Unable to open shared files on wireless network

[Jeff]

I am having a sharing problem I think. I have a desktop pc running
Windows XP PRO and a laptop also running Windows XP PRO. They are both
networked through my wireless router D-Link DI524. Internet and
network drive mapping works great. I can access all media files on my
laptop from my wired computer. But, I cannot access anything shared on
the desktop from the laptop.

I can't seem to figure this out since the desktop can access everything
on my laptop but not vice versa, so I know it's not a router firewall
setting. I have both computers in my trusted zone in Zonealarm and I
still can't open MP3 or video files. MP3 play for at most 4 seconds
before being cut off. Videos don't start from the beginning. If I
access all from Windows Media Player 9, i get the error that it cannot
open the file and to check network connections etc.

Both computers are assigned to the workgroup: HOME.
Both computers have the same user ID and password.
Both computers can see each other on the network.
Both computers can be successfully pinged by the other computer.

Any ideas why I can't open any files with my laptop stored on my
desktop but shared on the network?

 

[Chuck]

I am having a sharing problem I think. I have a desktop pc running
Windows XP PRO and a laptop also running Windows XP PRO. They are both
networked through my wireless router D-Link DI524. Internet and
network drive mapping works great. I can access all media files on my
laptop from my wired computer. But, I cannot access anything shared on
the desktop from the laptop.

I can't seem to figure this out since the desktop can access everything
on my laptop but not vice versa, so I know it's not a router firewall
setting. I have both computers in my trusted zone in Zonealarm and I
still can't open MP3 or video files. MP3 play for at most 4 seconds
before being cut off. Videos don't start from the beginning. If I
access all from Windows Media Player 9, i get the error that it cannot
open the file and to check network connections etc.

Both computers are assigned to the workgroup: HOME.
Both computers have the same user ID and password.
Both computers can see each other on the network.
Both computers can be successfully pinged by the other computer.

Any ideas why I can't open any files with my laptop stored on my
desktop but shared on the network?

Jeff,

One of the most common causes of this problem would be a misconfigured or
overlooked personal firewall, or other security component. There are several
other possibilities too, and any might be the cause of your problem. What
antivirus products do you use? Read this article with an open mind.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/10/irregularities-in-workgroup-visibility.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/10/irregularities-in-workgroup-visibility.html

Besides that, you have the WiFi issue. Are both computers connected by WiFi?

 

[Jeff]

Jeff,

One of the most common causes of this problem would be a misconfigured or
overlooked personal firewall, or other security component. There are several
other possibilities too, and any might be the cause of your problem. What
antivirus products do you use? Read this article with an open mind.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/10/irregularities-in-workgroup-visibility.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/10/irregularities-in-workgroup-visibility.html

Besides that, you have the WiFi issue. Are both computers connected by WiFi?

Computer A - Self Built Computer B - Dell
Inspiron 7500
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Windows XP PRO SP2 Windows XP PRO SP2
Chaintech 7NJIF2 400MHZ FSB
Amd Athlon XP 2500 (1.8GHZ) Pentium III 450 MHZ
Sapphire Radeon 9600 PRO 128MB ATI Rage Mobile 4MB
1.0 GHZ PC2700 DDR SDRAM 128 MB PC100 SDRAM
NFORCE 2 Integrated NIC 802.11g 2.4ghz 54Mbps
WiFi
AVG 7.0 Anti-virus AVG 7.0 Anti-virus
ZoneAlarm Firewall ZoneAlarm Firewall

Both connected to D-Link 524 802.11g Router

|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Computer A is WIRED directly to the router.
Computer B is connected via WiFi.

Both computers are set up in TRUSTED ZONE of one another's firewalls.
Per the article, I have no ping issue associated with the NFORCE hidden
firewall, so that does not apply to my problem.

I'm at work right now, so I can't check all the settings listed on that
webpage right now. It just seems wierd that I have access to everything
but when it comes to my audio and video files I can't open them. I have
the drives set to share with everyone and allow users write access.

