[SOLVED] Can access computer 2 from 1, but not computer 1 from 2

[maylily29]

I am trying to network two computers at my work. Both are running XP and I have them connected to the internet through a router. I can get to the internet on both computers. I am able to view and access
Computer 2's Shared Documents folder from Computer 1. And if I make a change to a shared document from computer 1 it reflects on computer 2.

The problem is that I can't find computer 1's shared documents folder when I am on computer 2. When I go to Network places there is only a shared document folder for Computer 2, not 1. I've checked to make sure sharing is allowed from computer 1. If I go through the add network place wizard I hit a snag when I try to browse for a network address. I click on entire network, then microsoft windows network, then our workgroup name. Both computer 1 and 2 are listed there. But when I try to click on the plus symbol for computer 1 nothing happens. It won't open by right clicking either. It's like it's not even there even though it is listed.

I'm really not sure what my next step should be.

[maylily29]

I just tried pinging computer 1 from computer 2 with no luck. I can ping computer 2 from computer 1.

[johnwill]

This is a classic sign of a firewall blocking the access.

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:

• Computer Browser
• DHCP Client
• DNS Client
• Network Connections
• Network Location Awareness
• Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
• Server
• TCP/IP Netbios helper
• 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.




If you're still having issues after checking the above issues, please do this for each of the two computers so we can see how the networking is configured.

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, one at a time, followed by the Enter key:

Note that there is a space before the -n or the /ALL, but there is NOT a space after the - or / in the following commands.

NBTSTAT -n

IPCONFIG /ALL

Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter.
Paste the results in a message here.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.

[maylily29]

Shutting off the firewall fixed the problem. Thanks for your help.

[johnwill]

Glad it was easy. You should be able to configure the trusted zone in the firewall for the network subnet and leave it enabled.