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CircleOfDarkness · 27-Jul-2009, 05:01 PM #1

Hi all, first post. I'm a techie and a programmer, but I can't figure this one out. I have a desktop and a laptop:

Desktop: Windows XP SP2 32-bit
Laptop: Windows Vista SP1 32-bit

Several months ago I put both of them in "stealth" mode so that they were essentially invisible on the network. This involved things like disabling unnecessary services, removing the File/Printer Sharing protocol from the network connections, etc. (I should have written down each and every change so that I could reverse them later on.)

Well, now I want to share them again. I added the File/Printer sharing protocol back, allowed it as an exception in the Firewall on both computers, and re-enabled all of the appropriate networking services. Everything is 99.9% working again --

Pinging by IP address - OK
Pinging by computer name - OK (name resolves to the correct IP address)
Direct access in Explorer via \\computername - OK (shows the shares on computername)
net view computername - OK (lists the shares on computername)

The only thing which is not working is that the XP computer refuses to show itself -- even from the XP computer -- when browsing the workgroup. (Both have the same workgroup name, simply "WORKGROUP".) The Vista laptop appears on both, and its shares can be browsed by double-clicking it. But something is preventing the XP computer from appearing alongside the Vista computer when browsing the workgroup. (Using "net view" from a command prompt also shows only the Vista computer.)

I have spent hours searching, but most pages offer the typical advice about enabling the Computer Browser, Server, NLA and similar services. These are already enabled (and started) and are not the problem. I have a nagging feeling that I changed some obscure registry setting, but I can confirm that it is NOT the "Hidden" DWORD in HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Lanmanserver (I have no "Hidden" value there).

Does anyone have any ideas besides reinstalling? I know it's picky to want the computer to show up in the workgroup or "net view" list when I can just as easily type in \\computername to access its shares, but I'm stubborn like that.

Thanks in advance!

JPCompHelp · 27-Jul-2009, 05:06 PM #2

Have you tried installing the patch for sharing with Vista?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922120

CircleOfDarkness · 27-Jul-2009, 05:36 PM #3

I may install that patch later but that's not going to fix it. Everything worked fine with no patches before I did whatever I did.

The core problem is that the XP computer cannot see itself, therefore neither can any other computer on the network.

**JohnWill** · 27-Jul-2009, 05:47 PM #4

That "patch just enables the eye candy Vista network map, it has nothing to do with file/print sharing on the network.

Let's see this for the XP computer.

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.

CircleOfDarkness · 27-Jul-2009, 06:02 PM #5

Hi John,

Thanks. Here is the output of both commands. (Note that I replaced my actual computer name with "COMPUTERNAME" and my MAC address with a fake one.)

Code:

C:\Users\Administrator>nbtstat -n

Local Network:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.101] Scope Id: []

                NetBIOS Local Name Table

       Name               Type         Status
    ---------------------------------------------
    COMPUTERNAME   <00>  UNIQUE      Registered
    WORKGROUP      <00>  GROUP       Registered
    COMPUTERNAME   <20>  UNIQUE      Registered
    WORKGROUP      <1E>  GROUP       Registered
    WORKGROUP      <1D>  UNIQUE      Registered
    ..__MSBROWSE__.<01>  GROUP       Registered

C:\Users\Administrator>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

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

Ethernet adapter Local Network:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0C-F1-56-98-AD
        Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.101
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, July 27, 2009 4:57:09 PM
        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, July 28, 2009 4:57:09 PM

**JohnWill** · 27-Jul-2009, 06:18 PM #6

There is no hacker value for either MAC address or computer name. However, obfuscating them makes the information useless.