 

[Jeff]

Jeff,

One of the most common causes of this problem would be a misconfigured or
overlooked personal firewall, or other security component. There are several
other possibilities too, and any might be the cause of your problem. What
antivirus products do you use? Read this article with an open mind.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/10/irregularities-in-workgroup-visibility.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/10/irregularities-in-workgroup-visibility.html

Besides that, you have the WiFi issue. Are both computers connected by WiFi?

Computer A - Self Built Computer B - Dell
Inspiron 7500
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------­-------------------------------|

Windows XP PRO SP2 Windows XP PRO SP2
Chaintech 7NJIF2 400MHZ FSB
Amd Athlon XP 2500 (1.8GHZ) Pentium III 450 MHZ
ATI Radeon 9600 PRO 128MB ATI Rage Mobile 4MB
1.0 GHZ PC2700 DDR SDRAM 128 MB PC100 SDRAM
NFORCE 2 Integrated NIC 802.11g 2.4ghz 54Mbps WiFi
AVG 7.0 Anti-virus AVG 7.0 Anti-virus
ZoneAlarm Firewall ZoneAlarm Firewall

Both connected to D-Link 524 802.11g Router

|------------------------------------------------------------------------­-------------------------------|


Computer A is WIRED directly to the router.
Computer B is connected via WiFi.


Both computers are set up in TRUSTED ZONE of one another's firewalls.
Per the article, I have no ping issue associated with the NFORCE hidden
firewall, so that does not apply to my problem.


I'm at work right now, so I can't check all the settings listed on that
webpage right now. It just seems wierd that I have access to everything
but when it comes to my audio and video files I can't open them. I have
the drives set to share with everyone and allow users write access.

 

[Chuck]

Computer A - Self Built Computer B - Dell
Inspiron 7500
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------­-------------------------------|

Windows XP PRO SP2 Windows XP PRO SP2
Chaintech 7NJIF2 400MHZ FSB
Amd Athlon XP 2500 (1.8GHZ) Pentium III 450 MHZ
ATI Radeon 9600 PRO 128MB ATI Rage Mobile 4MB
1.0 GHZ PC2700 DDR SDRAM 128 MB PC100 SDRAM
NFORCE 2 Integrated NIC 802.11g 2.4ghz 54Mbps WiFi
AVG 7.0 Anti-virus AVG 7.0 Anti-virus
ZoneAlarm Firewall ZoneAlarm Firewall

Both connected to D-Link 524 802.11g Router

|------------------------------------------------------------------------­-------------------------------|


Computer A is WIRED directly to the router.
Computer B is connected via WiFi.


Both computers are set up in TRUSTED ZONE of one another's firewalls.
Per the article, I have no ping issue associated with the NFORCE hidden
firewall, so that does not apply to my problem.


I'm at work right now, so I can't check all the settings listed on that
webpage right now. It just seems wierd that I have access to everything
but when it comes to my audio and video files I can't open them. I have
the drives set to share with everyone and allow users write access.

Well, if it's Ethernet / WiFi mixed, then it's not going to be a WiFi collision
scenario that I'd envisioned. But how about you eliminate the possibilities.
Try all Ethernet (and all WiFi if at all possible). See if the problem
continues, without WiFi in the picture.

However, I don't agree with saying that since you can ping then an nVidia
firewall problem is not the cause. Read the nVidia forums please.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/02/hidden-personal-firewall-nvidia-nforce.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/02/hidden-personal-firewall-nvidia-nforce.html

 

[Jeff]

Well, if it's Ethernet / WiFi mixed, then it's not going to be a WiFi collision
scenario that I'd envisioned. But how about you eliminate the possibilities.
Try all Ethernet (and all WiFi if at all possible). See if the problem
continues, without WiFi in the picture.

