Re: Problem setting up a home network

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From: Joe D'Amico (Joe_at_damicoweb.nospam)
Date: 09/29/04 

Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2004 09:33:36 -0700

In working out my network I have discovered, and confirmed through testing,
that all works well until the Win2K computer comes into play.

This message "The Workgroup is not accessible. You might not have
permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this
server to find out if you have access permission. The list of servers for
this workgroup is not currently available." is displayed if the Win2K
computer is the first computer in the workgroup or the only computer in the
workgroup on the network.

Example being:
* 3 computers Computer A = XP Home, Computer B = XP Home, Computer C =
Win2K.
* If Computer C is the first computer powered up, then the message will
appear on Computers A & B
* Computers A & C are powered down and Computer C remains powered on. When
Computers A & B are rebooted the message will appear on Computers A & B

It seems that the Win2K system wants to own the network if it is first on
and enforces security rules over the network. If it is not the first and an
XP system owns the network the message seems to go away. I finally had to
remove my Win2K system (used for work and not configurable) from my home
workgroup and my other machines now work fine. I still use the network to
rout the Win2k machine onto the DSL connection and use VPN to get into work
but have isolated it from my workgroup. My XP & Win98 systems are all
working exactly as one would expect/hope.

I don't know if this helps but information is the most valuable tool when
shooting problems.

Joe.

"Hans-Georg Michna" <hans-georgNoEmailPlease@michna.com> wrote in message
news:oeqkl0hq3nj0t04fga74df4ko5251hv5tf@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 21:45:28 -0700, "Nick"
> <nickoyenik@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>I recently got dsl thru earthlink at home. I have
>>installed it on 2 computers. One computer, running
>>Windows XP, is connected to the internet directly to the
>>wireless router which is connected to the modem. The
>>other computer, running Windows 2000, is connected to a
>>wireless adapter which allows me to access the wireless
>>router which allows me to access the internet. I'm trying
>>to set up a home network, but I having a problem with the
>>computer that is connected to the wireless router. On the
>>computer with the wireless adapter, I can see the other
>>computer and the computer I'm using, but when I try to
>>access the other computer it says "Not accessible. The
>>network path was not found." When I try to access the
>>workgroup on the computer that is connected directly to
>>the wireless router, it says "The Workgroup is not
>>accessible. You might not have permission to use this
>>network resource. Contact the administrator of this
>>server to find out if you have acces permission. The list
>>of servers for this workgroup is not currently
>>available." One both computers I have tried setting up
>>the home network under the administrators. Any
>>suggestions? I would appreciate any help. Thanks.
>
> Nick,
>
> perform the following procedures, which could perhaps cause this
> problem, and read also the chapter, "Network path not found".
> Retest after each procedure. Reboot after making nontrivial
> changes.
>
> * If you have Service Pack 2 or higher installed, make sure the
> File and Printer Sharing exception is enabled in the firewall.
> Reboot to allow the browser service to start or start it
> manually (see below).
>
> * Make sure the Computer Browser service is running. To have the
> Computer Browser start automatically, select Administrative
> tools, Services, and change the Start setting for Computer
> Browsing to Automatic. You can then reboot the computer or start
> the service manually by clicking on the Start button. If this
> doesn't get the browser service to start, check all of its
> dependencies and make sure that all services on which the
> browser service depends are also running. For more details see
> http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=318030.
>
> * Make sure you have only one transport protocol installed,
> namely TCP/IP. Remove, disable, or at least unbind (remove all
> bindings from) other transport protocols like IPX (NWLink) and
> NetBEUI.
>
> * Check whether NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled. It should be for
> most networks. After you have solved the problem and if you have
> only Windows XP and 2000 or newer operatings systems in the
> network, you can try disabling it again to check whether it is
> not actually needed.
>
> * Uninstall third party client software that can interfere with
> the networking settings. Such software could have come with
> network adapters or with a router.
>
> * If you had other networking clients installed, like certain
> Netware clients, you may be in for a long, bumpy ride. Some do
> damage that is almost impossible to repair. You may want to try
> a repair installation of Windows XP, followed by applying
> Service Pack 2 again, or, better, a repair installation with a
> slipstream version of Windows XP with Service Pack 2 already
> integrated. See General above for details.
>
> * Rid the computer of adware and spyware. For example, run
> Spybot Search & Destroy.
>
> * Repair the Winsock with the command: netsh winsock reset
> catalog (Warning: This removes all third party Layered Service
> Providers-LSPs. Please see the subchapter on Winsock corruption
> above.)
>
> * Repair the IP stack with the Repair command or with the
> command: netsh int ip reset
>
> * If the loopback feature is enabled in a connected router,
> disable it. You may even need a firmware upgrade.
>
> * Change the workgroup name in all computers to a new, simple,
> short, perhaps even all upper case one, to make sure there
> aren't any problems there. You can later change it back.
>
> * Check all NetBIOS names for possible duplicates. For example,
> if the workgroup name coincides with a user or computer name,
> this could cause the problem. Try opening a command line window
> and issuing the command: net view
>
> * Issue the command: net view \\computername, where computername
> should be replaced with one of the names displayed with the
> simple net view command. Check all names for possible
> duplication.
>
> * Check your router's diagnostic and information pages for NAT
> information, like which computer has which IP address. Any
> duplication here could point to the problem.
>
> * Disable, better uninstall or upgrade, all antivirus software
> and third party firewalls.
>
> If all this doesn't help, remove all networking components,
> reboot, then set them up again and work through this checklist
> once more.
>
> Two of these points are also explained in the following
> Microsoft Knowledge Base article.
>
> You cannot access shared files and folders or browse computers
> in the workgroup
> http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=318030
>
> And, most importantly, if you find that one of these points or
> any other procedure solved your problem, please report back with
> the details of the solution for the benefit of others following
> you along the same way.
>
> Hans-Georg
>
> --
> No mail, please.

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