[Partly solved] File Sharing issue

[tourist.Tam]

Hi,

I have a really annoying issue with my x60 TP: I can't get it to share any folder over my home network. I have been through tones of docs, without any luck so far. I've tried the simple file sharing and the advanced setting in windows. Non of it worked. I've tried by my place and by several differents friend's places: same result everywhere!

I have a desktop and the TP. They are both connecting to the internet through a router. Both on fixed IP. No problem on this part. I've even got my TP to connect to my uni and my workplace.

It just don't want to share anything. Mind that my desktop can see my TP, whereas the inverse isn't true. This is happening whether I connect the TP by wire or not.

BTW I use the ThinkVantage software on a fresh install on windows XP Pro. The desktop is running the same OS.

I've done a ping to the desktop and vice versa: the speed isn't the best but they seems to be able to communicate.

Turning the Firewall (default windows XP software here) Off doesn't solve anything.

If anyone have some idea, I'll be really happy to listen.

Tam

Config is as follow:

Name: DESKTOP

• IP: 192.168.1.50
• Sub: 255.255.255.0
• Gateway: 192.168.1.1

Name: LAPTOP

• IP: 192.168.1.49
• Sub: 255.255.255.0
• Gateway: 192.168.1.1

the workgroup is named: WORKGROUP on both machines. And it has been set many time, both manually and with the wizard.

[dr_st]

What error message are you getting trying to access the other computer?

[tourist.Tam]

The TP can't see any other computer on the network. The Desktop is seeing the TP, but everytime I try to access a shared folder, I get a contact your Administrator message. Mind that I am logged with the administrator account on both machines.

Tam

[K0LO]

Control Panel --> Network Connections --> right-click on your network adapter (wired and/or wireless) and choose "Properties".

1) Is "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks" checked off?
2) Do you have any folders shared? Typically, "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents" is shared on a default Windows installation.

[tourist.Tam]

Hi,

1) the "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks" is checked ON. It is normally the case, but I've double checked in case.
2) I've got the default shared documents and another folder that I've put as shared as well.

I had just an idea: I've been told there is possibly a key in the registry that might correspond to the fact to enable or disable the sharing of the folder on the network. Might that help? And in that case, does anyone have the exact name of that key?

Tam

[edit]: I found out that the TP is transforming the Local IPs in names and therefore not showing them in Explorer. I'll have to have a look at it later. Plus the sharedocs are not accessible, only the new shares.

[tourist.Tam]

Hi, this is the latest update to the current inaccessibility through the computer on my network:

I confirm that the name resolution is somehow not working. The only way for me to access a computer taht doesn't see the other one is to type the ip address of the one I want to access.
If it can help you should look to write into the file:

Code: Select all

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\host

the different pc on you network.

Regards.

Tam

[Kyocera]

Can you ping the HOST name of the TP from your other machine? And vice versa, this will point you towards a name resolution issue. Maybe the host's file is corrupted or there is something going on with your TCPIP stack, more directly the Netbios name resolution.

Are you doing all this wired or wireless?

[tourist.Tam]

This is happening everytime regardless to the mode (eg w/ or w/o wires). And yes it is a name resolution issue as far as I can tell; pinging from and to either machine is working perfectly fine. Just the TP that doesn't want to register itself on the same network as far as the Windows interface is concerned.

Tam

[Kyocera]

Tam, can you do a ping with this format:

>ping <yourcomputer> hit enter no brackets just the name.

don't use the ip address use the host name.

One other thing you can try is to connect the TP directly to the LAN port on the other machine via ethernet, disable your wireless connections, then see if you can browse using network neighborhood, >view workgroup computers>if you get a pop up requesting a user name and password just plug it in.

[Melvyn]

First of all, please tell us which OS you're using when posting something like this.

If you can ping them, you can access them.

There some optimization utilities that disables the capability of other to see you. They hide your pc from the network. With that type of tweeks you get performance and security.

Anyways, you don't need to go by Network Places. Click Start > Run, then type your machines names with slashes, like:

\\192.168.150
\\desktop

There's no matter on which workgroup name you're using. I do this in several locations with diverse workgroups.

