Networking Woes [Moved from XP]

[Bingle]

Howdy everyone, now I like to consider myself as being someone who's particularly tech-savvy, but never got myself into home networking (file sharing for that matter), until recently, having only recently purchased a laptop.

So, here's my problem:

I have a desktop PC running Windows XP Home Sp3 and a Laptop running Windows XP Home Sp2 (soon to be Sp3, as soon as I get the update). The desktop is connected via ethernet to a wireless router, a D-Link WBR-2310, and the Laptop is connected wirelessly. Now, having recently gotten this laptop (which previously ran Vista Home Pro, until I downgraded), I felt compelled to set up file sharing between it and my desktop, you know, to quickly access all my music and what have you. So I attempted to do this as one would normally do, only to receive an error when attempting to access my Desktop computer through My Network Places.

"\\XXX is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions.

Access is denied."

Now, I HAVE done the following things:
-Shared my C-drive on my desktop computer over the network
-Ran the Network Setup Wizard on BOTH the Desktop and the Laptop -> Enabled file sharing.
-Both computers are in the SAME workgroup
-Tried turning windows firewall off on BOTH computers -> Desktop is running Norton Internet Security 2008, however, I haven't renewed my license, so it isn't doing anything (I can't even set firewall options because of that).

Additionally, the desktop computer CAN access the files being shared by the Laptop, however the Laptop CANNOT access (gets that error) when I try and access the desktop computer. Also both computers can access the internet properly, with no problems.

I could be forgetting something, at any rate, a little guidance would be nice, as far as I know, this is a relatively common problem.

[justpassingby]

Hi Bingle and welcome to TSF !

It's a permission issue. What accounts are you using on both computers, admin accounts or limited accounts ?

Don't share the whole c drive, this is highly unsecure. The "shared documents" (c:\documents and settings\all users\shared documents\) is there for you to share files between 2 computers, place the files you wish to be shared there and the way the system is set right now you'll have access to these files on both computers. If you wish to share an additional folder (like the documents\my music folder) then change the folder's permission settings.

With XP Home restart the computer in safe mode (repeatedly press F8 during startup) and log as "administrator". Right-click => properties on the folder you wish to share and you'll now have access to the sharing and security tab. Give your user account full access to that folder (and subfolders if needed). I can't give you the details by heart but check the following links if you need more informations :

How to configure file sharing in Windows XP
How to Set Up a Small Network with Windows XP Home Edition (PART 7 - Sharing Folders)

Again only share the folders that contain media files you actually want to share, don't share the whole my documents folder nor the system folders.

[Bingle]

Before I try this, I think it would be relevant to add that I get the error not when I try to access shared data, but when I try and access the computer in the work group altogether.

So for me, it's: Start-->My Network Places-->View Workgroup Computers-->"Main Computer"-->Error!

I can't even access the computer at all, let alone the files inside of it, because I fear you might have thought I could access the computer, but not the files.

[justpassingby]

Ok, I stopped at the access denied error message and I thought it was about a given folder, didn't understand you couldn't access the computer at all. I'll move your thread to the networking support section.

You'll have to uninstall Norton, the fact that the subscription ended doesn't mean it's not coming in the way (trust me on this). Use the uninstaller in add/remove programs then run the Norton removal tool to get rid of the remnants. Make sure you re-enable XP's integrated firewall.

Also unshare the c: drive, you don't want to share the whole drive. First thing is to get access to the files in the "shared documents" on both computers.

[Bingle]

Norton has been completely removed, the problem persists.

[johnwill]

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.