# Odd Network Problem



## cpl_g33k (Feb 6, 2007)

About three weeks ago, I started an internship at a business in my town. I work in the one man IT department. My boss gave me a very interesting project to work on.

It seems that everything was going well here. Everyone could log in to the network with no problems at all. But one day, out of the blue, this error popped up (for those of us who aren't administrator) when you try to run Defrag, ScanDisk, Windows Updates, change Network settings, etc. The error said: "Some of the controls on this property sheet are disabled because you do not have sufficient privileges to access or change them."

Here's the odd twist. My boss has discovered that if he installs the IPX/SPX protocol on a workstation (while logged in as Administrator, obviously) that the error goes away.

Can anyone here tell me why IPX/SPX would fix this problem? Or, better yet, can anyone tell me why this has occurred in the first place?

If it helps anyone, the server here is running Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1, and all of the workstations and laptops run Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2.

All help is appreciated! :grin:


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

I can only imagine some sort of upgrade to a common network security application is getting in the way. Since either NETBEUI or IPX bypasses TCP/IP firewalls, it wouldn't be affected.


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## cpl_g33k (Feb 6, 2007)

What kind of application are we talking about here? And what would a firewall have to do with this?


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

I just re-read your post, I misled youh, it's probably not a firewall issue. I fixated on the IPX fixing something. 

First off, since your boss was able to install IPX, he must have admin rights. Changing network configurations normally requires admin rights.

This is some sort of permissions issue, or perhaps a group policy configured on the server. That's where I'd start.


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