Win XP no longer able to access LAN with win 98SE machines

[Guest]

To any LAN or Networking troubleshooters out there:-

Recently (after allowing updates) my Win XP machine no longer is able to
access shares on my LAN.

The LAN has 5 other computers (4 Win 98SE and 1 Win NT 4.0) machines
connected to two Linksys routers (One acting as a Gateway for three PCs and
the other router which is wireless and acts as a router for the other two PC
and other wireless components, eg. wireless print server).
- All machines on the network can successfully 'ping each other'
- All of the Win 98SE machines and the Win NT 4.0 machine can accessess each
others shares (mapped drives, etc)
- The Win XP machine could originally access the other machines but it now
returns the message " 'Workgroup' is not accessible. You might not have
access to the Network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to
findout if you have access permissions"
- All machines, including the XP machine, are part of the same named workgroup
- ICF is disabled on the XP machine
- No other firewall software is installed on the XP machine. The firewall
software on the Win 98SE machines is set to allow the IP address of the XP
machine
- The XP machine has been assigned a Static IP address of the type
192.168.1.XXX (where xxx is a number within the range allowed by the routers)
- No network bridges are present on the XP machine. Although it has two
network adapters (wired and wireless) each has been assigned a separate
static ip address and one is disabled when the other is in use.
- The connections have "File and print sharing", "Client for Microsoft
Networks", Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and [Qos packet scheduler] installed;
TCP/IP being configured with static ip addresses and DNS entries.

Neither LINKSYS, COMPAQ or Microsoft have been successful in helping me
solve this issue so I would be most interested to hear if anyone else has
experienced the same problem, namely a machine which happily connected to a
LAN suddenly experiences the error mentioned above after installation of
windows xp updates including SP 2.

The error is #6118 when "net view" is typed in a command window. There is a
Microsoft "Q" sheet which suggest that if the XP machine was connected to a
Domain which has the same nam as the work group the error described at the
top of this post could occur. I tried changing the name of the workgroup for
all of the network components and rebooting the LAN and Broadband connection
but the problem still persists.

I hope someone has the time to read this (sorry about the length, tried to
be through) and make a wise suggestion.

Thanks,

Dave Robinson

ps - I tried booting up different machines in sequence to allow different
machines to hold the master browser list but that only caused a delay in how
long it took before all the machines could see each other. The XP machine
still wouldn't access the shares of the other machines or allow them to acces
its shares; sometimes the XP machine would not even see the other machines
but it could still ping them and they could ping it.

 

[Rick W]

I cannot use my LAN either after updating XP Home and Pro
to Service Pack 2. If you find anything to remedy this
problem, please let me know. My LAN says it is not
connected or has no connectivity! But, Everything is
still connected. THANKS! ....Rick

-----Original Message-----
To any LAN or Networking troubleshooters out there:-

Recently (after allowing updates) my Win XP machine no longer is able to
access shares on my LAN.

The LAN has 5 other computers (4 Win 98SE and 1 Win NT 4.0) machines
connected to two Linksys routers (One acting as a Gateway for three PCs and
the other router which is wireless and acts as a router for the other two PC
and other wireless components, eg. wireless print server).
- All machines on the network can successfully 'ping each other'
- All of the Win 98SE machines and the Win NT 4.0 machine can accessess each
others shares (mapped drives, etc)
- The Win XP machine could originally access the other machines but it now
returns the message " 'Workgroup' is not accessible. You might not have
access to the Network resource. Contact the

administrator of this server to

findout if you have access permissions"
- All machines, including the XP machine, are part of the same named workgroup
- ICF is disabled on the XP machine
- No other firewall software is installed on the XP machine. The firewall
software on the Win 98SE machines is set to allow the IP address of the XP
machine
- The XP machine has been assigned a Static IP address of the type
192.168.1.XXX (where xxx is a number within the range allowed by the routers)
- No network bridges are present on the XP machine. Although it has two
network adapters (wired and wireless) each has been assigned a separate
static ip address and one is disabled when the other is in use.
- The connections have "File and print sharing", "Client for Microsoft
Networks", Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and [Qos packet scheduler] installed;
TCP/IP being configured with static ip addresses and DNS entries.