CircleOfDarkness · 27-Jul-2009, 06:29 PM #7

Okay, here is the raw output (computer name is DESKTOP):

Code:

C:\Users\Administrator>nbtstat -n

Local Network:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.101] Scope Id: []

                NetBIOS Local Name Table

       Name               Type         Status
    ---------------------------------------------
    DESKTOP        <00>  UNIQUE      Registered
    WORKGROUP      <00>  GROUP       Registered
    DESKTOP        <20>  UNIQUE      Registered
    WORKGROUP      <1E>  GROUP       Registered
    WORKGROUP      <1D>  UNIQUE      Registered
    ..__MSBROWSE__.<01>  GROUP       Registered

C:\Users\Administrator>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

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

Ethernet adapter Local Network:

        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1F-E2-3B-A4-7C
        Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.101
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, July 27, 2009 4:57:09 PM
        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, July 28, 2009 4:57:09 PM

Thanks again in advance!

**JohnWill** · 27-Jul-2009, 06:42 PM #8

Let's see the same thing for the other computer.

In addition, check the services.

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 only)
WLAN AutoConfig (Vista wireless configurations only)
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 (or perhaps manual).

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.

CircleOfDarkness · 27-Jul-2009, 06:59 PM #9

Hi John,

Here is the output from the laptop (running Vista, named LAPTOP, connected wirelessly):

Code:

C:\Users\Administrator>nbtstat -n

Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [0.0.0.0] Scope Id: []

    No names in cache

Wireless Network Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.102] Scope Id: []

                NetBIOS Local Name Table

       Name               Type         Status
    ---------------------------------------------
    LAPTOP         <00>  UNIQUE      Registered
    WORKGROUP      <00>  GROUP       Registered
    WORKGROUP      <1E>  GROUP       Registered
    LAPTOP         <20>  UNIQUE      Registered
    WORKGROUP      <1D>  UNIQUE      Registered
    ..__MSBROWSE__.<01>  GROUP       Registered

C:\Users\Administrator>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Laptop
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Atheros AR928x Wireless Network Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1F-E1-D7-C6-6A
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::53f:f817:14a2:65d7%11(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.102(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, July 27, 2009 3:33:47 PM
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, July 28, 2009 3:33:48 PM
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Marvell Yukon 88E8055 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1D-BA-26-67-2D
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{6CB7D6CF-F024-47B7-ADCD-397DC7796FB5}
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 7:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{2BEEDDE3-9D19-4856-BC49-7AC5C8321FD5}
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 11:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:4137:9e50:2c12:3035:3f57:fe99(Preferred)
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::2c12:3035:3f57:fe99%12(Preferred)
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 14:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{2BEEDDE3-9D19-4856-BC49-7AC5C8321FD5}
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 15:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{6CB7D6CF-F024-47B7-ADCD-397DC7796FB5}
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

On the XP computer (Desktop), all of the services you listed are started and have a startup type of Automatic, with the exception of the Wireless Zero Configuration because it is a wired connection.

On the Vista computer (Laptop), all of the services including the WLAN AutoConfig are started and Automatic.

The Event Log is a good idea. Do any of the following items sound problematic? --

Type Warning from Server: The server could not bind to the transport \Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{FA6028C4-22C9-4FD9-8569-0E08F1BFB598}.
Type Error from Srv: The server's call to a system service failed unexpectedly.
Type Information from Browser: The browser has forced an election on network \Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{FA6028C4-22C9-4FD9-8569-0E08F1BFB598} because a master browser was stopped.

Thanks again for your help.

**JohnWill** · 28-Jul-2009, 01:37 PM **#10**

You will notice that both computers have the line:

..__MSBROWSE__.<01>

This indicates that both think they're the master browser. This is usually because a firewall on at least one of them is blocking the access.

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. NOTE: Vista's default is to require a password on the account to enable file/print sharing.

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. You can open a command prompt as described above and type the following command: nbtstat -n. This will display the status of NetBIOS or indicate it's not configured.

CircleOfDarkness · 28-Jul-2009, 05:46 PM **#11**

Thanks for all the help John, I ended up figuring it out. At some point I had run the following command:

Code:

net config server /hidden:yes

To fix it I had to reverse that with the opposite command,

Code:

net config server /hidden:no

Then disable and re-enable the connection.

**JohnWill** · 29-Jul-2009, 04:15 PM **#12**

I wonder how that got set, it's a strictly manual setting?

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