However, I don't agree with saying that since you can ping then an nVidia
firewall problem is not the cause. Read the nVidia forums please.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/02/hidden-personal-firewall-nvidia-nforce.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/02/hidden-personal-firewall-nvidia-nforce.html

Well my problem has been solved. I upgraded my laptops hard drive from
a 5 GB to a 40 GB drive and reinstalled Windows XP and the whole
shebang... But before I did all that, I was trying to get onto the
internet and my wireless card would not connect to my network.

Long story short, I just took out my PCMCIA wirless adapter and plugged
it back in. Worked like a charm. I'm assuming the card's
configuration settings were reset back to default, because after I did
that, I was able to connect to videos and audio files over my network.


I didn't make any changes prior to doing this, so I'm assuming some
setting was wrong and blocking the files from being used? I don't
know, all I know is I could only hear about 4 - 5 seconds of MP3 files
before they stopped playing.

So then I proceeded to format my old drive and added my new one with a
fresh install of windows XP (which is okay since I've only had this
computer for about two weeks) and when I installed the drivers for the
wireless card (doesnt come with windows xp) and corrected my
workstation to match Computer A, everything works flawlessly.

So needless to say that problem has been taken care of. Unfortunately
I'm not sure what setting needed to be fixed with the wireless card and
hoping if it happens again, taking out the card and plugging it back in
will fix again.

Thanks for all the suggestions, BTW.

 

[Chuck]

Well my problem has been solved. I upgraded my laptops hard drive from
a 5 GB to a 40 GB drive and reinstalled Windows XP and the whole
shebang... But before I did all that, I was trying to get onto the
internet and my wireless card would not connect to my network.

Long story short, I just took out my PCMCIA wirless adapter and plugged
it back in. Worked like a charm. I'm assuming the card's
configuration settings were reset back to default, because after I did
that, I was able to connect to videos and audio files over my network.


I didn't make any changes prior to doing this, so I'm assuming some
setting was wrong and blocking the files from being used? I don't
know, all I know is I could only hear about 4 - 5 seconds of MP3 files
before they stopped playing.

So then I proceeded to format my old drive and added my new one with a
fresh install of windows XP (which is okay since I've only had this
computer for about two weeks) and when I installed the drivers for the
wireless card (doesnt come with windows xp) and corrected my
workstation to match Computer A, everything works flawlessly.

So needless to say that problem has been taken care of. Unfortunately
I'm not sure what setting needed to be fixed with the wireless card and
hoping if it happens again, taking out the card and plugging it back in
will fix again.

Thanks for all the suggestions, BTW.

That's great news. Thanks for letting us know.

Maybe the problem was just the installation (physical connection) between the
WiFi card and the pcmcia (aka pc card, aka cardbus) socket. If the problem
returns, we'll address it again.

 

[Jeff]

That's great news. Thanks for letting us know.

Maybe the problem was just the installation (physical connection) betweenthe
WiFi card and the pcmcia (aka pc card, aka cardbus) socket. If the problem
returns, we'll address it again.

Well the problem has returned, but as stated above most of the time it
can be resolved by removing the card and re-inserting it. Maybe it has
something to do with the wireless networking configuration software and
windows wireless networking competing for control of the card. It seems
if I unload the marvell configuration program that sits in the system
tray then unplug the card, then restart the marvell software and plug
the card back in, it works most of the time.

Sometimes I have to go into windows wireless setting after that and
select the box for let windows manage wireless networking check box.
Its weird, but it happens this way.

Something is wrong but this temporary workaround is helping keep the
problem in line, just wish I knew what was causing this problem.

 

[Chuck]

Well the problem has returned, but as stated above most of the time it
can be resolved by removing the card and re-inserting it. Maybe it has
something to do with the wireless networking configuration software and
windows wireless networking competing for control of the card. It seems
if I unload the marvell configuration program that sits in the system
tray then unplug the card, then restart the marvell software and plug
the card back in, it works most of the time.

Sometimes I have to go into windows wireless setting after that and
select the box for let windows manage wireless networking check box.
Its weird, but it happens this way.

