Richard wonders if anyone has suggestions

[Peter]

Below is the string between Richard Harper and myself over the last few
days.
If anyone can offer suggestions other than a clean reinstall of the OS, I
would be be ever so grateful.
PJ


I hate to say it but you've run me clean out of ideas. Hopefully someone
else has a thought, otherwise ...

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Thanks again Richard.

I completely removed the firewalls - it did not help.
I tried a different router and replaced the NIC's - it did not help.
It does seem bizzare. For example, the "desktop" can access the "laptop"
but if I run Net View on the "desktop" only the "desktop" is listed. The
"laptop" cannot access the "desktop" but if I run Net View on the "laptop"
both computers are listed.
Although the "desktop" can access the "laptop", it can't ping it by name
(--- could not find host).

Perhaps the operating system has an unresolvable problem. It might be
time
to bite the bullet and make a clean install of the "desktop".

PJ

Thank you - though the details make the problem more puzzling instead of
less.

You say you have no firewalls "active" on either PC - do you have
anything
other than the Windows XP firewall on either PC? If so you may need to
fully uninstall the firewall for a true test.

The only other thing I can think of would be to check router firewall
settings and make sure you haven't accidentally blocked access from "B"
to
"A" in its settings.

The fact that "A" can see and access "B" is an almost 100% certain sign that
you have your network fully functional and correctly configured. The usual
cause for not being able to access the other direction is a firewall
problem.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Thanks Richard.

The computers get their IP addresses automatically through a router.
The addresses are assigned by the router and are in the same range.
The network worked well for a long time. I'm not aware of having made any
changes prior to the problem starting.
Computer A has full access to computers B but B cannot even ping A.
There are no firewalls active.
I ran nbtstat and netstat with most switches but am not savy enough to get
a
clear message from the results.
I don't want to attach the whole set of results. Which, if any, would
help
with the diagnosis?
PJ

Need waaayy more details to try to diagnose this. For example:

- How are these computers getting their IP addresses?
- Are the two addresses in the same range?
- Is this a new problem or did it just start? Did the network work at
some
point?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


When I run ipconfig /all, the entry for "connection-specific DNS
suffix"
is
blank on one of two networked XP machines. It happens that this
particular
machine can no longer be accessed (or even pinged) by the other.
Is the blank suffix problem just a reporting error or does it indicate
an
operational problem? (I know there is a hopfix available, for which
Microsoft may or may not decide to charge but I don't want to spend the
day
on the phone if it is not really a useful exercise).
PJ

 

[Ken Wickes [MSFT]]

Temporarily uninstalling 3rd party firewalls and disabling the XP one is a
good idea.

Virus scanners can sometimes cause problems like this.

Don't use My Network Places as a definitive test, the underlying algorithms
have some latency in them.

Ping first, then navigate explorer directly to the other machine by entering
\\othercomputername as the path.

--

Ken Wickes [MSFT]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Below is the string between Richard Harper and myself over the last few
days.
If anyone can offer suggestions other than a clean reinstall of the OS, I
would be be ever so grateful.
PJ


I hate to say it but you've run me clean out of ideas. Hopefully someone
else has a thought, otherwise ...

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Thanks again Richard.

I completely removed the firewalls - it did not help.
I tried a different router and replaced the NIC's - it did not help.
It does seem bizzare. For example, the "desktop" can access the "laptop"
but if I run Net View on the "desktop" only the "desktop" is listed. The
"laptop" cannot access the "desktop" but if I run Net View on the "laptop"
both computers are listed.
Although the "desktop" can access the "laptop", it can't ping it by name
(--- could not find host).

Perhaps the operating system has an unresolvable problem. It might be
time
to bite the bullet and make a clean install of the "desktop".

PJ

Thank you - though the details make the problem more puzzling instead of
less.

You say you have no firewalls "active" on either PC - do you have
anything
other than the Windows XP firewall on either PC? If so you may need to
fully uninstall the firewall for a true test.

The only other thing I can think of would be to check router firewall
settings and make sure you haven't accidentally blocked access from "B"
to
"A" in its settings.

The fact that "A" can see and access "B" is an almost 100% certain sign that
you have your network fully functional and correctly configured. The usual
cause for not being able to access the other direction is a firewall
problem.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


Thanks Richard.

The computers get their IP addresses automatically through a router.
The addresses are assigned by the router and are in the same range.
The network worked well for a long time. I'm not aware of having

made
any

changes prior to the problem starting.
Computer A has full access to computers B but B cannot even ping A.
There are no firewalls active.
I ran nbtstat and netstat with most switches but am not savy enough

to
get

a
clear message from the results.
I don't want to attach the whole set of results. Which, if any, would
help
with the diagnosis?
PJ

Need waaayy more details to try to diagnose this. For example:

- How are these computers getting their IP addresses?
- Are the two addresses in the same range?
- Is this a new problem or did it just start? Did the network work at
some
point?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


When I run ipconfig /all, the entry for "connection-specific DNS
suffix"
is
blank on one of two networked XP machines. It happens that this
particular
machine can no longer be accessed (or even pinged) by the other.
Is the blank suffix problem just a reporting error or does it indicate
an
operational problem? (I know there is a hopfix available, for which
Microsoft may or may not decide to charge but I don't want to

spend
the

day
on the phone if it is not really a useful exercise).
PJ

 

[Peter]

Thanks Ken.

I removed all firewalls and disabled the virus scanner.
Can't ping the one computer even by IP address.

PJ

Temporarily uninstalling 3rd party firewalls and disabling the XP one is a
good idea.

Virus scanners can sometimes cause problems like this.

Don't use My Network Places as a definitive test, the underlying algorithms
have some latency in them.

