Troubleshooting Netbios

R

Robert Neville

My networking issues have not subsided. These problems have gotten
worse during troubleshooting process. My network idiosyncrasies began
after upgrading my laptop with Windows XP Corporate SP2. In summary,
my network uses Netbeui protocol for accessing the file shares (drive
shares). Both computers have drive shares with permissions. The
internet connection works fine.

Now the computer cannot ping each other; only ping themselves.

On the desktop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 PASS
ping Tarzan PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 FAIL
ping Jane FAIL

On laptop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 PASS
ping Jane PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 FAIL
ping Tarzan FAIL


Then I ran some additional tests with Nbtstat, which I still do not
fully comprehend.

On the Desktop
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' ipconfig /all
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Tarzan
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . .. : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com 3C920B-EMB
Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce MCP
Networking Adapter
Physical Address . . . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED
Dhcp Enabled.. . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.100
Subnet Mask . . .. . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -a Tarzan
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.100] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
TARZAN <00> UNIQUE Registered
TARZAN <20> UNIQUE Registered
JUNGLE <00> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1E> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered

MAC Address = 00-xx-ERASED

On laptop,

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -A 192.168.0.101
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

Host not found.

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -n
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

No names in cache


I have several questions.

How does one view the LMHOSTS file? What purpose does it serve in
simplistic terms?

How does one reset (or renew) the Netbios? Does the process involve
resetting the TCP/IP protocol?

How does one troubleshoot the Computer Browser service?

I am beyond frustration at this point. I need some people to shed some
light on the situation. People's comments help me in my web search.
Network site contain a lot of information and I continually overlook
relevant points since I am quickly reading this information. The
process is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Let's make the
troubleshooting simple. Remember this may be a SP2 thing.
 
C

Chuck

My networking issues have not subsided. These problems have gotten
worse during troubleshooting process. My network idiosyncrasies began
after upgrading my laptop with Windows XP Corporate SP2. In summary,
my network uses Netbeui protocol for accessing the file shares (drive
shares). Both computers have drive shares with permissions. The
internet connection works fine.

Now the computer cannot ping each other; only ping themselves.

On the desktop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 PASS
ping Tarzan PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 FAIL
ping Jane FAIL

On laptop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 PASS
ping Jane PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 FAIL
ping Tarzan FAIL


Then I ran some additional tests with Nbtstat, which I still do not
fully comprehend.

On the Desktop
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' ipconfig /all
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Tarzan
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . .. : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com 3C920B-EMB
Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce MCP
Networking Adapter
Physical Address . . . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED
Dhcp Enabled.. . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.100
Subnet Mask . . .. . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -a Tarzan
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.100] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
TARZAN <00> UNIQUE Registered
TARZAN <20> UNIQUE Registered
JUNGLE <00> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1E> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered

MAC Address = 00-xx-ERASED

On laptop,

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -A 192.168.0.101
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

Host not found.

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -n
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

No names in cache


I have several questions.

How does one view the LMHOSTS file? What purpose does it serve in
simplistic terms?

How does one reset (or renew) the Netbios? Does the process involve
resetting the TCP/IP protocol?

How does one troubleshoot the Computer Browser service?

I am beyond frustration at this point. I need some people to shed some
light on the situation. People's comments help me in my web search.
Network site contain a lot of information and I continually overlook
relevant points since I am quickly reading this information. The
process is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Let's make the
troubleshooting simple. Remember this may be a SP2 thing.
Click to expand...

Robert,

Regarding LMHOSTS, you need to know that there are two name resolution products
used by Windows computers - DNS and WINS.

DNS is used by all computers, Mac, Windows, Unix, etc. It provides TCP/IP
addresses for any named computer. You CAN supplement DNS (which is a server
based procedure) with the HOSTS file on your computer.

WINS is used ONLY by Windows computers. It provides TCP/IP addresses for any
Windows computer. You CAN supplement WINS (also a server based procedure) with
the LMHOSTS file on your computer.