Something is wrong but this temporary workaround is helping keep the
problem in line, just wish I knew what was causing this problem.

Jeff,

If it's an intermittent problem, make sure that you're only running one
connection manager at any time. Be aggressive and inquisitive here, and use
Autoruns.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/01/stabilise-your-wifi-use-only-one-wifi.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/01/stabilise-your-wifi-use-only-one-wifi.html

 

[Jeff]

Jeff,

If it's an intermittent problem, make sure that you're only running one
connection manager at any time. Be aggressive and inquisitive here, and use
Autoruns.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/01/stabilise-your-wifi-use-only-one-wifi.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/01/stabilise-your-wifi-use-only-one-wifi.html

I will try this when i get home later. Which program should I be
using? Is windows decent enough or should I use the manage that came
with my card? Also, how do I disable windows wireless manager? Is
that listed as 'disable' under the secondary menu (i.e. right click)
will that disable Windows wireless network manage or disable my
wireless card (I guess I will have to find out).

Anyway, thanks for the tips, and hopefully this autorun will help me
with my problem.

 

[Chuck]

I will try this when i get home later. Which program should I be
using? Is windows decent enough or should I use the manage that came
with my card? Also, how do I disable windows wireless manager? Is
that listed as 'disable' under the secondary menu (i.e. right click)
will that disable Windows wireless network manage or disable my
wireless card (I guess I will have to find out).

Anyway, thanks for the tips, and hopefully this autorun will help me
with my problem.

Jeff,

If you have multiple connection managers, you should look at each one, and
decide for yourself which one fits your needs. I had a choice of 3 on my
laptop: Intel (the WiFi card), HP (the laptop), Microsoft (the OS). I decided
in favour of Intel. The Microsoft product (WZC) has one major advantage - it is
packaged as a service (ie starts when Windows starts, not after you login). If
immediate connectivity is your preference, WZC is the best choice. Just make
sure that you prevent all portions of all competing products from running.

 

[Jeff]

Jeff,

If you have multiple connection managers, you should look at each one, and
decide for yourself which one fits your needs. I had a choice of 3 on my
laptop: Intel (the WiFi card), HP (the laptop), Microsoft (the OS). I decided
in favour of Intel. The Microsoft product (WZC) has one major advantage - it is
packaged as a service (ie starts when Windows starts, not after you login). If
immediate connectivity is your preference, WZC is the best choice. Just make
sure that you prevent all portions of all competing products from running.

Well I had a problem again with the damn thing. So I found a newer
driver for the Marvell Libertas 8335 (thats the card model I guess, not
written on card itself generic) and it was a bitch to install but so
far so good. How do I get windows not to load its wireless software on
bootup?

I went into the wireless connection icon in the system task bar and
unselected the checkbox for let windows configure my wireless settings.
Is that all I need to do to disable it? Well thats what I have it at
now, and it lights up after marvell software connects the card, is this
still okay? I'll update tomorrow if my ability to play media fails
(heres to hoping it doesnt)

 

[Chuck]

Well I had a problem again with the damn thing. So I found a newer
driver for the Marvell Libertas 8335 (thats the card model I guess, not
written on card itself generic) and it was a bitch to install but so
far so good. How do I get windows not to load its wireless software on
bootup?

I went into the wireless connection icon in the system task bar and
unselected the checkbox for let windows configure my wireless settings.
Is that all I need to do to disable it? Well thats what I have it at
now, and it lights up after marvell software connects the card, is this
still okay? I'll update tomorrow if my ability to play media fails
(heres to hoping it doesnt)

Jeff,

Autoruns will show you programs that startup when you login, and it will list
services (programs that startup when the computer starts). You can use Autoruns
to stop any WiFi client management process. Any process that runs as a service,
you can stop and disable using the Services wizard.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/06/services-running-on-your-computer.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/06/services-running-on-your-computer.html