I cant't see computer via My Network Places because I have disabled that function using TuneUp Utilities. I don't know how to do it using plain registry. Anyways, I can access any computer at any network using that syntax.

One note more: I don't use "single file sharing". Go to any explorer window, Tools > Folder Options > View, and clear the last box "Use single file sharing (Recomended)".

Network Places is only there to slow your PC when trying to access it.

[Kyocera]

Actually I am trying to help this guy verify that his tcpip stack is working properly and using my network places allows windows to browse using netbios over tcp ip. He has already stated he is running XP.

If you can ping them, you can access them.

This is absolutely not true and is being verified by the OP, have you heard of the OSI model and the layers therein and the TCPIP stack and the protocols that make it up? A ping using an ip address shows there is a physical connection. If it's a Host's file issue it's perfectly logical that he can ping using an ip address and not a host name.

Network neighborhood does not slow down a computer anywhere near what is being conveyd here, he's connected to a very very small network, I have not heard this contention anywhere in the many many MCSE manuals I've read. Troubleshooting is a progression of many steps whether it's (allegedly) slower to use network neighborhood or not it will still prove weather the machine is functioning at the basic level of name resolution.

No average computer user's i.e. home/office user's use command lines to do anything, only about 10% of the people I run into and I do this all day long can find their command prompt, let alone use it for troubleshooting or getting around in their computer. So when helping people troubleshoot I usually go with what they are capable of understanding and not try to go to far beyond that. I've never been in any corporate/office/medium size/large/small and heard the Net admins disabling network neighborhood yet.

[tourist.Tam]

Right.

I guess I haven't stated that I am running both machines with Windows XP Pro Sp2 fully updated. So here it is. :p

I personally don't use any third party software to tweek my registry: I do it all by hand. I know it might sound weird, but I have been doing this for quite a while now and limiting myself to some very restricted and non critical changes (eg unload the dlls, stop checking my hotmail account for new email, adding the path and the serial keys for my games and more). It is never something that will crash my machine. I repeat that I am an experienced windows user. I mean that my knowledge is the one of someone who has been using this OS since pretty much its release. But you lost me there:

This is absolutely not true and is being verified by the OP, have you heard of the OSI model and the layers therein and the TCPIP stack and the protocols that make it up?

Never the less, there is an obvious setting I have missed when I did a fresh reinstall of windows on my TP. Maybe even a settings with the TP Utilities (I like a few of them, specially the connectivity one).

As for what I have tried, it is as follow:

• both machine currently on simple file sharing (tried with advanced settings as well)
• both machine can see themselves in the nethood but not the other one
• both can ping the ip of the other machine but not the name
• both machine have their respective Host file (as mentioned in a previous post) edited to reflect the know machines on the nethood
• both machine have a static IP (see first post)
• both machine have the TCP/IP and the file and printer sharing for microsoft networks at the very list (ask for a ehausive list of the service for each NIC).

That's as far as I can think of.

Regards.

Tam

PS: Thanks for taking time.

Click Start > Run

hit the shortcut windowsKey+R.

type your machines names with slashes, like: \\192.168.150

enter the same (ie \\192.168.1.50) in the address bar of any Windows Explorer window, that you can spawn by hitting the shortcut windowsKey+E.

I know those stuff, just because I am using them after some personnal research on the net (plus a couple of books). That should give you a fair idea of how advanced I am as a user. Just love to touch at anything that is on my machine.

[Kyocera]

Tam, I found this after a search: Because of mistakes in packet filtering, address resolution or connectivity may not work. To determine whether packet filtering is the source of a network problem, turn off TCP/IP packet filtering. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections.
2. Right-click the local area connection that you want to modify, and then click Properties.
3. On the General tab, in the This connection uses the following items list, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
4. Click Advanced, and then click the Options tab.
5. In the Optional Settings dialog box, click TCP/IP Filtering, and then click the Properties tab.
6. Click to clear the Enable TCP/IP Filtering (All adapters) check box, and then click OK.
To ping an address, use its DNS name, its NetBIOS computer name, or its IP address. If the ping succeeds, the packet filtering options may be misconfigured or too restrictive. For example, the filtering can allow the computer to act as a Web server, but, to do this, the filtering may turn off tools such as remote administration. To restore a wider range of permissible filtering options, change the permitted values for the TCP port, the UDP port, and the IP protocol.

