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

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

 

Sounds like XP SP 2's firewall in action.

 

Thanks for the quick response.

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

It's a mystery!

 

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...

 

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?

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Thanks! I'll check it out!