines to see each other and I ran the xp wizard for setting up a
network....this involved running the disc in both machines.

It didnt work and I finally solved it by adding NETBEUI to the xp machine
and everything was rosy.

Except after doing this I couldnt get ftp to work.

Today I went into the win98se machine and booted to a "d" partition I had
made of a working machine about a year ago. I could log onto ftp no problem
so there was proof that it def WAS my settings at fault..

What I then done was to unbind tcp/ip from netbeui and LO AND BEHOLD IT
WORKED......I hadnt a clue what i was doing mind you........

So what do I have to do to the xp machine to acheive the same
result.........when I highlight NETBEUI in the xp machine you dont get a
"properties" its greyed out

I have tried unchecking and rechecking everything I can find under TCP/IP
but still cant get it? So what exactly is messing with my ip address when I
try to use ftp and how do I cure it(bt support say that my ip address must
be changing as I wait for the directory to be listed in ftp but I dont
understand what this means)......

I know its a tick/untick somewhere,
but where?

Any help appreciated.

 

[James Egan]

Past week I couldnt retrieve my directory listing for my website on ftp....I
could log in
ok but could not retrieve directory. I keep getting an error:- "Cant build
data connection"##

In an active ftp connection, the initial data (tcp) connection is
instigated by the server so if your other Internet stuff is working
okay this could well be a firewall issue.

Try going into your ftp client and tell it to use passive (pasv) mode.
Then your ftp client will instigate the connections and traverse the
firewall successfully.

I tried bt support by e mail and got a reply in 2 hrs!!!!

Something of a record there.

I could not understand the answer as it was too technical but it pointed me
towards my LAN

What did it say?

I had been messing with this as I tried to get my xp pro and win98se
machines to see each other and I ran the xp wizard for setting up a
network....this involved running the disc in both machines.

It didnt work and I finally solved it by adding NETBEUI to the xp machine
and everything was rosy.

netbeui is a LAN replacement for tcp/ip in terms of ms file and
printer sharing so it was working INSTEAD of tcp/ip for your LAN but
it can't correct a ftp problem since ftp can only use tcp/ip

Except after doing this I couldnt get ftp to work.

Today I went into the win98se machine and booted to a "d" partition I had
made of a working machine about a year ago. I could log onto ftp no problem
so there was proof that it def WAS my settings at fault..

I thought it was the xp machine which didn't work.

What I then done was to unbind tcp/ip from netbeui and LO AND BEHOLD IT
WORKED......I hadnt a clue what i was doing mind you........

Well you didn't unbind tcp/ip from netbeui. That's for sure.

So what do I have to do to the xp machine to acheive the same
result.........when I highlight NETBEUI in the xp machine you dont get a
"properties" its greyed out

winxp is more unstable than win9x when it comes to using more than one
protocol and it isn't recommended unless you specifically need it.
You will be better of long term if you remove netbeui.

I have tried unchecking and rechecking everything I can find under TCP/IP
but still cant get it? So what exactly is messing with my ip address when I
try to use ftp and how do I cure it(bt support say that my ip address must
be changing as I wait for the directory to be listed in ftp but I dont
understand what this means)......

No. It's not that. You must have been talking to a BT drone who
doesn't know what he's talking about.


Jim.

 

[John Wunderlich]

Try going into your ftp client and tell it to use passive (pasv)
mode. Then your ftp client will instigate the connections and
traverse the firewall successfully.

If you're using Internet Explorer, the setting is in:
Control Panel->Internet Options->Advanced Tab->
"Use Passive FTP"

HTH,
John

 

[Ginchy]

You both got it!!!!

Using Passive worked on the xp machine.

But now out of curiosity what did I do on the win98se machine if I didnt
unbind tcp/ip from netbuei

I just checked it was DIAL UP ADAPTER I removed NETBUEI from!!!!

James you say I shouldnt use NETBEUI for my home LAN but I just couldnt get
the machines to see each other without it.......not only that but when I had
2 win98se machines networked together I also had to use NETBEUI

When I searched for help on the xp/win98se thing I actually found a site
which specifically told you to install NETBUEI from the xp pro disc....when
I done this it all worked like a charm.

I`m afraid my understanding of networking is ziltch.

I will email bt support and tell them how easily you guys solved my problem
and ask wwhy they couldnt!

Finally thanks for the help and James......here is the response they gave
me........(needless to say I didnt have booster sware installed!!) Oh and
they didnt say it was my lan they said something about ip address changes
and I knew the only thing I had been messing with was the lan. So at the end
of the day it was the firewall on the xp machine but the win98se didnt have
a firewall so it must have been that unbinding because that was all I done
and it worked again.....anyway heres what they wrote
uploading files in our FTP server. The reason for the timeout and error 425
messages you receive when logging on, could occur due to configuration of
the firewall or proxy server the system uses, it is possible for an IP
address to be dynamically allocated. If the IP address changes during the
process of using our FTP service, it will "time out" as a security measure.

Similarly it is possible to experience these same problems at home due to
certain web/Internet "accelerator" software altering your IP address.

If you are using any programs you believe could be causing these problems
for the reasons described above, you may like to temporarily disable the
software to determine if it is the source of the problem. If this proves to
be case we would recommend contacting your program manufacturer for further
advice.

I am sorry to inform you that we are unable to help you further in this
regard. I hope this information is useful. Please feel free to contact us
for further assistance.

Please quote the reference number in any future correspondence to the
helpdesk.

Yours sincerely,

Priyadarshini

CHEERS GUYS THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR HELP!!!!

 

[James Egan]

James you say I shouldnt use NETBEUI for my home LAN but I just couldnt get
the machines to see each other without it.......not only that but when I had
2 win98se machines networked together I also had to use NETBEUI

If you have it working okay and the throughput is okay then you can
leave it as it is. However, some xp networks experience problems when
netbeui is installed and I've read on the ms knowledge base (though I
can't remember the url offhand) that certain network functions won't
work if netbeui is installed.

The reason it's on the xp cd and not installed by default is that it
is for backwards compatibility with legacy systems. Future problems
which occur with it are not going to be at the top of Microsoft's to
do list.

When I searched for help on the xp/win98se thing I actually found a site
which specifically told you to install NETBUEI from the xp pro disc....when
I done this it all worked like a charm.

Well there are sites (like grc.com) which advocate using a different
protocol (like netbeui) for file and printer sharing and unbinding
tcp/ip from file and printer sharing so as to separate the Internet
from your local network and to stop the outside world having access to
your files. However, unbinding file and printer sharing from the
tcp/ip stack of dialup adaptor whilst leaving it bound to the tcp/ip
stack of the lan adaptor would be sufficient to accomplish this.

If you do want to continue with two protocols, you might try using
ipx/spx instead of netbeui. If you want to use one protocol, to
configure your tcp/ip manually is easy enough without wizards.

Jim.

 

[Ginchy]

James.....thanks again for this

and unbinding
tcp/ip from file and printer sharing so as to separate the Internet
from your local network and to stop the outside world having access to
your files. However, unbinding file and printer sharing from the
tcp/ip stack of dialup adaptor whilst leaving it bound to the tcp/ip
stack of the lan adaptor would be sufficient to accomplish this.


I actually have both of these "unbound" but its good to hear you confirm by
your info that I have done the right thing and I am safe.

All I do is transfer files between machines and I have no need for internet
sharing so I guess I am well sorted now!

I wrote to bt again to moan at "why couldnt they tell me" so if I get a
reply I will paste it here for your amusement!