Neither LINKSYS, COMPAQ or Microsoft have been successful in helping me
solve this issue so I would be most interested to hear if anyone else has
experienced the same problem, namely a machine which happily connected to a
LAN suddenly experiences the error mentioned above after installation of
windows xp updates including SP 2.

The error is #6118 when "net view" is typed in a command window. There is a
Microsoft "Q" sheet which suggest that if the XP machine was connected to a
Domain which has the same nam as the work group the error described at the
top of this post could occur. I tried changing the name of the workgroup for
all of the network components and rebooting the LAN and Broadband connection
but the problem still persists.

I hope someone has the time to read this (sorry about the length, tried to
be through) and make a wise suggestion.

Thanks,

Dave Robinson

ps - I tried booting up different machines in sequence to allow different
machines to hold the master browser list but that only caused a delay in how
long it took before all the machines could see each other. The XP machine
still wouldn't access the shares of the other machines or allow them to acces
its shares; sometimes the XP machine would not even see the other machines
but it could still ping them and they could ping it.
.

 

[Andrew Ward]

With an IP address of 192.168.0... I guess you have a
Broadband router? I'm in the same boat having downloaded
SP" on both machines. The laptop uses the wireless
connection to the router. I can't even ping one machine
from the other. The only thing I have noticed on the
laptop is that SP2 has replaced the local connection with
a wireless connection, and somehow think that this maybe
the cause of the problem.

It's nice in a way to find that I'm not alone that SP2
has caused such a major problem, but I'm concerned and
annoyed that even on these newsgroups - where there seem
to be a high number of incidents that after downloading
SP2, previously working networks no longer connect and
people are unable to restore themselves to the status quo.

The suggestions that I've received so far have all been
futile. They've ranged from disable the firewall
completely (weird since that was one of SP2's main
selling points), make changes to the TCP/IP settings -
none of which have worked. I've run and re-run the home
networking wizard until I'm blue in the face - and the
two computers obstinately refuse to connect.

The latest suggestion on this group from an MVP was to
restore the computer to the point BEFORE SP2
installation. That's fine - but then I also lose any
programmes which I have installed since then - and there
have been a couple which I don't want to lose.

It does seem from reading these newsgroups loss of
network is a major problem, and this should be mentioned
BEFORE you even attempt to download SP2. Meanwhile there
are dozens of people who are bereft of their home
networks and unable to restore them. It's not terribly
good Microsoft. Contacting my own hub support company
will elicit the response that they can't comment on home
networks - and in any case it's a Microsoft problem -
Microsoft support will no doubt come back with the
response that XP is provided through OEM and I should
contact my supplier - who will no doubt return the
message that I should contact the router support. There
is a great deal of buck passing - and very little support.

-----Original Message-----
I cannot use my LAN either after updating XP Home and Pro
to Service Pack 2. If you find anything to remedy this
problem, please let me know. My LAN says it is not
connected or has no connectivity! But, Everything is
still connected. THANKS! ....Rick

-----Original Message-----
To any LAN or Networking troubleshooters out there:-

Recently (after allowing updates) my Win XP machine no longer is able to
access shares on my LAN.

The LAN has 5 other computers (4 Win 98SE and 1 Win NT 4.0) machines
connected to two Linksys routers (One acting as a Gateway for three PCs and
the other router which is wireless and acts as a router for the other two PC
and other wireless components, eg. wireless print server).
- All machines on the network can successfully 'ping each other'
- All of the Win 98SE machines and the Win NT 4.0 machine can accessess each
others shares (mapped drives, etc)
- The Win XP machine could originally access the other machines but it now
returns the message " 'Workgroup' is not accessible.