The HOSTS and LMHOSTS files are relevant because if they contain garbage (or
worse yet, out-of-date information), when you ping, you could be pinging against
invalid addresses. Or addresses for other computers.

Now, if you are going to get the best advice from this forum, you should start
by removing NetBEUI and using NetBIOS Over TCP/IP (NBT). Windows networking
(Win 98, NT, ME, 2000, XP) all use TCP/IP for a networking protocol, and NBT as
an interface between TCP/IP and file sharing (Client for Microsoft Networks /
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks). NetBEUI contains duplicate
components to TCP/IP, and complicates your network needlessly.

If you look at the network components list (Local Area Connection Properties),
you should see the following items:
Client for Microsoft Networks
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
TCP/IP
(optional QoS Packet Scheduler)

In Windows XP, you can reset TCP/IP.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=299357

Start - Run - "cmd". Type "netsh int ip reset c:\netsh.txt" into the command
window.

There is no reset of NetBIOS Over TCP/IP, as there are no settings for NBT. But
you can enable / disable it using TCP/IP Properties - Advanced - WINS.

The Microsoft Browstat program will show us what browsers you have in your
domain / workgroup, at any time.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305

You can download Browstat from either:
<http://www.dynawell.com/reskit/microsoft/win2000/browstat.zip>
<http://rescomp.stanford.edu/staff/manual/rcc/tools/browstat.zip>

Browstat is very small (40K), and needs no install. Just unzip the downloaded
file, copy browstat.exe to any folder in the Path, and run it from a command
window.

For more information about the browser subsystem (very intricate), see:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188001
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winntas/deploy/prodspecs/ntbrowse.mspx>

I share your frustration with web searches in general, and folks telling you to
"Google It" in particular.

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

Chuck

My networking issues have not subsided. These problems have gotten
worse during troubleshooting process. My network idiosyncrasies began
after upgrading my laptop with Windows XP Corporate SP2. In summary,
my network uses Netbeui protocol for accessing the file shares (drive
shares). Both computers have drive shares with permissions. The
internet connection works fine.

Now the computer cannot ping each other; only ping themselves.

On the desktop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 PASS
ping Tarzan PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 FAIL
ping Jane FAIL

On laptop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 PASS
ping Jane PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 FAIL
ping Tarzan FAIL


Then I ran some additional tests with Nbtstat, which I still do not
fully comprehend.

On the Desktop
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' ipconfig /all
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Tarzan
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . .. : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com 3C920B-EMB
Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce MCP
Networking Adapter
Physical Address . . . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED
Dhcp Enabled.. . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.100
Subnet Mask . . .. . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -a Tarzan
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.100] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
TARZAN <00> UNIQUE Registered
TARZAN <20> UNIQUE Registered
JUNGLE <00> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1E> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered

MAC Address = 00-xx-ERASED

On laptop,

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -A 192.168.0.101
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

Host not found.

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -n
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

No names in cache


I have several questions.

How does one view the LMHOSTS file? What purpose does it serve in
simplistic terms?

How does one reset (or renew) the Netbios? Does the process involve
resetting the TCP/IP protocol?

How does one troubleshoot the Computer Browser service?

I am beyond frustration at this point. I need some people to shed some
light on the situation. People's comments help me in my web search.
Network site contain a lot of information and I continually overlook
relevant points since I am quickly reading this information. The
process is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Let's make the
troubleshooting simple. Remember this may be a SP2 thing.
Click to expand...

Robert,

Regarding LMHOSTS, you need to know that there are two name resolution products
used by Windows computers - DNS and WINS.

DNS is used by all computers, Mac, Windows, Unix, etc. It provides TCP/IP
addresses for any named computer. You CAN supplement DNS (which is a server
based procedure) with the HOSTS file on your computer.

WINS is used ONLY by Windows computers. It provides TCP/IP addresses for any
Windows computer. You CAN supplement WINS (also a server based procedure) with
the LMHOSTS file on your computer.

