XP Computer browsing problem!!

[Guest]

This one has me boggled. I have a user with 2 computers. Both are XP SP2. One
computer has a locally attached Lexmark Printer which is shared in the
directory. This printer was setup on the second xp machine so she could print
to the first one. She came to me today and said it quit printing. To make a
long story short, I have tried everything I know but can't get it to work.

I brought the computer into my office. Then I noticed something strange,
when right clicking on My Network Places >Explore >Entire Netwotk >Our
domain, I could browse our Domain and see all the computers. When clicking on
the plus sign however, only Windows 2000 machines(Can also see 2003 Server)
would display their shares and printers. Keep in mind that this is an XP SP2
machine. So I try my computer, also XP SP2, and can view all computers shares
and printers. I have tried Admin account, checked Services, now I am not
sure. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Guest]

Answered my own question.

 

[Robert L [MS-MVP]]

have you check the file and printer sharing enabled in firewall? if yes,
what do you receive if using net view \\hostname?

--
For more and other information, go to http://www.ChicagoTech.net

Don't send e-mail or reply to me except you need consulting services.
Posting on MS newsgroup will benefit all readers and you may get more help.

Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN, Anti-Virus, Tips & Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
Networking Solutions, http://www.chicagotech.net/networksolutions.htm
VPN Solutions, http://www.chicagotech.net/vpnsolutions.htm
VPN Process and Error Analysis, http://www.chicagotech.net/VPN process.htm
VPN Troubleshooting, http://www.chicagotech.net/vpn.htm
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties.

 

[Chuck]

This one has me boggled. I have a user with 2 computers. Both are XP SP2. One
computer has a locally attached Lexmark Printer which is shared in the
directory. This printer was setup on the second xp machine so she could print
to the first one. She came to me today and said it quit printing. To make a
long story short, I have tried everything I know but can't get it to work.

I brought the computer into my office. Then I noticed something strange,
when right clicking on My Network Places >Explore >Entire Netwotk >Our
domain, I could browse our Domain and see all the computers. When clicking on
the plus sign however, only Windows 2000 machines(Can also see 2003 Server)
would display their shares and printers. Keep in mind that this is an XP SP2
machine. So I try my computer, also XP SP2, and can view all computers shares
and printers. I have tried Admin account, checked Services, now I am not
sure. Thanks for any suggestions.

Bobby,

Do all of the computers use the same master browser? You brought the extra
computer into your office and connected it to your LAN, so see what master
browser it uses.

The Microsoft Browstat program will show us what browsers (I'm not talking about
Internet Explorer here) 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>

The browser requires anonymous access, so look at registry key
[HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa], value restrictanonymous, on each
server (computer with shares).
<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.

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.