Workgroup is not accessible

[Guest]

I'm running 2 computers through a router to the internet. One has windows
2000 Pro the other one has windows XP. I created a workgroup on both
computers and shared files and computers on both computers.

On the windows 2000 computer, I can see and access the shared files and
printers of the windows XP computer. But on the windows XP computer, I keep
getting the same answer: " Workgroup is not accessible, etc"

Help, anybody

 

[Malke]

I'm running 2 computers through a router to the internet. One has
windows 2000 Pro the other one has windows XP. I created a workgroup
on both computers and shared files and computers on both computers.

On the windows 2000 computer, I can see and access the shared files
and printers of the windows XP computer. But on the windows XP
computer, I keep getting the same answer: " Workgroup is not
accessible, etc"

Help, anybody

Make user accounts/passwords on the WinXP box that are identical to
those on the Win2k box. Grant permissions as desired.

Malke

 

[Chuck]

I'm running 2 computers through a router to the internet. One has windows
2000 Pro the other one has windows XP. I created a workgroup on both
computers and shared files and computers on both computers.

On the windows 2000 computer, I can see and access the shared files and
printers of the windows XP computer. But on the windows XP computer, I keep
getting the same answer: " Workgroup is not accessible, etc"

Help, anybody

Lionel,

Are both computers in the same workgroup?

Make sure the browser service is running on one computer. Control Panel -
Administrative Tools - Services. Verify that the Computer Browser, and the
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper, services both show with Status = Started. Disable the
browser on the other. Power both computers off, then back on, to reset the
browser setup on each.

On the XP Pro computer, check to see if Simple File Sharing (Control Panel -
Folder Options - View - Advanced settings) is enabled or disabled. With XP Pro,
you need to have SFS properly set on each computer.

More about file sharing, between all different versions of Windows:
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...db-aef8-4bef-925e-7ac9be791028&DisplayLang=en>

On XP Pro with SFS disabled, check the Local Security Policies (Control Panel -
Administrative Tools). Under Local Policies - Security Options, look at
"Network access: Sharing and security model", and ensure it's set to "Classic -
local users authenticate as themselves".

On XP Pro with SFS disabled, if you set the above Local Security Policy to
"Guest only", enable the Guest account, using Start - Run - "cmd" - type "net
user guest /active:yes" in the command window. If "Classic", setup and use a
common non-Guest account on all computers. Whichever account is used, give it
an identical, non-blank password on all computers.

If you're going to use Guest authentication, check your Local Security Policy
(Control Panel - Administrative Tools) - User Rights Assignment, and look at
"Deny access to this computer from the network". Make sure Guest is not in the
list. Look at "Access this computer from the network", and make sure that
Everyone is in this list.

Do any of the computers have a software firewall (ICF / WF, or third party)? If
so, you need to configure them for file sharing. Firewall configurations are a
very common cause of (network) browser, and file sharing, problems.

Finally, look at registry key [HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa], value
restrictanonymous, on each computer.
<http://www.microsoft.com/windows200...2000/techinfo/reskit/en-us/regentry/46688.asp>
<http://www.jsifaq.com/subf/tip2600/rh2625.htm>
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=246261
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=296403

The above articles refer to Windows 2000. Remember WinXP is NT V5.1, and Win2K
is NT V5.0.

Have you used the Registry Editor before? If not, it's a scary tool, but it's
pretty simple once you get used to it. Here are a couple articles that might
help:
<http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...home/using/productdoc/en/tools_regeditors.asp>
<http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/registry>

Just remember to backup the key (create a registry patch) for
[HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa] before making any changes, if
appropriate.

From the Annoyances article:
You can create a Registry patch by opening the Registry Editor, selecting a
branch, and choosing Export from the File menu. Then, specify a filename, and
press OK. You can then view the Registry patch file by opening it in Notepad
(right-click on it and select Edit). Again, just double-click on a Registry
patch file (or use Import in the Registry Editor's File menu) to apply it to the
registry.

 

[Guest]

Chuck, thank you for your suggestions.

a) Both computers are on the same workgroup.

b) The browser service is started and set to auto on both PCs.

c) My XP computer is Home edition, therefore most suggestions on XP Pro are
not available.

d) My Firewall is the same on both computers, and I have no problem with the
Windows 2000 Pro computer. I can see and access both computers' files under
My Network Places.

e) On XP Home computer: Restrictanonymous = 0
Restrictanonymoussam = 1
On Windows 2000 Pro computer: Restrictanonymous = 0

I did not change anything.

f) Someone else suggested to install the NetBEUI Protocol on both computers.
I did on the Windows 2000 Pro PC, but not on the Windows XP Home PC. Should I?

