XP Network doesn't allow new computer to access

[Guest]

I have 3 desktops - one is brand new (configured today) - and all run XP
Prof. I have a wireless router - one computer uses wireless, other two
(including the new one) use ethernet. I'm working from the new machine so
ethnet card/cable clearly work.

I set up the new machine with option connect through hub or other computer.
From this machine, no other machines are visible in My Network Places. I see
"Mshome" but when I select it I get this message:

"Mshome is not accessible. You do not have permission to use this network
resource. ...
The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently available."

From other machines, I can see this machine but when I click on it I get:
"\\New_computer ...
The network path was not found."

Some of the things I've tried include powering everything down, including
the router, and then powering up. I've mucked around with the firewall -
turned it off and on and it made no difference.

I just killed 2 hours on the line with Dell and on their web site and they
wanted to sell me a $300 helpdesk service. Absurd...

I'm sure this is something simple but I haven't a clue as to how to solve it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Chuck]

I have 3 desktops - one is brand new (configured today) - and all run XP
Prof. I have a wireless router - one computer uses wireless, other two
(including the new one) use ethernet. I'm working from the new machine so
ethnet card/cable clearly work.

I set up the new machine with option connect through hub or other computer.
From this machine, no other machines are visible in My Network Places. I see
"Mshome" but when I select it I get this message:

"Mshome is not accessible. You do not have permission to use this network
resource. ...
The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently available."

From other machines, I can see this machine but when I click on it I get:
"\\New_computer ...
The network path was not found."

Some of the things I've tried include powering everything down, including
the router, and then powering up. I've mucked around with the firewall -
turned it off and on and it made no difference.

I just killed 2 hours on the line with Dell and on their web site and they
wanted to sell me a $300 helpdesk service. Absurd...

I'm sure this is something simple but I haven't a clue as to how to solve it.

Thanks in advance.

Paul,

The most obvious cause of your problem would be a personal firewall on one of
the computers, even though disabled, can cause problems.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/your-personal-firewall-can-either-help.html>

Your symptoms, though, fit the classic browser conflict quite well. Use
browstat to diagnose browser problems. This article will explain how to run
browstat, and give you brief examples in interpreting its output.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/browstat-utility-from-microsoft.html>

Give those a shot, and if that doesn't help, we'll diagnose the problem.

 

[Guest]

I had already fooled with the firewall -- checked setting and they were OK.

Couldn't get browstat to work. In fact, couldn't find it after I downloaded
it. Supposedly it went into program files/support tools but I never saw it
and couldn't find it anywhere on the computer in a search.

My email doesn't work either so I have to go to another machine. Since my
email is configured exactly the same I have to assume that the email problem
is related.

 

[Chuck]

I had already fooled with the firewall -- checked setting and they were OK.

Couldn't get browstat to work. In fact, couldn't find it after I downloaded
it. Supposedly it went into program files/support tools but I never saw it
and couldn't find it anywhere on the computer in a search.

My email doesn't work either so I have to go to another machine. Since my
email is configured exactly the same I have to assume that the email problem
is related.

Paul,

Don't download browstat from Microsoft, get it from Dynawell or Stanford. Put
it where you can find it.

 

[Ron Lowe]

I have 3 desktops - one is brand new (configured today) - and all run XP

Prof. I have a wireless router - one computer uses wireless, other two
(including the new one) use ethernet. I'm working from the new machine so
ethnet card/cable clearly work.

I set up the new machine with option connect through hub or other
computer.
From this machine, no other machines are visible in My Network Places. I
see
"Mshome" but when I select it I get this message:

"Mshome is not accessible. You do not have permission to use this network
resource. ...
The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently available."

From other machines, I can see this machine but when I click on it I get:
"\\New_computer ...
The network path was not found."

Some of the things I've tried include powering everything down, including
the router, and then powering up. I've mucked around with the firewall -
turned it off and on and it made no difference.

I just killed 2 hours on the line with Dell and on their web site and they
wanted to sell me a $300 helpdesk service. Absurd...

I'm sure this is something simple but I haven't a clue as to how to solve
it.

Thanks in advance.

Are you sure you chose the right option in the Network Setup Wizard?
The symptoms are consistent with choosing the wrong option, and you
mentioned a hub...

You need to choose the second one,
'Connect through a Residential Gateway or other computer'
Your router is a 'Residential Gateway'.

Do **Not** choose the option Other - > via a Hub.

Re-run it if you are not sure.
Re-run it even if you are sure, it won't hurt.

Then check the machine name is OK, and re-set the workgroup name to whatever
your workgroup name is. The default MSHOME is OK, if that's what your other
machnes are using. Change it to match your existing workgroup name
otherwise.

