Linksys router with xp network

[Guest]

I have a linksys wireless router with two desktops and two laptops in my home. I purchased a new desktop machine yesterday with xp pro. My other desktop has xp home as does one of the laptops. The other laptop is 98 se. Desktops are connected via cat 5 wire to the access point router and the laptops are wireless. All of the machines can see the internet but they cannot see each other. The router uses DHSP to assign ip addresses (192.168.1.XXX). Each machine seems to have a valid address and submask. I can ping the router from any machine but cannot see any other computers. I have looked at all of the settings and everything looks correct. I tried turning off all firewalls.. Too many hours and not enough XP experience! What am I doing wrong?

 

[Chuck]

I have a linksys wireless router with two desktops and two laptops in my home. I purchased a new desktop machine yesterday with xp pro. My other desktop has xp home as does one of the laptops. The other laptop is 98 se. Desktops are connected via cat 5 wire to the access point router and the laptops are wireless. All of the machines can see the internet but they cannot see each other. The router uses DHSP to assign ip addresses (192.168.1.XXX). Each machine seems to have a valid address and submask. I can ping the router from any machine but cannot see any other computers. I have looked at all of the settings and everything looks correct. I tried turning off all firewalls.. Too many hours and not enough XP experience! What am I doing wrong?

What firewalls (make, model, and version) did you turn off?

Try turning your firewalls back on, and open the following ports for file and
printer sharing: TCP 139, 445; UDP 137, 138, 445.

If possible, you should do that with DHCP turned off, static ip addresses
assigned, and the mentioned ports only opened for the assigned ip addresses.

Remember wireless networks need additional security precautions:
Enable WEP / WPA. Use non-trivial values for each. (No "My dog has fleas").
Enable MAC filtering.
Disable DHCP, and assign an address to each computer manually.
Change the subnet of your LAN - don't use the default.
Don't disable SSID broadcast - some configurations require the SSID broadcast.
But change the SSID itself - to something that doesn't identify you, or the
equipment.
Enable the router activity log. Examine it regularly. Know what each
connection listed represents - you? a neighbor?.
Install a software firewall on every computer connected to a wireless LAN. Put
manually assigned ip addresses in the Local (highly trusted) Zone. Open the
following ports for file sharing only in the Local Zone: TCP 139, 445; UDP 137,
138, 445.
Use non-trivial userids and passwords on every computer connected to a wireless
LAN. Disable or delete Administrator and Guest userids.
Stay educated - know what the threats are. Newsgroups alt.internet.wireless and
microsoft.public.windows.networking,wireless are good places to start.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

I have a linksys wireless router with two desktops and two laptops in my home. I purchased a new desktop machine yesterday with xp pro. My other desktop has xp home as does one of the laptops. The other laptop is 98 se. Desktops are connected via cat 5 wire to the access point router and the laptops are wireless. All of the machines can see the internet but they cannot see each other. The router uses DHSP to assign ip addresses (192.168.1.XXX). Each machine seems to have a valid address and submask. I can ping the router from any machine but cannot see any other computers. I have looked at all of the settings and everything looks correct. I tried turning off all firewalls.. Too many hours and not enough XP experience! What am I doing wrong?

These tips should help:

1. Permanently disable XP's built-in Internet Connection Firewall on
local area network connections -- it's for use only on a direct modem
connection to the Internet. Disable and un-install all other firewall
programs while troubleshooting. When un-installing a firewall
program, use the un-install procedure provided by the manufacturer .
Don't use Control Panel | Add or Remove Programs, which might not
completely un-install it.

For more information, see:

Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/ic_firewall.htm

2. Use only one protocol for File and Printer Sharing. If the network
needs more than one protocol, unbind File and Printer Sharing from all
but one of them. Details here:

Windows XP Network Protocols
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/network_protocols.htm

3. Make sure that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled on all computers.
Details here:

Enable NetBIOS Over TCP/IP (NetBT)
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/troubleshoot/netbt.htm

4. Run "ipconfig /all" on XP and look at the "Node Type" at the
beginning of the output. If it says "Peer-to-Peer" (which should
actually be "Point-to-Point") that's the problem. It means that the
computer only uses a WINS server, which isn't available on a
peer-to-peer network for NetBIOS name resolution.

If that's the case, run the registry editor, open this key:

HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netbt\Parameters

and delete these values if they're present:

NodeType
DhcpNodeType

Reboot, then try network access again.

If that doesn't fix it, open that registry key again, create a DWORD
value called "NodeType", and set it to 1 for "Broadcast" or 4 for
"Mixed".

For details, see these Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

Default Node Type for Microsoft Clients
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;160177

TCP/IP and NBT Configuration Parameters for Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314053
--
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

 

[Guest]

The other responses seem great, but I don't understand them very well, and they are asking for some technical work. I agree you should stay informed, but don't quit your day job! I just wondered if you ran the Network Setup Wizard. I run it whenever something seems to be acting up, and it reconnects things just fine. But you should have at least ran it once

You can find it in Network Connections (in XP) under Network tasks

good luck

PS you have to run the wizard on each computer, but the wizard tells you that



----- Mgpoma wrote: ----

I have a linksys wireless router with two desktops and two laptops in my home. I purchased a new desktop machine yesterday with xp pro. My other desktop has xp home as does one of the laptops. The other laptop is 98 se. Desktops are connected via cat 5 wire to the access point router and the laptops are wireless. All of the machines can see the internet but they cannot see each other. The router uses DHSP to assign ip addresses (192.168.1.XXX). Each machine seems to have a valid address and submask. I can ping the router from any machine but cannot see any other computers. I have looked at all of the settings and everything looks correct. I tried turning off all firewalls.. Too many hours and not enough XP experience! What am I doing wrong?