You could also run system file checker, I don't know if this would repair the lmhost's file

[Melvyn]

Sorry

Actually I am trying to help this guy verify that his tcpip stack is working properly and using my network places allows windows to browse using netbios over tcp ip. He has already stated he is running XP.

If you can ping them, you can access them.

This is absolutely not true and is being verified by the OP, have you heard of the OSI model and the layers therein and the TCPIP stack and the protocols that make it up? A ping using an ip address shows there is a physical connection. If it's a Host's file issue it's perfectly logical that he can ping using an ip address and not a host name.

Network neighborhood does not slow down a computer anywhere near what is being conveyd here, he's connected to a very very small network, I have not heard this contention anywhere in the many many MCSE manuals I've read. Troubleshooting is a progression of many steps whether it's (allegedly) slower to use network neighborhood or not it will still prove weather the machine is functioning at the basic level of name resolution.

No average computer user's i.e. home/office user's use command lines to do anything, only about 10% of the people I run into and I do this all day long can find their command prompt, let alone use it for troubleshooting or getting around in their computer. So when helping people troubleshoot I usually go with what they are capable of understanding and not try to go to far beyond that. I've never been in any corporate/office/medium size/large/small and heard the Net admins disabling network neighborhood yet.

[bill bolton]

both machine can see themselves in the nethood but not the other one

This could be a case of the Computer Browser Service not operating as there has not been an election for a Master Browser.

You may find this site helpful..... http://www.chicagotech.net/browser.htm

Cheers,

Bill B.

[tourist.Tam]

i have just checked: as for the TCP/IP filtering, the TP still can't see other computers on the netwotk but can access directly any share with the right address. The desktop can see the TP but get a "restricted right access error message". I left the TCP/IP filtering and went on to pinging the machines.

on a ping cmd:
the desktop can't resolve the name of the TP until it get told its IP. SO the first

Code: Select all

ping //name

return a "Request timed out", and a

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ping -a IP

return a normal packet reply as follow:

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Pinging wopper [192.168.1.80] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.80: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.80: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.80: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.80: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.80:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 2ms, Maximum = 2ms, Average = 2ms

And then any following

Code: Select all

ping //name

will return the same as the second above reply (succeded).

Pinging the desktop from the TP (using the IP and not the name) will give me a normal packet reply as follow:

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Pinging monkeybusiness [192.168.1.79] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.80: bytes=32 time=4ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.80: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.80: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.80: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.79:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 2ms, Maximum = 4ms, Average = 2ms

I did consider not to ping with IP only after that or using the name resolution by typing

Code: Select all

ping -a 192.168.1.79

as the previous succeded.

By any chances, is there a service that is actually "optional" for LAN in the service manager that I might have stoped?

Regards

Tam

PS: Please don't get confused when comparing from the very first post as these are dumps from both machines into text file, So the Dektop is called monkeybusiness (IP: 192.168.1.79) and the TP is called wopper (IP: 192.168.1.80).

[tourist.Tam]

...
This could be a case of the Computer Browser Service not operating as there has not been an election for a Master Browser.

You may find this site helpful..... http://www.chicagotech.net/browser.htm

Cheers,

Bill B.

Do I want to enable/disable the Computer Browser Service ? I went on the website but couldn't really understand the concept of Master Browser, nor whether it would be relevant to my case (not mixed OS in the LAN).

Regards.

Tam

[Kyocera]

I read through all that to that is great info. To start/stop Master Browser on Win2K/XP, go to Administrative Tools>Services, start/stop the Computer Browser. Pretty simple, you can right click on the entry and get the properties box and it gives you the options also.

A lot of that info applies to servers, but it does mention turning off the browser service in XP. I think one thing I would try (but this is just me and I try everything under the sun) in addition to what bill posted. Connect these two machines together, with an ethernet cable, no router, directly from lan port to lan port, in the lan connections select "obtain IP address automatically" turn both of and back on and let windows APIPA configure thier IP addresses, it will be in the 169.254......area, and will allow them to communicate also and they will configure everything themselves.