[pbb]

Hi all,

It is possible this question has been asked a million times before -- but I couldn't find it using the search function. (Too many questions about networks and IP addresses...)

I've added a new wireless laptop to our network (it's my parent's computer). Everything seems to go right; it gets an IP address from the DHCP server, and web access to fine.

However, trying to access the local network, I cannot get a list of the computers in the MSHOME workgroup. The error message is something like "\\MSHOME is not accessible. You might not have permission to use the network resource." Trying to access the workgroup from any of the other LAN members, the new laptop is listed in the workgroup overview, but trying to access it gives the error message "\\(computer name) is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. [...] The network path was not found."

My first guess was this was a user rights problem somewhere. However, after some tinkering, I discovered the new laptop was perfectly accessible when I use it's IP address to access the shares! And the other way around also, the new laptop has full access to all the LAN computers, as long as I use their IP addresses.

So this seems to be a local DNS problem somewhere? Can anybody help me any further? While I have a work-around using the IP addresses, it would really be a lot more easy just to be able to "browse" to the laptop...

Thanks,
Peter

[Elvandil]

Have you tried turning off the firewall?

[JohnWill]

Turn off any firewalls for debugging. If the firewall is the problem, you'll have to configure it to allow access to "trusted zone" addresses. Note that some firewalls must be completely uninstalled to stop them from affecting your networking.

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD to open a command prompt.

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands:

PING each remote computer by IP address, and if successful, PING by name. Open a command prompt as described above and type.

PING <ip address>
or
PING <computer name>

Where:
<ip address> - is the x.x.x.x IP address
<computer name> - is the computer name

A failure to PING is almost always a firewall configuration issue. Any failure to PING needs to be corrected before you go any farther.

Note: You can obtain the IP address and computer name of a computer by opening a command prompt (DOS window) and typing IPCONFIG /ALL. This should work for any Windows version. The IPCONFIG /ALL display will provide a wealth of useful information for debugging your network connection.

Check your Services are Started on all PCs:

• COM+ Event System (for WZC issues)
• Computer Browser
• DHCP Client
• DNS Client
• Network Connections
• Network Location Awareness
• Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
• Server
• TCP/IP Netbios helper
• Wireless Zero Configuration (XP wireless configurations)
• WLAN AutoConfig (Vista wireless configurations)
• Workstation

Note: You can check the services in Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services.

All of these services should be started, and their startup type should be automatic.

If a service is not running, open it's properties and check the dependencies. Check each of the dependencies and see which one is preventing the service from running. Checking the event log is also a good idea here, there may be clues to what is failing.


All computers should be in the same workgroup for computer browsing to function properly. File & Print Sharing has to be enabled on any computer you wish to share files or printers from. You also need to actually share the resource in question from My Computer, right click on the drive/printer/folder, and select sharing.

If you encounter difficulties accessing computers that are visible in Network Places (Network and Sharing Center in Vista), make sure the computer being accessed has an account with the same name/password as the system connecting to it uses to login.

While the default NetBIOS setting is correct for normal network configurations, it's possible for it to be altered, and it costs nothing to make sure it's correct. NETBIOS over TCP/IP must be enabled for normal network browsing.

[pbb]

Thanks for the replies!

This is what happens when ping-ing:

• Using IP addresses, I can ping from any computer on the LAN to any other.
• Using computer names, I can ping from any of the original computers to any of the other original computers. None of them can find the computer name of the new computer, and the new computer cannot find the names any of the other computers. The new computer can ping to it's own computer name, though

I've disabled the firewalls on all computers (they were just the default WinXP firewall), rebooted all, and tried again -- same results.

The services mentioned were all running on all machines, though some were set to "manual", not "automatic". But since they were all running anyway, I guess that is not any problem.

All computers are member of the "MSHOME" workgroup. I even re-applied the workgroup name for the new computer, but no improvements...

I've created a new useraccount with the same name and password as on one of the old machines (none of the others have it, though), but that did not change anything either.

Your last bit about NetBIOS, I don't understand...

[JohnWill]

Please post this for each of the computers.


Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD to open a command prompt:

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands, one at a time, followed by the Enter key:

Note that there is a space before the -n or the /ALL, but there is NOT a space after the - or / in the following commands.

NBTSTAT -n

IPCONFIG /ALL

Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter to copy the contents to the clipboard.
Paste the results in a message here.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.

[pbb]

Thanks, here is the output. I'm sorry, but for some of the PCs it's in Norwegian, but I hope it is mostly understandable. (Blandet = mixed, Node-til-node = node-to-node)

Desktop PC, LAN names are accessible:

>nbtstat -n

Realtek Fast Ethernet:
Node IpAddress: [10.0.0.117] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Local Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
P4-3000 <00> UNIQUE Registered
MSHOME <00> GROUP Registered
P4-3000 <20> UNIQUE Registered
MSHOME <1E> GROUP Registered
MSHOME <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered

>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : p4-3000
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Realtek Fast Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethe
rnet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-02-44-9A-15-E0
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.117
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Mon 12 Jan 2009 21:11:07
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tue 13 Jan 2009 21:11:07

Laptop, LAN names are accessible:

>nbtstat -n

Trådløs nettverkstilkobling:
Node-IP-adresse: [10.0.0.111] Område-ID: []

Lokal navnetabell for NetBIOS

Navn Type Status
---------------------------------------------
ASUS-A3H <00> UNIQUE Registrert
ASUS-A3H <20> UNIQUE Registrert
MSHOME <00> GROUP Registrert
MSHOME <1E> GROUP Registrert

>ipconfig /all

Windows IP-konfigurasjon

Vertsnavn . . . . . . . . . . . : ASUS-A3H
Primær DNS-suffiks . . . . . . . :
Nodetype . . . . . . . . . . . . : Blandet
IP-ruting aktivert . . . . . . . : Nei
WINS Proxy aktivert. . . . . . . : Nei

Ethernet-kort Trådløs nettverkstilkobling:

Tilkoblingsspesifikt DNS-suffiks :
Beskrivelse . . . . . . . . . . : ASUS 802.11g nettverkskort
Fysisk adresse . . . . . . . . . : 00-15-F2-93-3C-6B
DHCP aktivert. . . . . . . . . . : Ja
Automatisk konfigurasjon aktivert: Ja
IP-adresse . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.111
Nettverksmaske . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Standard gateway . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
DHCP-server. . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
DNS-servere. . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
Leasingavtale mottatt. . . . . . : 12. januar 2009 22:49:28
Leasingavtale utgår. . . . . . . : 13. januar 2009 22:49:28

Media computer, LAN names are accessible:

>nbtstat -n

Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [10.0.0.131] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Local Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
HTPC <00> UNIQUE Registered
HTPC <20> UNIQUE Registered
MSHOME <00> GROUP Registered
MSHOME <1E> GROUP Registered

>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : HTPC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8169/8110 Family Gigabit
Ethernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1A-4D-9A-7F-B7
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.131
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 12 January 2009 22:48:19
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 13 January 2009 22:48:19

Laptop that cannot resolve LAN names:

>nbtstat -n

Trådløs nettverkstilkobling:
Node-IP-adresse: [10.0.0.113] Område-ID: []

Lokal navnetabell for NetBIOS

Navn Type Status
---------------------------------------------
DBM9Q91J <00> UNIQUE Registrert
DBM9Q91J <20> UNIQUE Registrert
MSHOME <00> GROUP Registrert
MSHOME <1E> GROUP Registrert

Lokal tilkobling:
Node-IP-adresse: [0.0.0.0] Område-ID: []

Ingen navn i hurtigbuffer

Bluetooth Network:
Node-IP-adresse: [0.0.0.0] Område-ID: []

Ingen navn i hurtigbuffer

>ipconfig /all

Windows IP-konfigurasjon

Vertsnavn . . . . . . . . . . . : DBM9Q91J
Primær DNS-suffiks . . . . . . . :
Nodetype . . . . . . . . . . . . : Node-til-node
IP-ruting aktivert . . . . . . . : Nei
WINS Proxy aktivert. . . . . . . : Nei

Ethernet-kort Lokal tilkobling:

Medietilstand. . . . . . . . . . : Medium frakoblet
Beskrivelse . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 570x Gigabit Integrated Cont
roller
Fysisk adresse . . . . . . . . . : 00-0D-56-75-F7-25

Ethernet-kort Bluetooth Network:

Medietilstand. . . . . . . . . . : Medium frakoblet
Beskrivelse . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth LAN Access Server Driver
Fysisk adresse . . . . . . . . . : 00-10-C6-26-42-F9

Ethernet-kort Trådløs nettverkstilkobling:

Tilkoblingsspesifikt DNS-suffiks :
Beskrivelse . . . . . . . . . . : Dell TrueMobile 1300 WLAN Mini PCI-ko
rt
Fysisk adresse . . . . . . . . . : 00-90-4B-1D-F6-93
DHCP aktivert. . . . . . . . . . : Ja
Automatisk konfigurasjon aktivert: Ja
IP-adresse . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.113
Nettverksmaske . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Standard gateway . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
DHCP-server. . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
DNS-servere. . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.2
Leasingavtale mottatt. . . . . . : 12. januar 2009 22:57:02
Leasingavtale utgår. . . . . . . : 13. januar 2009 22:57:02

[Squashman]

Wonder if it could be a Master Browser issue. On the affected computer, check this registry value.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters
Is the key "IsDomainMaster" set to True or False?

[JohnWill]

There is a master browser, it's the first nbtstat -n posted.

I'm thinking there's still a firewall component on the machine you can't ping by name, there's very little else that normally causes that if NETBIOS is running, as it appears to be.

[pbb]

The value of "IsDomainMaster" is "FALSE", on all machines on the network.

As far as I can tell, the laptop only had Microsoft's own firewall installed, which I have disabled. The Security Center also warns me that no firewall is running. I've checked over the program files list and checked the add/remove programs list, but I can't find any other firewalls. I even uninstalled the McAfee virusscanner.

Does it not have anything to do with the "node-to-node" setup that IPCONFIG reported on the laptop? I was hoping that that was reason to the problems

I don't know if this is a factor, but doing "ping <computer name>" from the problematic laptop, immediately gives the error that it could not find the host. Doing the same from any of the other computers, "ping <problematic computer name>", it takes a few seconds before that error shows up...

[JohnWill]

Duh! I totally missed the Peer-Peer, it was in the wrong language!



Create a file in notepad named NODETYPE.REG with the following contents:

You should have 3 boxes on the bottom in NOTEPAD.
1)Filename : NODETYPE.REG
2)Save as type: all files
3)Encoding: ANSI
If you do not change it from txt type to All files type, then the file will actually be NODETYPE.REG.txt, this won't accomplish the desired result.

------------------- Use text after this line -------------------
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters]
"NodeType"=-
"DhcpNodeType"=-
------------------- Use text before this line -----------------

Double click on the file and say Yes to the merge into registry question.

Reboot the computer.

[pbb]

Yessss that was the solution! John, you are da man! (Even though I did discover the problem area myself )

I didn't create the .reg file, I just went into Registry Editor myself so that I could see what was there before changing it. There was no NodeType item, but there was a DhcpNodeType, which was set to 2 (dword). I took that one out, rebooted, and now the network is fully accessible!

Could you tell me a bit about this "node-to-node" setting? I will need to return this laptop in some time to it's owners, so I will put this setting back, but why was it there in the first place? I don't think they had any special LAN setup. On the other hand, I don't think they ever did any LAN-work at all (not even copying over files from one PC to another) so maybe the setting was wrong in the first place but they just never noticed it...

In what situations should one use this "node-to-node" setting, and is there an interface for changing this setting? (Apart from editing the registry...)

[JohnWill]

Node types denote how name resolutions is accomplished.

B-node: Broadcast - no WINS
P-node: Peer - WINS only.
M-node: Mixed - broadcast, then WINS
H-node: Hybrid - WINS, then broadcast

As you can see here, Peer-Peer will only function if there's a WINS server, which a workgroup LAN does not have as a rule. Therefore, name resolution doesn't work. Truthfully, any other node type or even Unknown, which is none of the above, will function and appear to be the same functionality without a WINS server.