Thanks again for your help,

Lionel

I'm running 2 computers through a router to the internet. One has windows
2000 Pro the other one has windows XP. I created a workgroup on both
computers and shared files and computers on both computers.

On the windows 2000 computer, I can see and access the shared files and
printers of the windows XP computer. But on the windows XP computer, I keep
getting the same answer: " Workgroup is not accessible, etc"

Help, anybody

Lionel,

Are both computers in the same workgroup?

Make sure the browser service is running on one computer. Control Panel -
Administrative Tools - Services. Verify that the Computer Browser, and the
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper, services both show with Status = Started. Disable the
browser on the other. Power both computers off, then back on, to reset the
browser setup on each.

On the XP Pro computer, check to see if Simple File Sharing (Control Panel -
Folder Options - View - Advanced settings) is enabled or disabled. With XP Pro,
you need to have SFS properly set on each computer.

More about file sharing, between all different versions of Windows:
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...db-aef8-4bef-925e-7ac9be791028&DisplayLang=en>

On XP Pro with SFS disabled, check the Local Security Policies (Control Panel -
Administrative Tools). Under Local Policies - Security Options, look at
"Network access: Sharing and security model", and ensure it's set to "Classic -
local users authenticate as themselves".

On XP Pro with SFS disabled, if you set the above Local Security Policy to
"Guest only", enable the Guest account, using Start - Run - "cmd" - type "net
user guest /active:yes" in the command window. If "Classic", setup and use a
common non-Guest account on all computers. Whichever account is used, give it
an identical, non-blank password on all computers.

If you're going to use Guest authentication, check your Local Security Policy
(Control Panel - Administrative Tools) - User Rights Assignment, and look at
"Deny access to this computer from the network". Make sure Guest is not in the
list. Look at "Access this computer from the network", and make sure that
Everyone is in this list.

Do any of the computers have a software firewall (ICF / WF, or third party)? If
so, you need to configure them for file sharing. Firewall configurations are a
very common cause of (network) browser, and file sharing, problems.

Finally, look at registry key [HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa], value
restrictanonymous, on each computer.
<http://www.microsoft.com/windows200...2000/techinfo/reskit/en-us/regentry/46688.asp>
<http://www.jsifaq.com/subf/tip2600/rh2625.htm>
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=246261
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=296403

The above articles refer to Windows 2000. Remember WinXP is NT V5.1, and Win2K
is NT V5.0.

Have you used the Registry Editor before? If not, it's a scary tool, but it's
pretty simple once you get used to it. Here are a couple articles that might
help:
<http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...home/using/productdoc/en/tools_regeditors.asp>
<http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/registry>

Just remember to backup the key (create a registry patch) for
[HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa] before making any changes, if
appropriate.

From the Annoyances article:
You can create a Registry patch by opening the Registry Editor, selecting a
branch, and choosing Export from the File menu. Then, specify a filename, and
press OK. You can then view the Registry patch file by opening it in Notepad
(right-click on it and select Edit). Again, just double-click on a Registry
patch file (or use Import in the Registry Editor's File menu) to apply it to the
registry.

 

[Chuck]

Chuck, thank you for your suggestions.

a) Both computers are on the same workgroup.

b) The browser service is started and set to auto on both PCs.

c) My XP computer is Home edition, therefore most suggestions on XP Pro are
not available.

d) My Firewall is the same on both computers, and I have no problem with the
Windows 2000 Pro computer. I can see and access both computers' files under
My Network Places.

e) On XP Home computer: Restrictanonymous = 0
Restrictanonymoussam = 1
On Windows 2000 Pro computer: Restrictanonymous = 0

I did not change anything.

f) Someone else suggested to install the NetBEUI Protocol on both computers.
I did on the Windows 2000 Pro PC, but not on the Windows XP Home PC. Should I?

Thanks again for your help,

Lionel

Lionel,

Installation of the NetBEUI protocol is a workaround, and will produce results
if your problem is related to your ip setup (such as a firewall). If your
problem is physical, or if it's related to your file sharing setup, you'll just
complicate diagnosis of the problem itself.

What firewall is on both computers?

Try and fix the problem first, if that doesn't help you'll need NetBEUI on both
computers.

Please start by removing NetBEUI from the one computer, and disable the browser
on that computer. The browser service is very chatty, and can cause problems if
running on both computers. Power both computers off, to reset the browser setup
on both. Then power both computers on.