The HOSTS and LMHOSTS files are relevant because if they contain garbage (or
worse yet, out-of-date information), when you ping, you could be pinging against
invalid addresses. Or addresses for other computers.

Now, if you are going to get the best advice from this forum, you should start
by removing NetBEUI and using NetBIOS Over TCP/IP (NBT). Windows networking
(Win 98, NT, ME, 2000, XP) all use TCP/IP for a networking protocol, and NBT as
an interface between TCP/IP and file sharing (Client for Microsoft Networks /
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks). NetBEUI contains duplicate
components to TCP/IP, and complicates your network needlessly.

If you look at the network components list (Local Area Connection Properties),
you should see the following items:
Client for Microsoft Networks
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
TCP/IP
(optional QoS Packet Scheduler)

In Windows XP, you can reset TCP/IP.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=299357

Start - Run - "cmd". Type "netsh int ip reset c:\netsh.txt" into the command
window.

There is no reset of NetBIOS Over TCP/IP, as there are no settings for NBT. But
you can enable / disable it using TCP/IP Properties - Advanced - WINS.

Make sure the browser service is running on each XP computer. Control Panel -
Administrative Tools - Services. Verify that the Computer Browser, and the
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper, services both show with Status = Started.

The Microsoft Browstat program will show us what browsers you have in your
domain / workgroup, at any time.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305

You can download Browstat from either:
<http://www.dynawell.com/reskit/microsoft/win2000/browstat.zip>
<http://rescomp.stanford.edu/staff/manual/rcc/tools/browstat.zip>

Browstat is very small (40K), and needs no install. Just unzip the downloaded
file, copy browstat.exe to any folder in the Path, and run it from a command
window.

For more information about the browser subsystem (very intricate), see:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188001
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winntas/deploy/prodspecs/ntbrowse.mspx>

I share your frustration with web searches in general, and folks telling you to
"Google It" in particular.

You can view both Hosts and LMHosts, which are both text files, in folder
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc".

Your including IPConfig for Tarzan would be more useful if you also do the same
for Jane. Comparing the two may help find the problem.

With a connectivity ping problem (both ip address and name pings failing), the
problem is very likely the firewall (SP2 on both Jane and Tarzan?). Make sure
that you enabled the File and Printer Sharing exception in Windows Firewall
Configuration (from Security Center). You should Edit the Scope of FPS to your
Subnet too.

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

Robert Neville

Chuck,

Thanks for all the support and information. Yet I am still bouncing
off the walls in frustration. Browstat was a great tip; yet I have not
gotten it to work (apparently, "browstat status" does not work on my
machine). Basically, my plan now is to remove the network adapter and
reset TCP/IP. Then I plan on re-installing Windows if the situation is
not resolved.

The Ping test now returns the following results.

On the desktop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 PASS
ping Tarzan PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 PASS
ping Jane FAIL

On the laptop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 PASS
ping Jane PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 PASS
ping Tarzan FAIL

On the Laptop
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' ipconfig /all
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Jane
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . .: No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . . :isp.isp.net ERASED

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. . . . . . . : isp.isp.net
ERASED
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : SMC Compact USB
to Ethernet converter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Auto-Configuration Enabled . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.101
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . .. : 192.168.0.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . :Friday, October 15, 2004


My networking issues have not subsided. These problems have gotten
worse during troubleshooting process. My network idiosyncrasies began
after upgrading my laptop with Windows XP Corporate SP2. In summary,
my network uses Netbeui protocol for accessing the file shares (drive
shares). Both computers have drive shares with permissions. The
internet connection works fine.

Now the computer cannot ping each other; only ping themselves.

On the desktop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 PASS
ping Tarzan PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 FAIL
ping Jane FAIL

On laptop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 PASS
ping Jane PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 FAIL
ping Tarzan FAIL


Then I ran some additional tests with Nbtstat, which I still do not
fully comprehend.