You
might not have

access to the Network resource. Contact the

administrator of this server to

findout if you have access permissions"
- All machines, including the XP machine, are part of the same named workgroup
- ICF is disabled on the XP machine
- No other firewall software is installed on the XP machine. The firewall
software on the Win 98SE machines is set to allow the

IP
address of the XP

machine
- The XP machine has been assigned a Static IP address of the type
192.168.1.XXX (where xxx is a number within the range allowed by the routers)
- No network bridges are present on the XP machine. Although it has two
network adapters (wired and wireless) each has been assigned a separate
static ip address and one is disabled when the other is in use.
- The connections have "File and print

sharing", "Client
for Microsoft

Networks", Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and [Qos packet scheduler] installed;
TCP/IP being configured with static ip addresses and

DNS

entries.

Neither LINKSYS, COMPAQ or Microsoft have been successful in helping me
solve this issue so I would be most interested to hear if anyone else has
experienced the same problem, namely a machine which happily connected to a
LAN suddenly experiences the error mentioned above

after
installation of

windows xp updates including SP 2.

The error is #6118 when "net view" is typed in a

command
window. There is a

Microsoft "Q" sheet which suggest that if the XP

machine
was connected to a

Domain which has the same nam as the work group the error described at the
top of this post could occur. I tried changing the name of the workgroup for
all of the network components and rebooting the LAN and Broadband connection
but the problem still persists.

I hope someone has the time to read this (sorry about the length, tried to
be through) and make a wise suggestion.

Thanks,

Dave Robinson

ps - I tried booting up different machines in sequence to allow different
machines to hold the master browser list but that only caused a delay in how
long it took before all the machines could see each other. The XP machine
still wouldn't access the shares of the other machines or allow them to acces
its shares; sometimes the XP machine would not even see the other machines
but it could still ping them and they could ping it.
.

.

 

[Guest]

only fix I've found so far is to use restore to get rid of
SP2!

-----Original Message-----
I cannot use my LAN either after updating XP Home and Pro
to Service Pack 2. If you find anything to remedy this
problem, please let me know. My LAN says it is not
connected or has no connectivity! But, Everything is
still connected. THANKS! ....Rick

-----Original Message-----
To any LAN or Networking troubleshooters out there:-

Recently (after allowing updates) my Win XP machine no longer is able to
access shares on my LAN.

The LAN has 5 other computers (4 Win 98SE and 1 Win NT 4.0) machines
connected to two Linksys routers (One acting as a Gateway for three PCs and
the other router which is wireless and acts as a router for the other two PC
and other wireless components, eg. wireless print server).
- All machines on the network can successfully 'ping each other'
- All of the Win 98SE machines and the Win NT 4.0 machine can accessess each
others shares (mapped drives, etc)
- The Win XP machine could originally access the other machines but it now
returns the message " 'Workgroup' is not accessible. You might not have
access to the Network resource. Contact the

administrator of this server to

findout if you have access permissions"
- All machines, including the XP machine, are part of the same named workgroup
- ICF is disabled on the XP machine
- No other firewall software is installed on the XP machine. The firewall
software on the Win 98SE machines is set to allow the IP address of the XP
machine
- The XP machine has been assigned a Static IP address of the type
192.168.1.XXX (where xxx is a number within the range allowed by the routers)
- No network bridges are present on the XP machine. Although it has two
network adapters (wired and wireless) each has been assigned a separate
static ip address and one is disabled when the other is in use.
- The connections have "File and print sharing", "Client for Microsoft
Networks", Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and [Qos packet scheduler] installed;
TCP/IP being configured with static ip addresses and DNS entries.

Neither LINKSYS, COMPAQ or Microsoft have been successful in helping me
solve this issue so I would be most interested to hear if anyone else has
experienced the same problem, namely a machine which happily connected to a
LAN suddenly experiences the error mentioned above after installation of
windows xp updates including SP 2.

The error is #6118 when "net view" is typed in a command window. There is a
Microsoft "Q" sheet which suggest that if the XP machine was connected to a
Domain which has the same nam as the work group the error described at the
top of this post could occur. I tried changing the name of the workgroup for
all of the network components and rebooting the LAN and Broadband connection
but the problem still persists.

