Computers don't see each other though they are on the same network

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Guest

I’m new to setting up home networks and lately, I have been having a few
problems. Personally, when it comes to computers, I’m able to solve most
problems I run into. This time is different and I don't know why. Here's
what I've got in terms of network hardware:

- Windows XP computer
- Windows Vista computer
- Motorola SB5100 SURFboard cable modem
- Linksys WRT54GS router
- Linksys WMP54GS wireless adapter

Currently, the cable modem is connected to the router via an ethernet cable
through the internet input jack. From there, an ethernet cable in one of the
four available ports on the back of the router connects directly to the back
of the computer with Windows XP installed on it. Upstairs, directly above
the router, is another computer with Windows Vista installed on it. This
computer has the wireless adapter in it. I have been able to create a secure
network using WPA2 encryption along with a security key. An internet
connection working on both computers is all I have been able to set up at
this point. My only problem is that I want to be able to share files,
folders, printers, etc. but the computers can't see each other. Because they
can’t see each other, all that I want to do can’t be done. Below is a list
of what I have done to try to get the computers to communicate with each
other by means of altering certain settings in the computers’ control panels:

- Turn on file and printer sharing for both computers
- Made the network connection on Windows Vista "private" while also turning
on network discovery
- Attempted to run network setup wizards on both computers though they both
ultimately failed (more details below)

It doesn't make any sense why anything I do is not working. When I try to
run the network setup wizards on both Windows XP and Windows Vista,
everything goes fine at first. But when I try to transfer the settings for
one of the wizards to the other computer using a USB flash drive, the program
encounters an error during setup and does not finish. This happens when I
use both setups on the two operating systems. I made sure that I was in an
account with administrative privileges but that didn’t do much either. I
suspect that this may not be working because of the following:

- Firewall/security preferences do not match the settings used in the
Network and Sharing Center on Windows Vista
- The fact that you need to enter a security key in order to connect to the
network for wireless computers but not wired computers

Like I said, everything I have tried is not working. I erased as much of
what I could of what was created during the network setups on both computers
so that I am left with just a working internet connection on the two of them.
I don’t know where to go from here and I would deeply appreciate it if
somebody could at lease point me in the right direction.
 
Do a simple test. If turning off the firewall, can you ping each other by IP?

Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on http://www.HowToNetworking.com
I’m new to setting up home networks and lately, I have been having a few
problems. Personally, when it comes to computers, I’m able to solve most
problems I run into. This time is different and I don't know why. Here's
what I've got in terms of network hardware:

- Windows XP computer
- Windows Vista computer
- Motorola SB5100 SURFboard cable modem
- Linksys WRT54GS router
- Linksys WMP54GS wireless adapter

Currently, the cable modem is connected to the router via an ethernet cable
through the internet input jack. From there, an ethernet cable in one of the
four available ports on the back of the router connects directly to the back
of the computer with Windows XP installed on it. Upstairs, directly above
the router, is another computer with Windows Vista installed on it. This
computer has the wireless adapter in it. I have been able to create a secure
network using WPA2 encryption along with a security key. An internet
connection working on both computers is all I have been able to set up at
this point. My only problem is that I want to be able to share files,
folders, printers, etc. but the computers can't see each other. Because they
can’t see each other, all that I want to do can’t be done. Below is a list
of what I have done to try to get the computers to communicate with each
other by means of altering certain settings in the computers’ control panels:

- Turn on file and printer sharing for both computers
- Made the network connection on Windows Vista "private" while also turning
on network discovery
- Attempted to run network setup wizards on both computers though they both
ultimately failed (more details below)

It doesn't make any sense why anything I do is not working. When I try to
run the network setup wizards on both Windows XP and Windows Vista,
everything goes fine at first. But when I try to transfer the settings for
one of the wizards to the other computer using a USB flash drive, the program
encounters an error during setup and does not finish. This happens when I
use both setups on the two operating systems. I made sure that I was in an
account with administrative privileges but that didn’t do much either. I
suspect that this may not be working because of the following:

- Firewall/security preferences do not match the settings used in the
Network and Sharing Center on Windows Vista
- The fact that you need to enter a security key in order to connect to the
network for wireless computers but not wired computers

Like I said, everything I have tried is not working. I erased as much of
what I could of what was created during the network setups on both computers
so that I am left with just a working internet connection on the two of them.
I don’t know where to go from here and I would deeply appreciate it if
somebody could at lease point me in the right direction.
 
The first thing I did was ping the Windows XP computer with its firewall
running using the Windows Vista computer. I was able to get confirmation
that the packets were sent. I then used the Windows XP computer to ping the
Windows Vista computer with its firewall on and my requests timed out. That
led me to believe that my problem had something to do with my Norton Personal
Firewall. After turning off my NPF and then turning on the Windows Firewall
using the recommended settings, the pinging from the Windows XP computer to
the Windows Vista computer was a success.

Now that the computers can ping with each other with their firewalls up and
running, I still need to get both computers to a point where they can see
each other. As of right now, the only kind of indication that the computers
are somehow linked together is an icon in the system tray of the Windows XP
computer that asks you if you want to allow media sharing between the two
computers thru Windows Media Player.

I tried to use the network setup wizard again in Windows Vista and tried to
transfer the settings down to the Windows XP. I got an error dialog saying,
“The wizard could not find the information it needs to setup a network, or
the information was not usable. Try running the wizard again from your
original computer.†More specifically, I used the wizard that is accessible
by going into the Network and Sharing Center and in the left-hand pane,
choosing Set up a connection or network. In the dialog that appeared, I
clicked Setup a wireless router or access point and followed the onscreen
instructions. I believe that I ran into this problem because my router
cannot be configured by using a USB flash drive. I also believe that I
cannot share files, folders, printers, etc. at this point with both computers
because of something wrong on the Windows XP computer.
 
I have the same problem. I tried running the XP wizard, being the lowest
common denominator, but it wouldn't save to flash drive. It wanted a floppy,
which I don't have on my notebook PC.
 
Same type of problem too. My wizard at least saved to a flash drive but I
didn't get much after that. The Windows XP computer has a floppy drive but
the Windows Vista computer doesn't. So the only common medium was the flash
drive which didn't work.
 
I still can't get the computers to register that they see each other though.
I am trying all that I can and nothing is working. Do you possibly know of
anything that might help me?
 
Great news! I was finally able to get both computers to see each other and
share files, folders, printers, etc. by enabling NetBIOS in the TCP/IPv4
properties dialog box. Thanks to all for the help!
 
how'd you do that, falling?

fallingleaves237 said:
Great news! I was finally able to get both computers to see each other and
share files, folders, printers, etc. by enabling NetBIOS in the TCP/IPv4
properties dialog box. Thanks to all for the help!
Click to expand...
 
Upon finding out that NetBIOS was not enabled on the computer upstairs
running Windows Vista, I opened up Network and Sharing Center on that
computer and clicked Manage network connections in the left task pane. From
here, I right-clicked my active network connection and chose Properties.
After dealing with a UAC prompt, I turned my attention to the items under the
text This connection uses the following items:. I brought up the properties
for the entry Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) by obviously clicking on
Properties. In the General tab at the bottom of the window that appears is a
button called Advanced.... Click on this button and ignore what you see
right away. Instead, click the tab labeled WINS and look for the radio
button that says Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP near the bottom of the window.
When you are done, click OK twice and then click Close. You should be able
to share files, folders, printers, etc. between your two computers. I hope
this helps and I’m really sorry for the late response.
 
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