Network Se3t-up problems

Hi there,

Sorry to bother you all, but I noticed Ed volunteered to help with Network setup problems - please feel free to let me know if this is going to take up too much of anyones time...

I've recently bought a new pc and a belkin 4 port router, so that I can link my old pc (an AMD 500) with my new one. I used the belkin setup CD and both my pc's can browse the net (I've got a NTL broadband modem), so that seems to be ok and I've tried all the various things suggested in both your forums and others, but I'm still having problems getting them to 'see' one another. They both have the same OS (XP Pro) and user name/password & administrator access, different computer names and the same workgroup name. I've even overriden the TC/ICP as suggested, but still no joy

The new PC has the old PC showing in the Network places in explorer, together with the folders I've shared from the new pc, but when you click on it, it gives the message "\\BURTON is not accessible. You might not have permissions to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions. The Network path was not found"

The old pc doesn't show the new one in it's explorer network places at all.

I did the IP Config thing that you mentioned in your main thread last night, with the following results :

"New PC"
Host name - windowsxppro
Primary DNS suffix :
Node type - unknown
IP Routing Enabled - No
WINS Proxy nabled - No

Ethernet Adaptor Old Computer
Connection-specific DNS Suffix : Belkin
Description - SiS 900-Based Fast Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address - 00-0D-87-34-56-BB
Dhcp Enabled - Yes
Autoconfiguration enabled - Yes
IP Address - 192.168.2.79
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Default gateway - 192.168.2.1
DHCP Server - 192.168.2.1
DNS Servers - 192.168.2.1
Lease obtained - 17 September 2004 00:58:39
Lease Expires - 19 January 2038 04:14:07


"Old PC"
Host name - Burton
Primary DNS suffix :
Node type - unknown
IP Routing Enabled - No
WINS Proxy nabled - No

Ethernet Adaptor Old PC
Connection-specific DNS Suffix : Belkin
Description - Realtek RTL8139/810X Family Fast Ethernet
Physical Address - 00-50-FC-A9-83-BD
Dhcp Enabled - Yes
Autoconfiguration enabled - Yes
IP Address - 192.168.2.31
Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0
Default gateway - 192.168.2.1
DHCP Server - 192.168.2.1
DNS Servers - 192.168.2.1
Lease obtained - 17 June 2004 20:55:02
Lease Expires - 19 January 2038 04:14:07

I'm at my wits end now, and I really need to share some of the files from my old pc so I can copy them across to my new one. I'm reasonably teccie, but I'm a bit loath to go any deeper (especially when it comes to playing around with registry keys)

many many thanks for any help or guidance you can give me
regards
Mike

The first thing I'd like to know is can you ping between the two computers? Click Start, Run and type cmd. In the Command Prompt, type:

ping 192.168.2.31

for the new PC, and:

ping 192.168.2.79

for the old PC.

Check if you get any replies - you should get a reply on both. Another thing to check is the advanced file sharing option. Open Windows Explorer and select Tools, Folder Options. Click the View tab and at the bottom, make sure that "Use simple file sharing (Recommended)" is not ticked.

Hi Ed,
ok, the new pc had the simple file sharing button ticked, unticked it now, the old pc wasn't ticked

The ping test results are as follows :
New PC -
Pinging 192.168.2.31 with 32 bytes of data :
Request timed out
Request timed out
Request timed out
Request timed out

Ping statistics for 192.168.2.31 :
Packets : Sent=4, Received=0, Lost=4 (100% loss)

Old PC -
Pinging 192.168.2.79 with 32 bytes of data :

Reply from 192.168.2.79 : bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.79 : bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.79 : bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.79 : bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.2.31 :
Packets : Sent=4, Received=4, Lost=0 (0% loss)

Approximate round trip time in milli-seconds :
Minimum=0ms Maximum=1ms Average=0ms

Does this help any (I did the ping test after I'd unchecked & applied the file sharing button)?

regards
Mike

It seems that the new PC is unable to ping the old PC. The most likely cause for this is a firewall running on the old PC. Check if you've got one installed, and disable it for the moment. Also be aware that some antivirus programs include firewalls, so it may be sensible to disable them. Both computers are Windows XP, so check that the built-in Internet Connection Firewall is disabled.

That's what it was Ed, I had Norton Personal Firewall enabled, when I disable it on the old pc & ping from the new one now, I get the following -

Pinging 192.168.2.31 with 32 bytes of data :

Reply from 192.168.2.31 : bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.31 : bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.31 : bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.31 : bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.2.31 :
Packets : Sent=4, Received=4, Lost=0 (0% loss)

Approximate round trip time in milli-seconds :
Minimum=0ms Maximum=0ms Average=0ms

Is it safe to keep the Norton Personal Firewall disabled on the old pc then ? & should I now be able to share the files across them ?

cheers Ed
Mike

Now that you've disabled the firewall, the computers seem to be communicating fine. I would only have a firewall installed on the Internet connection itself. Since you've got a router, this will look after all the security things for you. You don't actually need a firewall on either of the computers, since neither are connected directly to the Internet. However, you may want it installed just for extra security and this should be fine. You should be able to reactivate it, and find an option to enable a trusted zone. Here, you'll need to add the IP address of the router and other computer. This will make the firewall function, but won't stop communication between computers on the local network.

Once you can ping between the computers, sharing should be ok. Try it and see

That's fantastic Ed, I was beginning to lose my sanity & you sorted me out with a few strokes of your keyboard !! - one last question, how do I find the IP address of my router so I can try out the last part of your post ? (I presume I'll new to go onto the web somewhere ?)

thanks again, you've been an absolute STAR mate
regards
Mike

No problem

For the address of your router, I think it should be 192.168.2.1, because this is the address the computers are using for the default gateway.

Sorry to interrupt in the midst of your joy, but:

It might not be such a good idea to include your broadband router into the trusted zone in the software firewall in your PC. If you do not know how to configure the router to do the packet filtering itself, how can you check that it is not wide open? In wich case it is to be concidered an enemy in your local zone.
The router itself should have the ability, as edwinbrains pointed out, to do packet filtering and block incoming ports. This is what you should work on. The norton package, as well as many others, is there for situations where such a thing is not available. Besides, it has an unwanted sideeffect of slowing things down on the computer it runs on.(an old 500 was it?)
i just felt that this should be underlined somewhat. Good luck!.