XP Pro and XP Home not allowing navigate workgroup network by name

[Guest]

I have a client with a laptop running xp pro, and a desktop running xp home. Both have sharing enabled, and both are updated and have the proper network settings installed and enabled. All services necessary for browing the are network running, and when I try to browse from the laptop (XP Pro) to the desktop (XP Home), it does not let me connect to it. I see it by name in "My Network Places", but when I try to connect I get and error saying something like "unable to connect to resource, please contact admin". I can browse these resources by ip, but not by name. The only way I could browse the pc's by name is when I added a static ip to the desktop and a line in the hosts file of the laptop to point it to the static ip. I cannot add the static ip to the laptop because the laptop travels and connects to other networks, so a dhcp address is what the client needs

When attempting to browse the network from the desktop to the laptop through "My Network Places" and I click "View Workgroup computers" I get an error saying "unable to connect to resource, please contact admin". To troubleshoot this further, I connected my own laptop (2000 Professional) to the network and disconnected the clients laptop. I was able to browse the workgroup then. But when I added the clients laptop back to the workgroup I got the same error

I made sure that the clients laptop ZoneAlarm and both pc's built in Firewall were off. I also made sure the the laptop should not be the browsemaster by making sure registry value was not enalbled "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters\IsDomainMaster=False"

Has anyone else had a similar problem, or any suggestions for me to try?

 

[Chuck]

I have a client with a laptop running xp pro, and a desktop running xp home. Both have sharing enabled, and both are updated and have the proper network settings installed and enabled. All services necessary for browing the are network running, and when I try to browse from the laptop (XP Pro) to the desktop (XP Home), it does not let me connect to it. I see it by name in "My Network Places", but when I try to connect I get and error saying something like "unable to connect to resource, please contact admin". I can browse these resources by ip, but not by name. The only way I could browse the pc's by name is when I added a static ip to the desktop and a line in the hosts file of the laptop to point it to the static ip. I cannot add the static ip to the laptop because the laptop travels and connects to other networks, so a dhcp address is what the client needs.

When attempting to browse the network from the desktop to the laptop through "My Network Places" and I click "View Workgroup computers" I get an error saying "unable to connect to resource, please contact admin". To troubleshoot this further, I connected my own laptop (2000 Professional) to the network and disconnected the clients laptop. I was able to browse the workgroup then. But when I added the clients laptop back to the workgroup I got the same error.

I made sure that the clients laptop ZoneAlarm and both pc's built in Firewall were off. I also made sure the the laptop should not be the browsemaster by making sure registry value was not enalbled "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters\IsDomainMaster=False".

Has anyone else had a similar problem, or any suggestions for me to try?

Chad,

This still sounds very much like ZA blocking (network) browser activity. Many
times, ZA does not disable successfully. You have to re enable it, then either
un install or configure it properly, by identifying the other computers as
present in the Local (Trusted) zone.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.