On the Desktop
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' ipconfig /all
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Tarzan
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . .. : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com 3C920B-EMB
Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce MCP
Networking Adapter
Physical Address . . . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED
Dhcp Enabled.. . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.100
Subnet Mask . . .. . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -a Tarzan
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.100] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
TARZAN <00> UNIQUE Registered
TARZAN <20> UNIQUE Registered
JUNGLE <00> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1E> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered

MAC Address = 00-xx-ERASED

On laptop,

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -A 192.168.0.101
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

Host not found.

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -n
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

No names in cache


I have several questions.

How does one view the LMHOSTS file? What purpose does it serve in
simplistic terms?

How does one reset (or renew) the Netbios? Does the process involve
resetting the TCP/IP protocol?

How does one troubleshoot the Computer Browser service?

I am beyond frustration at this point. I need some people to shed some
light on the situation. People's comments help me in my web search.
Network site contain a lot of information and I continually overlook
relevant points since I am quickly reading this information. The
process is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Let's make the
troubleshooting simple. Remember this may be a SP2 thing.
Click to expand...

Robert,

Regarding LMHOSTS, you need to know that there are two name resolution products
used by Windows computers - DNS and WINS.

DNS is used by all computers, Mac, Windows, Unix, etc. It provides TCP/IP
addresses for any named computer. You CAN supplement DNS (which is a server
based procedure) with the HOSTS file on your computer.

WINS is used ONLY by Windows computers. It provides TCP/IP addresses for any
Windows computer. You CAN supplement WINS (also a server based procedure) with
the LMHOSTS file on your computer.

The HOSTS and LMHOSTS files are relevant because if they contain garbage (or
worse yet, out-of-date information), when you ping, you could be pinging against
invalid addresses. Or addresses for other computers.

Now, if you are going to get the best advice from this forum, you should start
by removing NetBEUI and using NetBIOS Over TCP/IP (NBT). Windows networking
(Win 98, NT, ME, 2000, XP) all use TCP/IP for a networking protocol, and NBT as
an interface between TCP/IP and file sharing (Client for Microsoft Networks /
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks). NetBEUI contains duplicate
components to TCP/IP, and complicates your network needlessly.

If you look at the network components list (Local Area Connection Properties),
you should see the following items:
Client for Microsoft Networks
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
TCP/IP
(optional QoS Packet Scheduler)

In Windows XP, you can reset TCP/IP.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=299357

Start - Run - "cmd". Type "netsh int ip reset c:\netsh.txt" into the command
window.

There is no reset of NetBIOS Over TCP/IP, as there are no settings for NBT. But
you can enable / disable it using TCP/IP Properties - Advanced - WINS.

Make sure the browser service is running on each XP computer. Control Panel -
Administrative Tools - Services. Verify that the Computer Browser, and the
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper, services both show with Status = Started.

The Microsoft Browstat program will show us what browsers you have in your
domain / workgroup, at any time.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305

You can download Browstat from either:
<http://www.dynawell.com/reskit/microsoft/win2000/browstat.zip>
<http://rescomp.stanford.edu/staff/manual/rcc/tools/browstat.zip>

Browstat is very small (40K), and needs no install. Just unzip the downloaded
file, copy browstat.exe to any folder in the Path, and run it from a command
window.

For more information about the browser subsystem (very intricate), see:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188001
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winntas/deploy/prodspecs/ntbrowse.mspx>

I share your frustration with web searches in general, and folks telling you to
"Google It" in particular.

You can view both Hosts and LMHosts, which are both text files, in folder
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc".

Your including IPConfig for Tarzan would be more useful if you also do the same
for Jane. Comparing the two may help find the problem.

With a connectivity ping problem (both ip address and name pings failing), the
problem is very likely the firewall (SP2 on both Jane and Tarzan?). Make sure
that you enabled the File and Printer Sharing exception in Windows Firewall
Configuration (from Security Center). You should Edit the Scope of FPS to your
Subnet too.