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, by "browstat status". Make sure all computers give the same result.

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>

On the Win2K computer, look at registry key everyoneincludesanonymous too.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=278259

 

[Chuck]

Chuck, thank you for your suggestions.

a) Both computers are on the same workgroup.

b) The browser service is started and set to auto on both PCs.

c) My XP computer is Home edition, therefore most suggestions on XP Pro are
not available.

d) My Firewall is the same on both computers, and I have no problem with the
Windows 2000 Pro computer. I can see and access both computers' files under
My Network Places.

e) On XP Home computer: Restrictanonymous = 0
Restrictanonymoussam = 1
On Windows 2000 Pro computer: Restrictanonymous = 0

I did not change anything.

f) Someone else suggested to install the NetBEUI Protocol on both computers.
I did on the Windows 2000 Pro PC, but not on the Windows XP Home PC. Should I?

Thanks again for your help,

Lionel

Lionel,

Installation of the NetBEUI protocol is a workaround, and will produce results
if your problem is related to your ip setup (such as a firewall). If your
problem is physical, or if it's related to your file sharing setup, you'll just
complicate diagnosis of the problem itself.

What firewall is on both computers?

Try and fix the problem first, if that doesn't help you'll need NetBEUI on both
computers.

Please start by removing NetBEUI from the one computer, and disable the browser
on that computer. The browser service is very chatty, and can cause problems if
running on both computers. Power both computers off, to reset the browser setup
on both. Then power both computers on.

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, by "browstat status". Make sure all computers give the same result.

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>

On the Win2K computer, look at registry key everyoneincludesanonymous too.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=278259

If you do install NetBEUI on both computers, don't forget to remove file sharing
from TCP/IP on both.
<http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/network_protocols.htm>

 

[W. Watson]

I have a similar problem. I'm not sure whether to start a new thread or just a branch
here. I'll take a branch. I've started several on this topic only to see them fade
long before any conlusion could be made.

Although very well detailed, I have questions about Chuck's responses. Here goes.

First let me mention the status of my machines. I'm working with XP Pro SP2 on this
machine and have a W2000 machine networked to it elsewhere. I removed McAfee firewall
4. Since installing SP2, I've been completely off my local network. Presently, I
cannot ping this machine. Up until an hour ago, I could not even get any icons for it
when using Network Places, Computers Near Me. I cannot see a Entire Network icon.
When I was playing with the SFS advice below something changed. I'm not sure if it
was because of my fiddling or it just happened earlier and I didn't notice it. I can
now see my share icons from Computers Near Me. I still cannot ping this computer or
the other computer on the network. Only the XP machine has a firewall, the one from
SP2, and it is on. BTW, until the recent improvement on Places Near Me, using it
would tell me that it could not access my Galaxy workgroup--see sys admin. OK, onward.

I tried the SFS description, and thought I had disabled it when I went to make the
"Classic" change. After I got back to the SFS check box from changing to "Classic", I
noticed the box was checked. Maybe setting Classic did it. Anyway I left it enabled.
When I checked Places near me, I found the icons that had been missing for days now.
Happenstance? I dunno. However, is SFS supposed to be enabled? I see it is
recommended. It was not set on before I started the SFS trail.

When you talk about having identical user accounts on both machines, does that apply
to the Admin accounts? I only have Admin accounts on both machines, and they have
identical passwords. BTW, as far as I know, I have no Guest accounts on either machine.

Finally, what is a computer browser? I suspect not my Mozilla browser.

 

[Chuck]

I have a similar problem. I'm not sure whether to start a new thread or just a branch
here. I'll take a branch. I've started several on this topic only to see them fade
long before any conlusion could be made.

Although very well detailed, I have questions about Chuck's responses. Here goes.

First let me mention the status of my machines. I'm working with XP Pro SP2 on this
machine and have a W2000 machine networked to it elsewhere. I removed McAfee firewall
4. Since installing SP2, I've been completely off my local network. Presently, I
cannot ping this machine. Up until an hour ago, I could not even get any icons for it
when using Network Places, Computers Near Me. I cannot see a Entire Network icon.
When I was playing with the SFS advice below something changed. I'm not sure if it
was because of my fiddling or it just happened earlier and I didn't notice it. I can
now see my share icons from Computers Near Me. I still cannot ping this computer or
the other computer on the network. Only the XP machine has a firewall, the one from
SP2, and it is on. BTW, until the recent improvement on Places Near Me, using it
would tell me that it could not access my Galaxy workgroup--see sys admin. OK, onward.