I hope someone has the time to read this (sorry about the length, tried to
be through) and make a wise suggestion.

Thanks,

Dave Robinson

ps - I tried booting up different machines in sequence to allow different
machines to hold the master browser list but that only caused a delay in how
long it took before all the machines could see each other. The XP machine
still wouldn't access the shares of the other machines or allow them to acces
its shares; sometimes the XP machine would not even see the other machines
but it could still ping them and they could ping it.
.

.

 

[Andrew Ward]

It's quite amazing the number of people who have
downloaded SP2 and find their home network trashed.

There's VERY little comment from Microsoft about this.
Certainly if I realised it was going to mess things up
quite so much I wouldn't have installed SP2 in the first
place. Its hard to go back now, as I have installed other
programmes and programme updates since then

-----Original Message-----
only fix I've found so far is to use restore to get rid of

SP2!

-----Original Message-----
I cannot use my LAN either after updating XP Home and Pro
to Service Pack 2. If you find anything to remedy this
problem, please let me know. My LAN says it is not
connected or has no connectivity! But, Everything is
still connected. THANKS! ....Rick

-----Original Message-----
To any LAN or Networking troubleshooters out there:-

Recently (after allowing updates) my Win XP machine no longer is able to
access shares on my LAN.

The LAN has 5 other computers (4 Win 98SE and 1 Win NT 4.0) machines
connected to two Linksys routers (One acting as a Gateway for three PCs and
the other router which is wireless and acts as a

router
for the other two PC

and other wireless components, eg. wireless print server).
- All machines on the network can successfully 'ping each other'
- All of the Win 98SE machines and the Win NT 4.0 machine can accessess each
others shares (mapped drives, etc)
- The Win XP machine could originally access the other machines but it now
returns the message " 'Workgroup' is not accessible.

You
might not have

access to the Network resource. Contact the

administrator of this server to

findout if you have access permissions"
- All machines, including the XP machine, are part of the same named workgroup
- ICF is disabled on the XP machine
- No other firewall software is installed on the XP machine. The firewall
software on the Win 98SE machines is set to allow the

IP
address of the XP

machine
- The XP machine has been assigned a Static IP address of the type
192.168.1.XXX (where xxx is a number within the range allowed by the routers)
- No network bridges are present on the XP machine. Although it has two
network adapters (wired and wireless) each has been assigned a separate
static ip address and one is disabled when the other

is
in use.

- The connections have "File and print

sharing", "Client
for Microsoft

Networks", Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and [Qos packet scheduler] installed;
TCP/IP being configured with static ip addresses and

DNS
entries.

Neither LINKSYS, COMPAQ or Microsoft have been successful in helping me
solve this issue so I would be most interested to hear if anyone else has
experienced the same problem, namely a machine which happily connected to a
LAN suddenly experiences the error mentioned above

after
installation of

windows xp updates including SP 2.

The error is #6118 when "net view" is typed in a

command
window. There is a

Microsoft "Q" sheet which suggest that if the XP

machine
was connected to a

Domain which has the same nam as the work group the error described at the
top of this post could occur. I tried changing the

name
of the workgroup for

all of the network components and rebooting the LAN

and
Broadband connection

but the problem still persists.

I hope someone has the time to read this (sorry about the length, tried to
be through) and make a wise suggestion.

Thanks,

Dave Robinson

ps - I tried booting up different machines in sequence to allow different
machines to hold the master browser list but that only caused a delay in how
long it took before all the machines could see each other. The XP machine
still wouldn't access the shares of the other machines or allow them to acces
its shares; sometimes the XP machine would not even

see
the other machines

but it could still ping them and they could ping it.
.

.

.

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

To any LAN or Networking troubleshooters out there:-

Recently (after allowing updates) my Win XP machine no longer is able to
access shares on my LAN.

