Unable to see shared drives

[Guest]

I have a home PC and laptop, both running XP Pro. My laptop doesn't have a CD
drive so I've always just shared the drive on the PC. Haven't had to use it
in a few weeks until today. But when I selected to share the drive, I noticed
my simple file sharing had been turned off. I turned it back on and shared
the drive. But I can't see it on my laptop. Also get an error on both
machines when I try to view workgroup computers.

Everything use to work fine and as far as I know I haven't made any changes.
Could a security update have done something?

How can I get my shares back?

 

[Chuck]

I have a home PC and laptop, both running XP Pro. My laptop doesn't have a CD
drive so I've always just shared the drive on the PC. Haven't had to use it
in a few weeks until today. But when I selected to share the drive, I noticed
my simple file sharing had been turned off. I turned it back on and shared
the drive. But I can't see it on my laptop. Also get an error on both
machines when I try to view workgroup computers.

Everything use to work fine and as far as I know I haven't made any changes.
Could a security update have done something?

A security update is always a possibility. Another 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. 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

Or look at "browstat status", "ipconfig /all", "net config server", and "net
config workstation", from each computer, and diagnose the problem. Read this
article, and linked articles, and follow instructions precisely (download
browstat!):
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighborhood.html#AskingForHelp>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighborhood.html#AskingForHelp

Please let us know if any of these suggestions are of any help. What you learn
may help others in the future, and that's the purpose of these forums.