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

Quaoar

Robert Neville said:
Chuck,

Thanks for all the support and information. Yet I am still bouncing
off the walls in frustration. Browstat was a great tip; yet I have not
gotten it to work (apparently, "browstat status" does not work on my
machine). Basically, my plan now is to remove the network adapter and
reset TCP/IP. Then I plan on re-installing Windows if the situation is
not resolved.

The Ping test now returns the following results.

On the desktop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 PASS
ping Tarzan PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 PASS
ping Jane FAIL

On the laptop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 PASS
ping Jane PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 PASS
ping Tarzan FAIL

On the Laptop
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' ipconfig /all
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Jane
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . .: No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . . :isp.isp.net ERASED

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix. . . . . . . : isp.isp.net
ERASED
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : SMC Compact USB
to Ethernet converter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Auto-Configuration Enabled . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.101
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . .. : 192.168.0.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . :Friday, October 15, 2004


My networking issues have not subsided. These problems have gotten
worse during troubleshooting process. My network idiosyncrasies began
after upgrading my laptop with Windows XP Corporate SP2. In summary,
my network uses Netbeui protocol for accessing the file shares (drive
shares). Both computers have drive shares with permissions. The
internet connection works fine.

Now the computer cannot ping each other; only ping themselves.

On the desktop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 PASS
ping Tarzan PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 FAIL
ping Jane FAIL

On laptop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 PASS
ping Jane PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 FAIL
ping Tarzan FAIL


Then I ran some additional tests with Nbtstat, which I still do not
fully comprehend.

On the Desktop
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' ipconfig /all
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Tarzan
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . .. : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com 3C920B-EMB
Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce MCP
Networking Adapter
Physical Address . . . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED
Dhcp Enabled.. . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.100
Subnet Mask . . .. . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -a Tarzan
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.100] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
TARZAN <00> UNIQUE Registered
TARZAN <20> UNIQUE Registered
JUNGLE <00> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1E> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered

MAC Address = 00-xx-ERASED

On laptop,

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -A 192.168.0.101
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

Host not found.

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -n
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

No names in cache


I have several questions.

How does one view the LMHOSTS file? What purpose does it serve in
simplistic terms?

How does one reset (or renew) the Netbios? Does the process involve
resetting the TCP/IP protocol?

How does one troubleshoot the Computer Browser service?

I am beyond frustration at this point. I need some people to shed
some
light on the situation. People's comments help me in my web search.
Network site contain a lot of information and I continually overlook
relevant points since I am quickly reading this information. The
process is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Let's make the
troubleshooting simple. Remember this may be a SP2 thing.
Click to expand...

Robert,

Regarding LMHOSTS, you need to know that there are two name resolution
products
used by Windows computers - DNS and WINS.

DNS is used by all computers, Mac, Windows, Unix, etc. It provides
TCP/IP
addresses for any named computer. You CAN supplement DNS (which is a
server
based procedure) with the HOSTS file on your computer.

WINS is used ONLY by Windows computers. It provides TCP/IP addresses
for any
Windows computer. You CAN supplement WINS (also a server based
procedure) with
the LMHOSTS file on your computer.

The HOSTS and LMHOSTS files are relevant because if they contain
garbage (or
worse yet, out-of-date information), when you ping, you could be
pinging against
invalid addresses. Or addresses for other computers.

Now, if you are going to get the best advice from this forum, you
should start
by removing NetBEUI and using NetBIOS Over TCP/IP (NBT). Windows
networking
(Win 98, NT, ME, 2000, XP) all use TCP/IP for a networking protocol,
and NBT as
an interface between TCP/IP and file sharing (Client for Microsoft
Networks /
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks). NetBEUI contains
duplicate
components to TCP/IP, and complicates your network needlessly.

If you look at the network components list (Local Area Connection
Properties),
you should see the following items:
Client for Microsoft Networks
File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
TCP/IP
(optional QoS Packet Scheduler)

In Windows XP, you can reset TCP/IP.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=299357

Start - Run - "cmd". Type "netsh int ip reset c:\netsh.txt" into the
command
window.