The LAN has 5 other computers (4 Win 98SE and 1 Win NT 4.0) machines
connected to two Linksys routers (One acting as a Gateway for three PCs and
the other router which is wireless and acts as a router for the other two PC
and other wireless components, eg. wireless print server).
- All machines on the network can successfully 'ping each other'
- All of the Win 98SE machines and the Win NT 4.0 machine can accessess each
others shares (mapped drives, etc)
- The Win XP machine could originally access the other machines but it now
returns the message " 'Workgroup' is not accessible. You might not have
access to the Network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to
findout if you have access permissions"

Dave,

I don't have the solution, but check the following points, which
could perhaps cause this problem.

* Make sure you have only one transport protocol installed,
namely TCP/IP. Remove, disable, or at least unbind other
transport protocols like IPX (NWLink) and NetBEUI.

* If you had other networking clients installed, like certain
Netware clients, you may be in for a long, bumpy ride. Some do
damage that is almost impossible to repair. You may want to try
a repair installation of Windows XP, followed by applying
Service Pack 2 again, or, better, a repair installation with a
slipstream version of Windows XP with Service Pack 2 already
integrated.

* Repair the IP stack with the Repair command or, better, with
the command: netsh int ip reset

* If the loopback feature is enabled in a connected router,
disable it. You may even need a firmware upgrade.

* Change the workgroup name in all computers to a new, simple,
short, perhaps even all upper case one, to make sure there
aren't any problems there. You can later change it back.

* Check whether NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled. It should be.

* Check all NetBIOS names for possible duplicates. For example,
if the workgroup name coincides with a user or computer name,
this could cause the problem. Try opening a command line window
and issuing the command: net view

* Then issue the command: net view \\computername, where
computername should be replaced with one of the names displayed
with the simple net view command. Check all names for possible
duplication.

* Check your router's diagnostic and information pages for NAT
information, like which computer has which IP address. Any
duplication here could point to the problem.

* Disable, better uninstall or upgrade, all antivirus software
and third party firewalls.

* Rid the computer of adware and spyware. For example, run
Spybot Search & Destroy.

And, most importantly, if you find (or anyone finds) that one of
these points or any other procedure solved your problem, please
reply here or post a new message to let us all know.

Hans-Georg

 

[Guest]

Hi all,
I'm really new to this but since the last update I am having a really hard
time with my network connection too. Do you suppose it is a safe assumption
that since the service pack caused this problem that Microsoft will fix the
problem? What are the advantages of waiting for them to send out a patch?
How long do you suppose it will take?

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

I'm really new to this but since the last update I am having a really hard
time with my network connection too. Do you suppose it is a safe assumption
that since the service pack caused this problem that Microsoft will fix the
problem? What are the advantages of waiting for them to send out a patch?
How long do you suppose it will take?

What problem? I've seen dozens of different problems, most of
which were brought to the surface, but not caused by Service
Pack 2.

Microsoft will certainly fix problems that are severe and
widespread, provided they are brought to their attention.
Meanwhile we should try to help ourselves, and as I see it, the
majority of problems is being solved right here. I think this
newsgroup is doing fairly well.

You could look through http://www.michna.com/kb/WxSP2.htm for a
list of solvable problems with SP2. If your particular problem
doesn't respond to any of these solutions, describe it here, and
there's still a fair chance that somebody comes up with a
solution.

Hans-Georg

 

[Guest]

Thanks to Herry Han of Microsoft this problem has now been resolved. The
solution is described below:-

(1) On the XP Machine two files were added. These files enable installation
of the NetBEUI protocol. You only need to use this protocol if you have
disabled DHCP on the router you connect through. The files can be found on
the Windows XP Cd-ROM, in the Valueadd\MSFT\Net\NetBEUI folder.

(a) Copy the Nbf.sys file to your ...\Windows\System32\Drivers directory
(b) Copy the Netnbf.inf file to your ...\Windows\Inf hidden directory
(c) Right click on the adapter connection you wish to add the protocol and
select the Properties option. Click on the Install button and select
Protocol. Select the NetBEUI protocol to install it. Install the Protocol on
the other Windows machines (Win 98 SE machines) as well.