I tried the SFS description, and thought I had disabled it when I went to make the
"Classic" change. After I got back to the SFS check box from changing to "Classic", I
noticed the box was checked. Maybe setting Classic did it. Anyway I left it enabled.
When I checked Places near me, I found the icons that had been missing for days now.
Happenstance? I dunno. However, is SFS supposed to be enabled? I see it is
recommended. It was not set on before I started the SFS trail.

When you talk about having identical user accounts on both machines, does that apply
to the Admin accounts? I only have Admin accounts on both machines, and they have
identical passwords. BTW, as far as I know, I have no Guest accounts on either machine.

Finally, what is a computer browser? I suspect not my Mozilla browser.

W,

Having been reading your posts for some time, I am never sure where you're
soliciting advice, or giving up in despair.

I'll answer your queries here, but if you are still seeking advice, would you
PLEASE once more start a clean thread summarising your current status, including
your current observed problems, and what you have done to date to solve your
problems. Your tendency to post questions, and updates to your status, at the
end of existing threads, helps neither your cause, nor the cause of the OP in
each thread.

And, having done so, please refrain from making additional changes, as every
time I get ready to contribute suggestions, I note that you're posting with
additional observations or questions, and have apparently made additional
changes just prior to your latest post.

When I mention identical accounts, I mean that you need an account identical to
any that you login with at any time, when you wish to access a server (a server
is any computer providing shared resources of any nature). If you're using
Advanced File Sharing, with non-Guest access, and you're logged in as, for
example, "wwatson" on your Win2K computer, you need an identical account
"wwatson" on the WinXP computer.

More about file sharing, between all different versions of Windows:
<http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...db-aef8-4bef-925e-7ac9be791028&DisplayLang=en>

The browser is the subsystem in a Windows computer that tracks what servers
exist on a LAN. The browser process / service runs on every Windows operating
system, from Windows 9x/ME to Windows NT/2K/XP. The browser is a peer-peer
process, that is, there is no single authority deciding which computer on a LAN
will provide the definitive browser.

One of the easiest ways to screw up your ability to "see" other computers on the
LAN is to have non-functional (no active), or conflicting (too many active),
browsers running on the LAN. Whenever you make a change to your LAN, which
affects the browser setup, you really need to power all computers off to reset
the browser setup on all computers simultaneously, at least until things are
working to your satisfaction.

With a two computer LAN, having the browser running on just ONE computer is
sufficient. With three computers, having the browser running on two of the
three is sufficient (one becomes the master browser, and the second becomes the
backup).

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, by "browstat status". Make sure all computers give the same result.

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>

Any more questions? Please start a new thread, so everybody can find, and
contribute to, your problem resolution.

 

[W. Watson]

....snip
W,

Having been reading your posts for some time, I am never sure where you're
soliciting advice, or giving up in despair.

I'll answer your queries here, but if you are still seeking advice, would you
PLEASE once more start a clean thread summarising your current status, including
your current observed problems, and what you have done to date to solve your
problems. Your tendency to post questions, and updates to your status, at the
end of existing threads, helps neither your cause, nor the cause of the OP in
each thread.

And, having done so, please refrain from making additional changes, as every
time I get ready to contribute suggestions, I note that you're posting with
additional observations or questions, and have apparently made additional
changes just prior to your latest post.

.... snip
oft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winntas/deploy/prodspecs/ntbrowse.mspx>

Any more questions? Please start a new thread, so everybody can find, and
contribute to, your problem resolution.

Chuck, thanks for the response. It's been a bit of dispair and asking for advice.
This has been a painful experience coupled with several others in Linus-land before
it. I've beaten down every problem, but this was the winner for difficulty. I've
posted frequently because I believe many times people had given up on the thread
while I tried whatever I could to get it off the rocks. However, there's very good
news. See my next post.
--
Wayne T. Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)
(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

"I'm sure we all agree that we ought to love one another and
I know there are people in the world that do not love their
fellow human beings and I hate people like that." -- Tom Lehrer

Web Page: <home.earthlink.net/~mtnviews>

 

[Guest]

Chuck,

After trying all your recommendations, I finally got file and printer
sharing working by installing NetBEUI on both computers. I am very happy.

Thank you for your help,

Lionel

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,

After trying all your recommendations, I finally got file and printer
sharing working by installing NetBEUI on both computers. I am very happy.

Thank you for your help,

Lionel

Lionel,

Thanks for the update.