Networking - I can access it, but I can't ping it.

[damonfreeman]

Hi there.

I'm having real problems with 2 computers at home that I'm trying to play a network game on:

The PC's are running XP, and are connected by a hub. Using file sharing options, I can transfer files between computers (although it takes very long - longer than usual) but when setting up the multiplayer game, the computers can't see each other.

When I try to ping the other PC, I get a "request timed out". I've tried restarting the machines and the hub, all to no avail.

Something else I've noticed, although I don't know if it's relevant. My alternate DNS server is not connecting either.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards
Damon Freeman

 

[5mi11er]

Sounds like XP SP 2's firewall in action.

 

[damonfreeman]

Thanks for the quick response.

I'm running SP-1 on both computers and the firewall is not on.

It's a mystery!

 

[JohnWill]

You probably have some other AV or spyware protection application that's blocking the ping. If you can connect, there aren't many reasons you can't ping...

 

[Bob Cerelli]

The LAN connections with SP2 works a lot better than with SP1. That's where you need to have people disable the firewall for network access. SP2 doesn't need to have this done. So finally you can have a decent firewall and still access your LAN.

Are you trying to ping by both IP as well as name?

 

[damonfreeman]

Yes - I've tried to ping IP and name. I'm about to install SP2 to see if that sorts it out.

 

[Bob Cerelli]

I didn't think that SP2 was generally supposed to fix basic networking problems like this.

Are you certain you have good network cards, cable and hub.

 

[damonfreeman]

Seems to be ok. I can ping my ADSL Router without any problems. I have also tried changing cables but the problem persists. I think it might be time to call in the professionals.

 

[Bob Cerelli]

You might doing the Winsock repair detailed in:
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/windowsxp_tips.htm#winsock2

There is also information on that same tips page about how to reinstall TCP/IP.

Both go pretty quick and might be worth a try.

 

[damonfreeman]

Thanks! I'll check it out!