(2) Ensure that the Computer Browser service is started automatically
(3) Ensure that the Routing and Remote Access service is started automatically
(4) Ensure that the RPC services are set to local system logon

(1) and (2) are essential whereas (3) and (4) were added prior to resolving
the problem but have not been reversed to determine if they are essential to
solving the problem

NOTE:

(4) was recommended by Microsoft but did not reslove the problem, (3) was a
test which led to successful connection with the Windows NT 4.0 machine but
not with the Windows 98 SE machines.

NetBEUI is a non routable protocol therefore computers which are not located
on the same network segment or subnet cannot communicate. NetBEUI is an
enhanced version of the NetBios protocol.

On my LAN, the computers on the different LAN segments all have static IP
addresses assigned and the TCP/IP protocol installed therefore the computers
connected to the wireless router can communicate with the computers connected
to the wired router acting as a Gateway. The wireless router is directly
connected to one of the ports of the wired router and the wireless router has
been assigned a static IP address. All the computers on the LAN have Internet
access at the speed of the Broadband connection (no internet connection
sharing is required).

I hope the solution to my problem sheds some light which will enable others
to solve theirs.

Regards,

Dave Robinson
(Tomorrow's Technology)

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

I hope the solution to my problem sheds some light which will enable others
to solve theirs.

Dave,

one should perhaps remark that this is not actually a solution.
The problem itself remains unsolved. It is merely patched over,
and in a clumsy way, if you ask me.

Normally I do not recommend to install NetBEUI in addition to
TCP/IP.

The real solution to the problem is in
http://www.michna.com/kb/WxSP2.htm. Probably NetBIOS over TCP/IP
or the File and Printer Sharing Exception in the firewall needs
to be enabled or the browser service needs to be started. But I
wrote that already in an earlier message in this thread.

Funny that nobody mentioned the actual text of the error
message.

Hans-Georg

 

[sharoncricket]

Thanks to Herry Han of Microsoft this problem has now been resolved. The
solution is described below:-

(1) On the XP Machine two files were added. These files enable installation
of the NetBEUI protocol. You only need to use this protocol if you have
disabled DHCP on the router you connect through. The files can be found on
the Windows XP Cd-ROM, in the Valueadd\MSFT\Net\NetBEUI folder.

(a) Copy the Nbf.sys file to your ...\Windows\System32\Drivers directory
(b) Copy the Netnbf.inf file to your ...\Windows\Inf hidden directory
(c) Right click on the adapter connection you wish to add the protocol and
select the Properties option. Click on the Install button and select
Protocol. Select the NetBEUI protocol to install it. Install the Protocol on
the other Windows machines (Win 98 SE machines) as well.

(2) Ensure that the Computer Browser service is started automatically
(3) Ensure that the Routing and Remote Access service is started automatically
(4) Ensure that the RPC services are set to local system logon

(1) and (2) are essential whereas (3) and (4) were added prior to resolving
the problem but have not been reversed to determine if they are essential to
solving the problem

NOTE:

(4) was recommended by Microsoft but did not reslove the problem, (3) was a
test which led to successful connection with the Windows NT 4.0 machine but
not with the Windows 98 SE machines.

NetBEUI is a non routable protocol therefore computers which are not located
on the same network segment or subnet cannot communicate. NetBEUI is an
enhanced version of the NetBios protocol.

On my LAN, the computers on the different LAN segments all have static IP
addresses assigned and the TCP/IP protocol installed therefore the computers
connected to the wireless router can communicate with the computers connected
to the wired router acting as a Gateway. The wireless router is directly
connected to one of the ports of the wired router and the wireless router has
been assigned a static IP address. All the computers on the LAN have Internet
access at the speed of the Broadband connection (no internet connection
sharing is required).

I hope the solution to my problem sheds some light which will enable others
to solve theirs.

Regards,

Dave Robinson
(Tomorrow's Technology)