Networking access problem

[JR13]

I have a small tax preparation business with four computers on a peer-to-peer
network. All computers are running Windows XP Professional. My tax
software needs to be installed in a root directory. I just purchased a new
computer and am having difficulty getting it set up on the network. I have
run the Network Setup Wizard on the new computer. This new computer (the
server, named VA07) will be where all of our client data files are located,
and the other three computers (workstations) will access these files through
the network. From the new computer, I am able to access the files on each of
the old computers with no problems. But I cannot access files on the new
computer from any of the old computers. When I go to My Network Places (from
any of the old computers), and select View Workgroup Computers the new
computer appears on the list of Workgroup stations. However, when I click to
open it, I get a message saying, \\VA07 is not accessible. You might not
have permission touse this network resource. Contact the administrator of
this server to find out if you have access permissions. The network path was
not found.

I have talked to tech support where I got my tax software, and with his help
I have set permissions to allow for full control for Everyone in the Group.
This didn't solve the problem and the tech told me that there must be some
other reason why the three old computers are unable to access the new one,
but that he didn't know why. I am hoping that someone will be able to help
me with this problem.

There's one other thing to note that may or not be helpful: I've noticed
that when I go to My Network Places on each of the old computers, all of the
other shared folders and directories for all three old computers are listed
under the heading "Local Network". I have to click on View Workgroup
Computers in order to see the new computer. However, on the new computer,
only this computer's shared folders and directories show up under Local
Network. All of the other folders and directories from the other three
computers are listed under the heading "The Internet". This suggests to me
that maybe the network on the new computer is not set up the same as the old
ones, but I don't know where to begin to look for or fix the problem. I sure
would appreciate any help that I could get on this issue. Thanks!

 

[Malke]

I have a small tax preparation business with four computers on a peer-to-peer
network. All computers are running Windows XP Professional. My tax
software needs to be installed in a root directory. I just purchased a new
computer and am having difficulty getting it set up on the network. I have
run the Network Setup Wizard on the new computer. This new computer (the
server, named VA07) will be where all of our client data files are located,
and the other three computers (workstations) will access these files through
the network. From the new computer, I am able to access the files on each of
the old computers with no problems. But I cannot access files on the new
computer from any of the old computers. When I go to My Network Places (from
any of the old computers), and select View Workgroup Computers the new
computer appears on the list of Workgroup stations. However, when I click to
open it, I get a message saying, \\VA07 is not accessible. You might not
have permission touse this network resource. Contact the administrator of
this server to find out if you have access permissions. The network path was
not found.

(snippage)

Here are general network troubleshooting steps. Not everything may be
applicable to your situation, so just take the bits that are. It may
look daunting, but if you follow the steps at the links and suggestions
below systematically and calmly, you will have no difficulty in setting
up your sharing.

For XP, start by running the Network Setup Wizard on all machines (see
caveat in Item A below).

Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally
caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two
firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party
firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on
all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating
system does not permit it.

For XP and Windows 2003 Server, MVP Hans-Georg Michna has an excellent
small network troubleshooter. It may also be useful with Vista.

http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm

Here are some general networking tips for home/small networks:

A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network
(LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing
File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network
Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.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 2006/07) which acts as a
firewall, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually
configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be
192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct
subnet. Do not run more than one firewall.

B. For ease or organization, put all computers in the same Workgroup.
This is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab.

C. Create matching user accounts and passwords on all machines. You do
not need to be logged into the same account on all machines and the
passwords assigned to each user account can be different; the
accounts/passwords just need to exist and match on all machines. If you
wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular
user's account) for convenience, you can do this. The instructions at
this link work for both XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center:

1. 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.

2. 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.

E. 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.


Malke

 

[Paul Rubiola]

Without physically being at your computer it is difficult to say exactly
what is going on but my best guess is that the workgroup name on your new
computer doesn't match the workgroup name on the other 3 computers.

To check the workgroup name:

1. Right Click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and select
(left-click) "Properties".
2. On the System Properties box that should appear, select the "Computer
Name" tab

Look down the left hand side for the line that begins "Workgroup". Whatever
is to the right of this field is the workgroup that this computer is a part
of. If the other 3 machines do not share the exact name none of your
Peer-to-Peer stuff will work.

If you need to rename the computer, click on the "Change" button and type
the workgroup name in the workgroup field (you may have to change the radio
button from Domain to Workgroup to open the Workgroup field).

Paul Rubiola

 

[Malke]

Without physically being at your computer it is difficult to say exactly
what is going on but my best guess is that the workgroup name on your
new computer doesn't match the workgroup name on the other 3 computers.

(snippage)

The name of the Workgroup is irrelevant and does not need to match,
although it is neater to have it this way. Workgroup names are merely a
cosmetic/organizational device and have nothing to do with security or
file/printer sharing.


Malke