There is no reset of NetBIOS Over TCP/IP, as there are no settings for
NBT. But
you can enable / disable it using TCP/IP Properties - Advanced - WINS.

Make sure the browser service is running on each XP computer. Control
Panel -
Administrative Tools - Services. Verify that the Computer Browser,
and the
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper, services both show with Status = Started.

The Microsoft Browstat program will show us what browsers you have in
your
domain / workgroup, at any time.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305

You can download Browstat from either:
<http://www.dynawell.com/reskit/microsoft/win2000/browstat.zip>
<http://rescomp.stanford.edu/staff/manual/rcc/tools/browstat.zip>

Browstat is very small (40K), and needs no install. Just unzip the
downloaded
file, copy browstat.exe to any folder in the Path, and run it from a
command
window.

For more information about the browser subsystem (very intricate),
see:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188001
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winntas/deploy/prodspecs/ntbrowse.mspx>

I share your frustration with web searches in general, and folks
telling you to
"Google It" in particular.

You can view both Hosts and LMHosts, which are both text files, in
folder
"C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc".

Your including IPConfig for Tarzan would be more useful if you also do
the same
for Jane. Comparing the two may help find the problem.

With a connectivity ping problem (both ip address and name pings
failing), the
problem is very likely the firewall (SP2 on both Jane and Tarzan?).
Make sure
that you enabled the File and Printer Sharing exception in Windows
Firewall
Configuration (from Security Center). You should Edit the Scope of
FPS to your
Subnet too.

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

Go to this site, scroll down past the troubleshooting checklist to the
text. Follow the recommendations, particularly with the guest account,
browser service. http://www.michna.com/kb/WxNetwork.htm

Q
 
R

Robert Neville

Believe it or not! After uninstalling the Network adapter in the
Device Manager and rebooting, it restored XP's network mapping
functionality. Now, both computer can ping each other and connect to
the internet. Yet one issue remains. Apparently, the Computer Browser
won't map one drive with the majority of my data. I could share
individual folders within the drive; but cannot share the entire
partition. The My Document folder is pointing to this drive; so it may
have to do something with this point. I tried removing the share and
reinstating it, but did not succeed in resolving the situation. Please
let me know if you have any further ideas.

My networking issues have not subsided. These problems have gotten
worse during troubleshooting process. My network idiosyncrasies began
after upgrading my laptop with Windows XP Corporate SP2. In summary,
my network uses Netbeui protocol for accessing the file shares (drive
shares). Both computers have drive shares with permissions. The
internet connection works fine.

Now the computer cannot ping each other; only ping themselves.

On the desktop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 PASS
ping Tarzan PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 FAIL
ping Jane FAIL

On laptop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 PASS
ping Jane PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 FAIL
ping Tarzan FAIL


Then I ran some additional tests with Nbtstat, which I still do not
fully comprehend.

On the Desktop
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' ipconfig /all
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Tarzan
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . .. : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com 3C920B-EMB
Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce MCP
Networking Adapter
Physical Address . . . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED
Dhcp Enabled.. . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.100
Subnet Mask . . .. . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -a Tarzan
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.100] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
TARZAN <00> UNIQUE Registered
TARZAN <20> UNIQUE Registered
JUNGLE <00> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1E> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered

MAC Address = 00-xx-ERASED

On laptop,

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -A 192.168.0.101
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

Host not found.

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -n
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

No names in cache


I have several questions.

How does one view the LMHOSTS file? What purpose does it serve in
simplistic terms?

How does one reset (or renew) the Netbios? Does the process involve
resetting the TCP/IP protocol?

How does one troubleshoot the Computer Browser service?

I am beyond frustration at this point. I need some people to shed some
light on the situation. People's comments help me in my web search.
Network site contain a lot of information and I continually overlook
relevant points since I am quickly reading this information. The
process is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Let's make the
troubleshooting simple. Remember this may be a SP2 thing.
Click to expand...
 
