# help! I can't see any of my workgroup computers on any of the others



## John Wood (Nov 27, 2008)

I have a LAN with two desktop pcs wired in by ethernet (1 XP, 1 Vista) and two XP laptops connecting wirelessly.

I have had to change my router and now have a Belkin ADSL 2+. But now, whatever I do, I cannot view workgroup computers. On one laptop I get the message 'You may not have permission' - otherwise if I view workgroup computers I just see the home PC.

I have tried contacting Belkin, Dell (the Vista PC is a Dell), my ISP, looking online. Nothing seems to be any good.

What can I do please?

Each pc can separately access the web via the router and all connections seem to be set up OK


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

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
Windows Zero Configuration (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.

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 Neighborhood, 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.


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## John Wood (Nov 27, 2008)

Thanks.

OK,
I have turned off firewalls for debugging. 


I can ping the other computers: see transcript:

---------------------------------------------------
C:\Users\John>ping Panasonic

Pinging Panasonic [192.168.2.4] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.2.4: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.4: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.4: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.4: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.2.4:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 1ms, Maximum = 1ms, Average = 1ms

C:\Users\John>ping HAS1

Pinging HAS1 [192.168.2.6] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.2.6: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.6: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.6: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.2.6: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.2.6:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\Users\John>IPCONFIG/ALL

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : HAS-office
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : Belkin

Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1C-26-DD-42-FB
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Belkin
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82566DC-2 Gigabit Network Connec
tion
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1E-C9-38-18-62
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::85be:585a:27d3:daab%9(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.2(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 27 November 2008 09:46:41
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 27 November 2009 09:46:39
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 7:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{8D8A45AA-3127-41C5-9BB7-2DEEE6A68
51C}
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 10:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Belkin
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.Belkin
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

C:\Users\John>NBTSTAT -n

Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.2.2] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Local Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
HAS-OFFICE <00> UNIQUE Registered
WORKGROUP <00> GROUP Registered
HAS-OFFICE <20> UNIQUE Registered
WORKGROUP <1E> GROUP Registered

Bluetooth Network Connection:
Node IpAddress: [0.0.0.0] Scope Id: []

No names in cache

C:\Users\John>
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I have tried to check that all services are Started, but not all will start. With some (Netlogon, Internet Connection Sharing) I get an error message 

Started then stopped. Some services stop automatically if not in use by other services or programs.

I am also not sure if Internet Connection Sharing might interfere with my router?

Anyway for the ones listed:

COM+ Event System (for WZC issues) yes
Computer Browser yes
DHCP Client yes
DNS Client yes
Network Connections yes
Network Location Awareness yes
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) yes
Server yes
TCP/IP Netbios helper yes
Windows Zero Configuration (wireless configurations) - I don't seem to have this!
Workstation yes



All computers are in the same workgroup although for some reason they have a tendency to revert to the default (MSHome for Win XP)
File & Print Sharing is enabled on the computers and I have shared the individual resources too. 

On a couple of the Win XP computers I can see this Vista PC but cannot access it. I may not have the permission and should contact the network administrator' - me.

Finally, how do I check and if need be enable NETBIOS over TCP/IP ?


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

PC Chuck's Windows XP And Vista On The LAN Together


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## rdc500 (Aug 28, 2008)

This is how I normally setup a small network.
Login to the router and set it to dynamic routing
The Wireless should be WPK Pre shared Key
Change the password to the router
Plug in the cables on the router and other than printer and file sharing it should have a gateway to the internet. 
If you still have a problem with file sharing see my posts, I have solved that permission Issue. 
I see no reason to have Netbios over TCP/IP . 
Later
Ron


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

rdc500 said:


> I see no reason to have Netbios over TCP/IP


You don't want computer browsing to work? :4-dontkno


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