Why said:
I still cant find a solution to the problem of Vista not able to network with
any other computers. It seems this is a common problem and no one so far has
a solution.
I have searched all articals here and on the web. I have tried all possable
solution, no luck.
I am running Vista Ultimate (dual boot with XP for functioning properly) I
have a network with several XP Pro computers. I can network all other
computers but the Vista. Same problem, I get nothing in the workgroup screen
but a ghost of a path. As soon as I try to open that path the program just
locks up. I cant even see it on most other computers.
Strange thing, I started with the 64 bit and it found the network and all
other computers. It worked great. Problem was, that is all that worked.
So I had to install the 32 bit edition to get the drivers and hardware to
work.
Please write to microsoft and but them to death over this. It is a crime to
put out such a crappy O.S. XP is by far the best O.S. out there.
Thank you and good luck.
You are asking the wrong people to "write to Microsoft". Do it yourself.
As for your difficulties in networking, since you haven't told us
anything about your system or what you've done it is impossible to give
you specific advice. What was different about the 64-bit install?
Possibly you didn't have something like McAfee installed on it or you
haven't configured your firewall properly. There's no way for me to know.
I haven't had any difficulties in networking Vista in my own network or
for clients. Here is a cut/paste about networking which may or may not
help you. If you still can't figure it out, then consider having a local
professional come on-site and set you up. With so few computers, it
should not take very long.
*****
This link will take you through Vista networking very well:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/evaluate/vista_fp.mspx
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.
I think it is a good idea to create the identical user
accounts/passwords in any case when Vista machines are involved and it
isn't an onerous task with home/small networks.
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. See the first link above for details about
Vista sharing.
*****
Malke