You are then offered the choice to enable File and Print sharing.
Enable this.

Then, don't bother with the disk, just close the wizard.

Enabling F+P sharing in this way should have done several things.

For starters, it should have configured the Windows Firewall to
permit File and Print sharing. Check this.
Go to the Windows Firewall, -> Exceptions tab.
Ensure F+P sharing exception is checked.

It should also have started the browser service.
Check this.
Start | run | services.msc
Look for 'Computer Browser'.
Is it started?

Now, check that it's NetBIOS name resolution is configured correctly.
Go to a command prompt, and issue the command
ipconfig /all

Ensure the Node Type is not set to Peer-to-Peer.
If it is, let us know and we can fix it.

Now, do some tests from the command line.
Ensure the machine can be pinged by both name and IP address from another
machine, eg:
ping 192.168.0.x
ping new-pc
Ensure this machine can ping other machines by both name and IP address, eg:
ping 192.168.0.x
ping other-pc
Check tosee if both machines can retrieve the browse list:
net view
Check to see if each machine can enumerate the shares on the other.
( do this on each machine):
net view \\new-pc
net view \\other-pc.

The results of these tests will tell us a lot.

 

[Guest]

Not the problem. I also just turned off the firewalls. Not the problem.

The behavior is very strange. When I first swapped computers I renamed the
old one. When I did so, and even before I had turned the new one on, the
name persisted. I shut everything down, including the router. I then
powered up and gave new computer the old name. Have had problems from that
point.

This morning I decided to try a completely different name. I've again
powered everything down ... actually, that's not quite true, I didn't power
down this machine or the router. In any case, behavior is the same on other
machines. New name is seen by other computers but can't access.

I feel like the test pilot in Wolfe's THE RIGHT STUFF who is spiraling into
the desert, saying laconically over the radio, "I've tried A, I've tried B
....".

As for option C, node type is "hybrid".

Pinging the new machine times out. This machine can ping other one.

"net view" produces a system error 6118: "The list of servers for this
workgroup is not currently available."

"net view" of other machine produces a lengthy list.

I presume that all of this is consistent with the already observed behavior
- that the old machines can see each other but can't see the new one...

 

[Chuck]

Not the problem. I also just turned off the firewalls. Not the problem.

The behavior is very strange. When I first swapped computers I renamed the
old one. When I did so, and even before I had turned the new one on, the
name persisted. I shut everything down, including the router. I then
powered up and gave new computer the old name. Have had problems from that
point.

This morning I decided to try a completely different name. I've again
powered everything down ... actually, that's not quite true, I didn't power
down this machine or the router. In any case, behavior is the same on other
machines. New name is seen by other computers but can't access.

I feel like the test pilot in Wolfe's THE RIGHT STUFF who is spiraling into
the desert, saying laconically over the radio, "I've tried A, I've tried B
...".

As for option C, node type is "hybrid".

Pinging the new machine times out. This machine can ping other one.

"net view" produces a system error 6118: "The list of servers for this
workgroup is not currently available."

"net view" of other machine produces a lengthy list.

I presume that all of this is consistent with the already observed behavior
- that the old machines can see each other but can't see the new one...

Paul,

Your symptoms fit the browser conflict scenario quite well. Run browstat on all
3 computers.

 

[Ron Lowe]

Pinging the new machine times out. This machine can ping other one.

Then I'm 99.999999% certain you have a firewall problem on the new machine

Double-check the Windows firewall has the file and print exception enabled.

If it's not the windows firewall, then look for another firewall.
Do you have any 3-rd party security software installed?

Also, most VPN software has a firewall built into it.
Do you have any VPN software on the machine?

 

[Guest]

I decided to sleep on the problem. In the meantime I checked the settings of
the Norton anti-viral which also scans for spyware, etc. First thing I saw
was that Norton set up its own firewall. I turned the firewall off. I then
went throught the network wizard again set everything up and rebooted.

EVERYTHING WORKS.

So, the problem was Norton's firewall, which I didn't know anything about.

Now all I have to do is solve the email problem, which still exists.

 

[Chuck]

I decided to sleep on the problem. In the meantime I checked the settings of
the Norton anti-viral which also scans for spyware, etc. First thing I saw
was that Norton set up its own firewall. I turned the firewall off. I then
went throught the network wizard again set everything up and rebooted.

EVERYTHING WORKS.

So, the problem was Norton's firewall, which I didn't know anything about.

Now all I have to do is solve the email problem, which still exists.

The old hidden firewall. Thanks for updating us, Paul.