Home Networking xp home to 2000

[springbrk200]

I have two computers connected to the internet through a hub that connects directly to my DSL modem. The internet connection works great, my only problem is that the two computers don't see each other on the network. Both computers, and the dsl modem are pluged directly into a hub. The main computer is running Xp Home and the secondary computer is running windows 2000 pro. I want to share files and to share a printer that is connected to the main computer. I have tried everything I know, changing the IP address, I made sure that both computers are in the same workgroug and have the same subnetmask, and all of that good stuff. I would appreciate and help.

 

[springbrk200]

I reconfigured the Ip address so they were only one different and I signed in under the same user name and password. I pinged the other computer and it finially worked. I can see the other computer in the map network drive window. The only problem is I can't get any futher. I can't access the shared files or drives. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[JohnWill]

If you're having authentication errors, you need a user account on the machine with the shared resources with the same name/password as is used to login to the other machine.

 

[Bob Cerelli]

springbrk200, from your second post it already sounds like you are using the same user name and password on both computers. Is that correct?

What error message are you getting preventing you from accessing the shared drives.

What directory have you shared. Not all are allowed with XP Home.

Try just making some test directory off the C: drive and share it. Make sure the user account has rights to that share.

 

[springbrk200]

Both computers are loged on as the same user name. I had the xp on a home network before and the files were already shared because of this. I tried to ping the ip address of the 2000 and that worked, but I tried to ping the name and that did not work. I haven't recieved any error messages. When I go to map Network Drive it sees the 2000 from xp and vice versa, but when I try to go into the other computer it takes like a minute to open, and it doesn't really open. The plus sign is just not there anymore, I know the folders are shared and they just aren't there.

 

[Bob Cerelli]

So if you haven't tried connecting yet then we really don't know if there are authentication problems or not. Since you previously stated that the same user names and passwords were on all computers, then likely this isn't going to be an issue.

But if you can ping by name, then that is a little more of a basic problem.

Since you can ping by IP but not by name, and to make sure there are no other problems, two possible solutions to use as a test

1. Try manually making a network connection from the Windows Explorer. Tools / Map Network Drive, Pick whatever letter you want, for the Folder enter in the IP address and share name of the other computer (e.g. \\192.168.2.10\share_name). You can have it reconnect a logon if you want.

2. On the Windows2000 computer, enter in the IP address and Computer name of the XP computer in the HOSTS and LMHOSTS files. These would be in the \windows\system32\drivers\etc file.

Once you get either one working we can decide where to go, if anywhere, from there.

 

[Bob Cerelli]

This is all assuming that you want to connect FROM the Windows2000 computer TO the XP Home computer.

If the situation is reversed, then make the appropriate changes.

 

[springbrk200]

I tried step 1 with little success. From the xp it asked for user and password, I think this is a good sign. Then it came up with a error message that "The Network path blablabla could not be found." I also tried this on the 2000 and got a similar message, but here's the good part I was able to map the network drive when I browsed for it, this is very good, but the xp box was not able to map the 2000. I did notice that windows firewall was still on. I have turned it off so many times because I use a seperate firewall. I think I got it to stay off this time. There might be something similar on the 2000 computer, this could be causing the problem. Could you be more specific with step 2 I'm not sure how to do it. So basicly the xp can't see the shared files on 2000. I tested the ping thing for IP and name, it worked for both computers both ways.

 

[Bob Cerelli]

Getting conflicting information from this post as compared to your first post.

The first post stated "I want to share files and to share a printer that is connected to the main computer" (the main computer being identified as the XP Home computer.

In this post you state you tried connecting to the Windows2000 computer from the XP Home computer and got an error.

Are you now trying to connect each computer to the other? If so and you are being prompted for a password, are you absolutely certain that both computers have the same user account and password (which is case sensitive) on them.

If you can ping both computers by both IP and Name then you shouldn't need step 2. But the steps for XP and Windows2000 are pretty much the same and should be clear. There is even a sample HOSTS file for you to look at. Both are just plain text files with a line for the IP address followed by space(s), then then computer name.

eg - 192.168.2.2 XP_Home
This is what would be added to the Windows2000 computer.

Generally it's getting difficult to make suggestions since not all the information or results are being provided.

 

[springbrk200]

I want to be able to access the other computer files and share the printer. The printer is connect to the xp computer. With my firewalls off I can access the xp files and printer from the 2000. What I cannot do is acces the 2000 files from the xp. I use E-Trust antivirus and firewall. If someone could tell me how to allow the files to be shared it would be appreciated. The biggest problem I have is I can't see the 2000 files from xp. I was able to access the xp files on 2000 by Map Network Drive, Browse, Computer name, and then the files. I'm not able to do this on the xp for the 2000. When I try to use step 1 on the xp it asks me for a user name and password. I'm sure I entered it correctly. After all of that I get an error message that the network part could not be found. I tried the ping and it worked both ways with IP and Name.Any other tests that I should run to find out why the xp can't access the 2000 files would be appreciated. I am very confused over why the 2000 can see the files on the xp and share the printer, but the xp can't see the files on the 2000.

 

[Bob Cerelli]

You need to have the same username and password on all computers. The password is also case sensitive. Usernames are not.

 

[springbrk200]

I tried the wrong password for a change, and the little box just flashed up again, but when I entered the right password the little box closed and I got the error message "the network path could not be found". I played around with the little box and came to the conclusion that is was waiting for a password on my xp not on my 2000. Also do you know how to configure e-trust ez firewall to allow the network?

 

[JohnWill]

Turn off the firewalls for debugging, solve one problem at a time.

 

[Bob Cerelli]

Don't just turn off any 3rd party firewalls. Completely uninstall them. There are so many posts where folks thought they were turned off or disabled. But the networking didn't start functioning untill they actually uninstalled the firewall.

To turn off the built-in firewall for XP (Pre-Sp2)

Go to Start / Settings / Network Connections
Right click on the network connection you want to change
Select Properties
Click on the Advanced tab
Uncheck the box in Internet Connection Firewall

 

[springbrk200]

I uninstalled all of the firewalls checked xp's firewall, nothing. My dad seems to think that it is a sharing issue on the 2000 side. I checked this with no avail. I tried rerunning the network connection wizard, no luck. Is there anyway that I could reset all of the network setting back to defult, just incase something deep in the settings got screwed up. About 5 or 6 months ago I had a winsock error. Before I figured out what was causing the lack of an internet connection, the dsl tech support prople led me through a lot of changes deep in the TCP/IP settings. I don't know if this could be causing it, but it's an idea. Also if anyone knows how to configure the e-trust firewall to allow the network that would also be very helpfull.