Vista laptop can't see LAN

[Zoltan]

Two problems:

1. My Vista laptop can't share files with my home LAN consisting of a
XP desktop and two more XP laptops.

2. The Vista laptop loses and regains internet connection every few
seconds to minutes. But if I download a large file from the internet,
the connection is stable for hours.

The wireless often gives me a "local access only", but I'll worry
about that later.

All of the computers are connected to a D-Link router, which is
connected to a DSL modem.

I've set up a shared folder on the desktop which is accessible to the
XP laptops.
I've tried to set up a shared folder on the Vista machine, but the XP
machines can't see it, and it can't see the XP folder.

I can't ping the router from the Vista laptop, nor can I access the
router from the Vista machine. Belarc gives the correct IP for the
Vista computer, the IP of the router as 'Gateway' and 'DHCP server',
but it also says no DHCP server responded. IPconfig lists DHCP and
autoconfiguration as enabled.

I suspected the firewall, so I've turned off windows firewall and
replaced the pre-loaded MacAfee firewall with Zonealarm 7.1, and have
fiddled with both MacAfee and Zonealarm settings, and I've tried
turning them off.

Network Magic sees the name of the XP network, but says inactive.

Looking at the router, it's assigned an address to the Vista Laptop
and the other three XP computers. The Vista laptop won't ping the XP
addresses.

When I boot into safe mode, everything works. It doesn't appear to be
a hardware issue.

I've tried stopping as many of the autoruns as I can recognize, but
haven't found the problem yet.

Any ideas?

 

[Guest]

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/evaluate/vista_fp.mspx

Have a read of the above link.

Make sure the Vista and XP comps have the same Workgroup name; which they
DON'T have by default.

Make sure that in Vista Network sharing:
Network Discovery: ON
File Sharing:ON
Public Folder(Public in Vista is the same as Shared Docs in XP) sharing: ON
Password Protected: OFF

 

[Guest]

I have the same problem and did what the link you included says but still
doesn't work.

From the XP machines I can see the Vista laptop but don't have any access to
the shared Public directory nor the printer I already configured to be shared.

From the Vista laptop I don't see any XP PC's from the network.

Any other sugestion?

 

[Malke]

I have the same problem and did what the link you included says but still
doesn't work.

From the XP machines I can see the Vista laptop but don't have any access to
the shared Public directory nor the printer I already configured to be shared.

From the Vista laptop I don't see any XP PC's from the network.

If you are getting "access denied" errors, this is usually because you
haven't properly configured the firewalls and/or have forgotten to
create identical user accounts and passwords on all machines. See the
general network troubleshooting steps below. Not everything may be
applicable to your situation; just take the bits that are.

*****
This link will take you through Vista networking very well:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/evaluate/vista_fp.mspx

Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally
caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two
firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party
firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on
all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating
system does not permit it.

Here are some general networking tips for home/small networks:

1. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network
(LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing
File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network
Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.The only
"gotcha" is that this will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you
aren't running a third-party firewall or have an antivirus with
"Internet Worm Protection" (like Norton 2006/07) which acts as a
firewall, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually
configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be
192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct
subnet. Do not run more than one firewall.

2. With earlier Microsoft operating systems, the name of the Workgroup
didn't matter. Apparently it does with Vista, so put all computers in
the same Workgroup. This is done from the System applet in Control
Panel, Computer Name tab.

3. Create identical user accounts and passwords on all machines. If you
wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular
user's account) for convenience, you can do this. The instructions at
this link work for both XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

4. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center:

a. If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user
accounts/passwords on all computers.

b. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the
Simple File Sharing enabled.

Simple File Sharing means that Guest (network) is enabled. This means
that anyone without a user account on the target system can use its
resources. This is a security hole but only you can decide if it matters
in your situation.

I think it is a good idea to create the identical user
accounts/passwords in any case when Vista machines are involved and it
isn't an onerous task with home/small networks.

5. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
Shared Documents folder. See the first link above for details about
Vista sharing.
*****

Malke

 

[Zoltan]

Well, the only reply that worked doesn't seem to be here anymore...

-----------------
To troubleshooting spyware, virus and other issues when you cannot
determine the cause of the issue, you may run Windows Safe Mode or
Safe Mode with Network. With MSCONFIG, you also can configure a clean
boot to disable common startup programs, settings, and drivers to
eliminate possible software conflicts. To perform a clean boot, please
follow these steps:

1) Run MSCONFIG.EXE.
2) In the Services tab, click "Hide All Microsoft Services" and click
"Disable All".
3) In the Startup tab, click "Disable All". Click OK. (This will
temporarily prevent third-party programs from running automatically
during
start-up.)
_________________
Vista Troubleshooting Collections
http://www.chicagotech.net/netforums/viewtopic.php?t=259

Vista VPN Issues
------------------------------------

At the moment, that ( I used the MSconfig option) results in access to
the shared folder on the LAN - but my browsers and e-mail programs
don't work, even though it says local and internet.

FWIW, I can ping the Vista machine from the XP machine, but not the
other way around...

SO - some autoloading service is interfering with my LAN.

It's progress - I guess I'll have to figure out what services I need
to allow.

 

[Zoltan]

Well, the only reply that worked doesn't seem to be here anymore...

-----------------
To troubleshooting spyware, virus and other issues when you cannot
determine the cause of the issue, you may run Windows Safe Mode or
Safe Mode with Network. With MSCONFIG, you also can configure a clean
boot to disable common startup programs, settings, and drivers to
eliminate possible software conflicts. To perform a clean boot, please
follow these steps:

1) Run MSCONFIG.EXE.
2) In the Services tab, click "Hide All Microsoft Services" and click
"Disable All".
3) In the Startup tab, click "Disable All". Click OK. (This will
temporarily prevent third-party programs from running automatically
during
start-up.)
_________________
Vista Troubleshooting Collectionshttp://www.chicagotech.net/netforums/viewtopic.php?t=259

Vista VPN Issues
------------------------------------

At the moment, that ( I used the MSconfig option) results in access to
the shared folder on the LAN - but my browsers and e-mail programs
don't work, even though it says local and internet.

That was operator error - it all works now.

FWIW, I can ping the Vista machine from the XP machine, but not the
other way around...

SO - some autoloading service is interfering with my LAN.

It's progress - I guess I'll have to figure out what services I need
to allow.

FWIW - disabling the first third of the startup programs made both the
LAN and the WAN (Internet) work.

The intermittent disconnects were caused by a program called bandwith
meter.
Haven't isolated the rest yet - but have found a bunch that are NOT
the problem.