Network inaccessible; baffling message

[Jonathan Sachs]

Last month I disassembled my computer for a move. When I reassembled
it in my new home, Microsoft Networks (implemented through Ethernet,
using a 10BaseT hub) no longer worked.

I think I've found the problem, but I don't understand it. When I try
to make "My Network Places" display "Computers Near Me," I get an
error message that says:

MSHOME is not accessible
The list of servers for this network is not currently available.

MSHOME is the correct name for the workgroup, and it is a workgroup
(i.e., a peer-to-peer network), not a domain. Given that, the
reference to a "list of servers" makes no sense. A workgroup has no
servers, by definition.

What is Windows trying to tell me, and how can I make the network
function again?

My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net.

 

[Jonathan Sachs]

Can you give us an ipconfig/all?

E:\>ipconfig/all

Windows 2000 IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : trinity
Primary DNS Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com EtherLink XL 10/100
PCI NIC (3C
905-TX)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-60-97-9C-E4-97
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 66.1.132.83
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 66.1.132.82
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . :

Got Client for Microsoft Networks loaded?

Yes (and enabled).

Can you ping the other computers?

At this point there are no other computers. I need the network to
communicate with my laser printer without tying up the parallel port,
which is needed for my inkjet photo printer. When the phone company
gets around to provisioning my new phone line for DSL, I will also
need the network to communicate with a broadband modem.

I do have a laptop which I would like to connect to the network. (When
I wrote the original message it was not yet here.) But I'd consider it
foolish to try to use the laptop to debug the network's configuration,
because I'll probably need the network to debug the laptop's
configuration. It runs Windows XP, and I've never configured an XP
system for a network before. My adventures with XP printer
configuration suggest that the process will not be an easy or
pleasant.

My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net.

 

[Marina Roos]

It seems you are directly connected to your internet-connection. Then it is
logical you can't access a local workgroup.

Marina

 

[Marina Roos]

If your computer is not attached to another computer, you can't access a
local workgroup (you would only see your own computer if that has got File-
and printersharing loaded).
The ipconfig you gave showed that your lan-adapter was having an 66-IP.
Where did that come frome?.
If you're on dialup, you would see a PPP-adapter when connected to the
internet.

Marina

 

[Jonathan Sachs]

The arrival of my new broadband service's modem led to some
discoveries.

The new service requires me to DHCP rather than a fixed IP address.
This forced me to install NWLink protocol to give the LAN a protocol
that did not depend on a server beyond my control. When I did that,
the "...is not accessible" problem went away.

As a matter of interest, I found that the problem was caused by some
type of interference by my BlackICE firewall.

I should be closer to a solution now, but I'm not quite there. With
both computers connected to the hub, each one shows only itself on the
network.

NWLink is installed on both. Both use the workgroup name "Mshome."

I thought the problem might be in the hub, so I tried connecting the
computers directly with a crossed cable. That did not help. I checked
the cable lines with a DVM; all are intact, so this definitely appears
to be a software problem.

What might I look for here?

My mail address is jsachs177 at earthlink dot net.