R

Robert Neville

My situation has been resolved. I right clicked on the drive and
select "Properties." Under the properties panel on the Share tab, I
chose the [New Share] button. Then I associated the New Share with the
proper "Users and Groups."

A question remains, which is brain teaser even after a web search. Can
someone describe to me the different between Share Permissions versus
Security in simple terms.

The question came about while editing the Shares under the Computer
Management panel (ACL; I think). When you right click a share and then
select properties, the property panel display three tabs; General,
Share permissions; and Security. What is the difference between Share
Permissions and Security? Most website listed a PhD explanation about
it without giving examples where to use one versus the other. I need
to know how these functionalities relate to my network.

My networking issues have not subsided. These problems have gotten
worse during troubleshooting process. My network idiosyncrasies began
after upgrading my laptop with Windows XP Corporate SP2. In summary,
my network uses Netbeui protocol for accessing the file shares (drive
shares). Both computers have drive shares with permissions. The
internet connection works fine.

Now the computer cannot ping each other; only ping themselves.

On the desktop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 PASS
ping Tarzan PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 FAIL
ping Jane FAIL

On laptop,
----------------------
ping 127.0.0.1 PASS
ping localhost PASS
ping 192.168.1.101 PASS
ping Jane PASS
ping 192.168.1.100 FAIL
ping Tarzan FAIL


Then I ran some additional tests with Nbtstat, which I still do not
fully comprehend.

On the Desktop
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' ipconfig /all
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Tarzan
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . .. : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com 3C920B-EMB
Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 1:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce MCP
Networking Adapter
Physical Address . . . . . . . . : 00-xx-ERASED
Dhcp Enabled.. . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.100
Subnet Mask . . .. . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -a Tarzan
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.100] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
TARZAN <00> UNIQUE Registered
TARZAN <20> UNIQUE Registered
JUNGLE <00> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1E> GROUP Registered
JUNGLE <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered

MAC Address = 00-xx-ERASED

On laptop,

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -A 192.168.0.101
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

Host not found.

'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' nbtstat -n
'--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection 1:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.0.101] Scope Id: []

No names in cache


I have several questions.

How does one view the LMHOSTS file? What purpose does it serve in
simplistic terms?

How does one reset (or renew) the Netbios? Does the process involve
resetting the TCP/IP protocol?

How does one troubleshoot the Computer Browser service?

I am beyond frustration at this point. I need some people to shed some
light on the situation. People's comments help me in my web search.
Network site contain a lot of information and I continually overlook
relevant points since I am quickly reading this information. The
process is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Let's make the
troubleshooting simple. Remember this may be a SP2 thing.
Click to expand...
 
H

Hans-Georg Michna

The question came about while editing the Shares under the Computer
Management panel (ACL; I think). When you right click a share and then
select properties, the property panel display three tabs; General,
Share permissions; and Security. What is the difference between Share
Permissions and Security? Most website listed a PhD explanation about
it without giving examples where to use one versus the other. I need
to know how these functionalities relate to my network.
Click to expand...

Robert,

let me give this a short try.

When somebody comes from the network and wants to access a
folder, file, or printer, he first hits the share permissions
barrier. His credentials are checked against the share
permissions.

If the computer decides that he has the required rights to
access the share, he is let in, but now he faces the second
barrier, the object permissions (object being folder, file, or
printer). Again his credentials are checked against the
permissions. If he passes that test as well, he is allowed to
access the object.

The difference is that a person sitting at the target computer,
logging on locally, then trying to access an object, does not
face the first barrier, the share permissions. He only faces the
second.

In other words, the share permissions are an additional barrier
to access that is only there for people accessing the computer
through the network, but not to those accessing the computer
locally.

In yet other words, somebody who comes in through the network
needs two permissions to get through, one in the share
permissions, the other in the object permissions.

Hans-Georg
 

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