Simple Workgroup Network...

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W

Web master

Hello all,

I have a very simple problem that I could use some help with. I have a
small network of three computers in a small office that use a workgroup to
network them together. I have recently purchased a new machine to put on
the network but I can't seem to get it to recognize the network and see any
other stations. All machines are running XP SP2 and I have copied the
workgroup name and given the new machine an IP address as needed to see the
other machines but it will not see any of the other machines. I have tried
pinging the names and IP address of all the other machines on the network
but no responses to any of them. In fact, even when I try to ping the IP
address of the new machine from the new machine, I don't get a response.

At this point I just assumed that the network card was bad but then
something strange happened. We use a central DSL modem as a gateway for
shared internet and when I put the IP address of the modem in as the gateway
address (like all the other machines on the network) I suddenly have
internet access. My email works, messenger, internet... all of it. I just
can't see the other machines on the network.

One of the existing machines has a shared printer that I am trying to get to
and is the reason for this whole excercise.

Anyone know why this is happening or what I am doing wrong? I used the same
workgroup name, IP address follows the numbering convention on the existing
network, internet works. Is there anythink in XP that would be prenting
this type of access?

Thanks in advance,
 
Web said:
Hello all,

I have a very simple problem that I could use some help with. I have
a small network of three computers in a small office that use a
workgroup to
network them together. I have recently purchased a new machine to put
on the network but I can't seem to get it to recognize the network and
see any
other stations. All machines are running XP SP2 and I have copied the
workgroup name and given the new machine an IP address as needed to
see the
other machines but it will not see any of the other machines. I have
tried pinging the names and IP address of all the other machines on
the network
but no responses to any of them. In fact, even when I try to ping the
IP address of the new machine from the new machine, I don't get a
response.

At this point I just assumed that the network card was bad but then
something strange happened. We use a central DSL modem as a gateway
for shared internet and when I put the IP address of the modem in as
the gateway address (like all the other machines on the network) I
suddenly have
internet access. My email works, messenger, internet... all of it. I
just can't see the other machines on the network.
Click to expand...

(snip)

This is most commonly caused by a misconfigured firewall. Run the
Network Setup Wizard on all computers, making sure to enable File &
Printer Sharing, and reboot. 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 2005/06) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. If you have
third-party firewall software, configure it to allow the Local Area
Network traffic as trusted. I usually do this with my firewalls with an
IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would
substitute your correct subnet.

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.

Then 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.

If that doesn't work for you, here is an excellent network
troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna. Take the time to go through it
and it will usually pinpoint the problem area(s) -
http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm

Malke
 
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