Re: Home network

Tech-Archive recommends: Fix windows errors by optimizing your registry

Brian A. wrote:
"Sirius" <anyone@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:wOKEi.315$Z33.132@xxxxxxxxxxx
I would like to transfer files from old pc to new one
with network. Ran setup wizard, but computers will not talk.
On old computer, no computer names are visible in workgroup. (There was a time when it did work, like when I built it and the old pc was the "new". I don't know what happend.)
On new computer, it can see itself. I guess problem is with old computer. Both win xp. DSL 4 port router Westell Versalink 327W. Internet no problem on both. Turned off firewall, didn't not help.
If the old pc can be made to see itself, I could handle the rest ( I think). NetBIOS over tcp/ip is on, computer browser service is on.....I'm lost. Please help.

ipconfig/all returns:
Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : KD7-RAID
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : myhome.westell.com

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : myhome.westell.com
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-50-8D-47-3B-61
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.47
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
192.168.1.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, September 08, 2007 11:29:0
9 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, September 09, 2007 11:29:09
PM


Your DNS Server IPs are wrong, they are using the routers IP and not the DNS IPs from your ISP. Check your other machine that does connect for the proper DNS IPs that should be used.


There is no problem in using the router as DNS server. This is a normal setup for many and is not the cause of the OP's problems. Since the OP only gave us ipconfig results for one of the computers, I'm assuming that the other one also has an IP address in the 192.168.1.xx subnet.

To the OP - please read through the following network troubleshooting. Not everything may be applicable to you; just take the bits that are. Offhand, my guess is that you inadvertently have two firewalls running.

Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating system does not permit it.

Here are some general networking tips for home/small networks:

1. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network (LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.The only "gotcha" is that this will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like Norton 2006/07) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct subnet. Do not run more than one firewall.

2. With earlier Microsoft operating systems, the name of the Workgroup didn't matter. Apparently it does with Vista, so put all computers in the same Workgroup. This is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab.

3. Create identical user accounts and passwords on all machines. If you wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular user's account) for convenience, you can do this. The instructions at this link work for both XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) - http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

4. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center:

a. If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user accounts/passwords on all computers.

b. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the Simple File Sharing enabled.

Simple File Sharing means that Guest (network) is enabled. This means that anyone without a user account on the target system can use its resources. This is a security hole but only you can decide if it matters in your situation.

5. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users' home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the Shared Documents folder.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Simple Printer Sharing/Networking Question
    ... And all 3 desktop computers are running Windows XP Pro ... We have turned on sharing for the network printers (in association with this ... caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall or overlooked firewall (including ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)
  • Re: Networks : Workgroups and Domains. How Do I Use Them?
    ... in My Network Places, it may take some time for a network resource to show up. ... all of the computers must be on the same subnet. ... it depends on whether you have Simple File Sharing enabled or disabled. ... Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall or overlooked firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating system does not permit it. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)
  • Re: Sharing a printer
    ... Here are general network troubleshooting steps. ... Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall or overlooked firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating system does not permit it. ... On the assumption that you in fact do have a router that connects to the Internet and that your computers then connect to the router, then if you think that you have one IP for multiple computers then you probably are using a website tool such as http://whatismyip.com/ That shows the your public IP address -- the one that the rest of the world sees. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)
  • Re: Home Network with Vista & XP
    ... The 3 computers are: 1 laptop running XP Pro, 1 laptop running Vista Home Premium, and 1 desktop running XP Home. ... the vista laptop can see all terminals on the work group but the xp terminals cannot see the vista terminal in the network. ... Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall or overlooked firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating system does not permit it. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)
  • Re: Network Connection Problem - Intermittent
    ... Master browser name is: SERVER ... This may occur if the workgroup name and the domain name are the different. ... Starting Computer Browser Service on one of w2k/xp computers should fix the problem. ... How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.networking_sharing)