Ping first, then navigate explorer directly to the other machine by entering
\\othercomputername as the path.

--

Ken Wickes [MSFT]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Below is the string between Richard Harper and myself over the last few
days.
If anyone can offer suggestions other than a clean reinstall of the OS, I
would be be ever so grateful.
PJ


I hate to say it but you've run me clean out of ideas. Hopefully someone
else has a thought, otherwise ...

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

Thanks again Richard.

I completely removed the firewalls - it did not help.
I tried a different router and replaced the NIC's - it did not help.
It does seem bizzare. For example, the "desktop" can access the "laptop"
but if I run Net View on the "desktop" only the "desktop" is listed. The
"laptop" cannot access the "desktop" but if I run Net View on the "laptop"
both computers are listed.
Although the "desktop" can access the "laptop", it can't ping it by name
(--- could not find host).

Perhaps the operating system has an unresolvable problem. It might be
time
to bite the bullet and make a clean install of the "desktop".

PJ


Thank you - though the details make the problem more puzzling instead of
less.

You say you have no firewalls "active" on either PC - do you have
anything
other than the Windows XP firewall on either PC? If so you may need to
fully uninstall the firewall for a true test.

The only other thing I can think of would be to check router firewall
settings and make sure you haven't accidentally blocked access from "B"
to
"A" in its settings.

The fact that "A" can see and access "B" is an almost 100% certain sign
that
you have your network fully functional and correctly configured. The
usual
cause for not being able to access the other direction is a firewall
problem.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


Thanks Richard.

The computers get their IP addresses automatically through a router.
The addresses are assigned by the router and are in the same range.
The network worked well for a long time. I'm not aware of having made
any
changes prior to the problem starting.
Computer A has full access to computers B but B cannot even ping A.
There are no firewalls active.
I ran nbtstat and netstat with most switches but am not savy enough to
get
a
clear message from the results.
I don't want to attach the whole set of results. Which, if any, would
help
with the diagnosis?
PJ

Need waaayy more details to try to diagnose this. For example:

- How are these computers getting their IP addresses?
- Are the two addresses in the same range?
- Is this a new problem or did it just start? Did the network

work

at

some
point?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


When I run ipconfig /all, the entry for "connection-specific DNS
suffix"
is
blank on one of two networked XP machines. It happens that this
particular
machine can no longer be accessed (or even pinged) by the other.
Is the blank suffix problem just a reporting error or does it
indicate
an
operational problem? (I know there is a hopfix available, for which
Microsoft may or may not decide to charge but I don't want to spend
the
day
on the phone if it is not really a useful exercise).
PJ

 

[Ken Wickes [MSFT]]

You might need to uninstall the virus scanner.

What are the ipaddress and subnet masks of both machines?

--

Ken Wickes [MSFT]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Thanks Ken.

I removed all firewalls and disabled the virus scanner.
Can't ping the one computer even by IP address.

PJ

Temporarily uninstalling 3rd party firewalls and disabling the XP one is a
good idea.

Virus scanners can sometimes cause problems like this.

Don't use My Network Places as a definitive test, the underlying algorithms
have some latency in them.

Ping first, then navigate explorer directly to the other machine by entering
\\othercomputername as the path.

--

Ken Wickes [MSFT]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Below is the string between Richard Harper and myself over the last few
days.
If anyone can offer suggestions other than a clean reinstall of the

OS,

I

would be be ever so grateful.
PJ


I hate to say it but you've run me clean out of ideas. Hopefully someone
else has a thought, otherwise ...

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


Thanks again Richard.

I completely removed the firewalls - it did not help.
I tried a different router and replaced the NIC's - it did not help.
It does seem bizzare. For example, the "desktop" can access the "laptop"
but if I run Net View on the "desktop" only the "desktop" is listed. The
"laptop" cannot access the "desktop" but if I run Net View on the "laptop"
both computers are listed.
Although the "desktop" can access the "laptop", it can't ping it by name
(--- could not find host).

Perhaps the operating system has an unresolvable problem. It might be
time
to bite the bullet and make a clean install of the "desktop".

PJ


Thank you - though the details make the problem more puzzling

instead
of

less.

You say you have no firewalls "active" on either PC - do you have
anything
other than the Windows XP firewall on either PC? If so you may

need

to

fully uninstall the firewall for a true test.

The only other thing I can think of would be to check router firewall
settings and make sure you haven't accidentally blocked access from "B"
to
"A" in its settings.

The fact that "A" can see and access "B" is an almost 100% certain sign
that
you have your network fully functional and correctly configured. The
usual
cause for not being able to access the other direction is a firewall
problem.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


Thanks Richard.

The computers get their IP addresses automatically through a router.
The addresses are assigned by the router and are in the same range.
The network worked well for a long time. I'm not aware of having made
any
changes prior to the problem starting.
Computer A has full access to computers B but B cannot even ping A.
There are no firewalls active.
I ran nbtstat and netstat with most switches but am not savy

enough
to

get
a
clear message from the results.
I don't want to attach the whole set of results. Which, if any, would
help
with the diagnosis?
PJ

Need waaayy more details to try to diagnose this. For example:

- How are these computers getting their IP addresses?
- Are the two addresses in the same range?
- Is this a new problem or did it just start? Did the network

work

at
some
point?

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


When I run ipconfig /all, the entry for "connection-specific DNS
suffix"
is
blank on one of two networked XP machines. It happens that this
particular
machine can no longer be accessed (or even pinged) by the other.
Is the blank suffix problem just a reporting error or does it
indicate
an
operational problem? (I know there is a hopfix available, for which
Microsoft may or may not decide to charge but I don't want to spend
the
day
on the phone if it is not really a useful exercise).
PJ