responds to ping only in Safe Mode

[gutter_aid]

My desktop responds to ping only in Safe Mode. I can connect to email
and internet fine. The desktop can ping other computers and also ping
itself. However, when I try to ping the desktop from another computer
the desktop doesn't respond. I can map network drives from other
computers onto the desktop but not vice-versa. When I reboot in Safe
Mode, the desktop will respond to pings and share its drives with other
computers. Basically, the desktop responds to pings (and file sharing)
only in Safe Mode.

I have searched "the internet" for a soloution and the common
suggestion is to check for firewalls. I have disabled the xp firewall
and also checked for 3rd party ones. I have Symantec AntiVirus (not
sure if this acts like a firewall) and also spybot S&D. I have ran
Adaware, Spybot, and have all the latest microsoftupdate.comS (sp2). I
have tried killing processes using task manager to no avail. I did
find out if I kill the RCP process the computer will shut down.

I have also tried this:
Q299357 - How to Reset Internet Protocol (TCP-IP) in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q299357

and this:
LSP-Fix
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm

So far I don't think I've broken anything else in the process, but I
still have the original problem.

To me, the fact that the desktop responds in Safe Mode rules out that
it is a problem with other elements in the network (like my router or
other computers). Also it seems to rule out any problem with the
TCP-IP stack or network card. It seems like a firewall problem but I
can't find one other than the XP firewall and I've disabled that one.
I have checked the registry Run/RunOnce keys - is there anywhere else I
should check?

If anyone can provide suggestions for this problem I'd appreciate it.

Dan

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

My desktop responds to ping only in Safe Mode. I can connect to email
and internet fine. The desktop can ping other computers and also ping
itself. However, when I try to ping the desktop from another computer
the desktop doesn't respond. I can map network drives from other
computers onto the desktop but not vice-versa. When I reboot in Safe
Mode, the desktop will respond to pings and share its drives with other
computers. Basically, the desktop responds to pings (and file sharing)
only in Safe Mode.

I have searched "the internet" for a soloution and the common
suggestion is to check for firewalls. I have disabled the xp firewall
and also checked for 3rd party ones. I have Symantec AntiVirus (not
sure if this acts like a firewall) and also spybot S&D. I have ran
Adaware, Spybot, and have all the latest microsoftupdate.comS (sp2). I
have tried killing processes using task manager to no avail. I did
find out if I kill the RCP process the computer will shut down.

I have also tried this:
Q299357 - How to Reset Internet Protocol (TCP-IP) in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q299357

and this:
LSP-Fix
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm

So far I don't think I've broken anything else in the process, but I
still have the original problem.

To me, the fact that the desktop responds in Safe Mode rules out that
it is a problem with other elements in the network (like my router or
other computers). Also it seems to rule out any problem with the
TCP-IP stack or network card. It seems like a firewall problem but I
can't find one other than the XP firewall and I've disabled that one.
I have checked the registry Run/RunOnce keys - is there anywhere else I
should check?

If anyone can provide suggestions for this problem I'd appreciate it.

Dan

What's the name and version number of your Symantec antivirus program?

Recent versions of some Norton (Symantec) antivirus programs have a
firewall component called Internet Worm Protection that has to be
configured to allow access by other computers on the local area
network.

Go to Start > Run > Msconfig > Startup and disable any remnants of
un-installed firewalls from ZoneAlarm, McAfee, etc.
--
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

 

[gutter_aid]

After a few hours of trial and error I was able to solve this problem.
It turned out to be a problem with my software VPN. After
re-installing the VPN, my desktop responds to pings, file sharing, etc.

I have "Cisco Systems VPN Client". The reasons I didn't suspect this
was because the SW VPN was not enabled, and also I have the same
software on my laptop and the laptop was working fine. The way I found
this problem was comparing "started" services for Safe Mode vs. normal
mode. In normal mode, quite a few more services are started when
compared to Safe Mode. In normal mode, I stopped services sequentially
based on their description (and only stopping services that weren't
enabled in Safe Mode). The VPN has a service that runs even when the
VPN is not enabled. When I stopped that service, the computer started
responding to pings. At that point, I re-installed the VPN. I'm not
sure exactly what the problem was, but after the re-install the
computer seems to be OK. It could be that there is a way I could have
re-configured the VPN whithout re-installing it, but I didn't want to
investiage it anymore.

Dan