The Recalitrant Laptop!
May 2, 2006 7:13 PM
Why won't my laptop play nice with the rest of my network?
My laptop sees, but cannot access, my NAS or the other computers on my network. The other computers can't access the laptop. When I try, I get the error:"\\devicename is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this reseource. The network path was not found." This happens whether I am connected via wireless, or plugged into the router. Curiously, I can acess the NAS if I do so via its FTP server, and though I get the error message if I click on my wireless print server, I can print just fine. I am pretty sure this is an issue with XP, because if I boot the laptop with a live Linux CD I can access the network just fine. I've added no new hardware, and everything was working fine a month ago. What gives? How can I fix this? Thanks in advance for your help.
My laptop sees, but cannot access, my NAS or the other computers on my network. The other computers can't access the laptop. When I try, I get the error:"\\devicename is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this reseource. The network path was not found." This happens whether I am connected via wireless, or plugged into the router. Curiously, I can acess the NAS if I do so via its FTP server, and though I get the error message if I click on my wireless print server, I can print just fine. I am pretty sure this is an issue with XP, because if I boot the laptop with a live Linux CD I can access the network just fine. I've added no new hardware, and everything was working fine a month ago. What gives? How can I fix this? Thanks in advance for your help.
Perhaps you could describe the rest of the network a bit more?
Does the device which you can't access have a user account with the same username as you're using on the client?
posted by pompomtom at 7:26 PM on May 2, 2006
Does the device which you can't access have a user account with the same username as you're using on the client?
posted by pompomtom at 7:26 PM on May 2, 2006
Heh, based on this previous question, maybe that should be adding a shared directory on the computer that can't be seen (which would be hard for the NAS..).
posted by Chuckles at 7:30 PM on May 2, 2006
posted by Chuckles at 7:30 PM on May 2, 2006
Windows machines all have to be in the same workgroup to see each other. Right-click "My Computer" and select the "Computer Name" tab and check the "Workgroup" line.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 7:43 PM on May 2, 2006
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 7:43 PM on May 2, 2006
Let me clarify: Every computer can successfully ping every other, laptop included. Two machines running XP home, one running pro. The device that I can't access does have a user account with the same username as the one I'm using on the client, but this was not a problem before, and my problem persists even if I log in as a guest. I'll read up the other links people have posted. Thanks for your quick responses so far.
posted by Crotalus at 7:44 PM on May 2, 2006
posted by Crotalus at 7:44 PM on May 2, 2006
Rereading your question.. I've just been playing with an NFS client for windows that kept giving me that (or a very similar) error. The solution was to manually type in the share mapping:
posted by Chuckles at 8:09 PM on May 2, 2006
net use * \\[ip address]\[share point] * /user:[username]
posted by Chuckles at 8:09 PM on May 2, 2006
Windows machines in different workgroups can ping one another using their IPs, but don't see each other using higher level Microsoft protocols.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 8:28 PM on May 2, 2006
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 8:28 PM on May 2, 2006
Agreed. Change the workgroup to match the rest & he'll see them just fine.
posted by scalefree at 8:38 PM on May 2, 2006
posted by scalefree at 8:38 PM on May 2, 2006
Sounds like a firewall issue. As a quick test, you can try turning off all firewalls for a bit. Then go to start, run, and type "\\[IP of some other XP computer on the LAN]" into the box. You should get a login box, even if you aren't in the same workgroup. As long as everyone has an IP, you're networked by virtue of being hooked together by wires.
If that works, then you've got a permissions problem. If you're using the built in XP firewall, make sure "print and file sharing" is in the exception list on the laptop. If you're using a different firewall, look for a "home networking" or similar profile that you can switch too.
posted by Drunken_munky at 8:39 PM on May 2, 2006
If that works, then you've got a permissions problem. If you're using the built in XP firewall, make sure "print and file sharing" is in the exception list on the laptop. If you're using a different firewall, look for a "home networking" or similar profile that you can switch too.
posted by Drunken_munky at 8:39 PM on May 2, 2006
You could try pinning this down a little further by attempting to access the target device by IP address instead of by name - try opening e.g. \\192.168.1.3 instead of \\devicename.
This might be a firewall issue, too. Make sure the laptop has firewall exceptions enabled for Windows print and file sharing.
posted by flabdablet at 10:09 PM on May 2, 2006
This might be a firewall issue, too. Make sure the laptop has firewall exceptions enabled for Windows print and file sharing.
posted by flabdablet at 10:09 PM on May 2, 2006
Maybe you don't have the protocol for windows file sharing installed? Go into your connection, properties, networking and then see if in the list of "items this connection is using" the "file and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks" is ticked.
posted by scodger at 10:57 PM on May 2, 2006
posted by scodger at 10:57 PM on May 2, 2006
You could try pinning this down a little further by attempting to access the target device by IP address instead of by name - try opening e.g. \\192.168.1.3 instead of \\devicename.
Ding ding ding!!! This works! I can now paste shortcuts to the IP numbers on the desktop and use the network no problem. But why won't //devicename work? What do I need to do to fix this? Errors persist even when my firewall is turned off. File and printer sharing for Windows is ticked. Everything is in the same workgroup.
posted by Crotalus at 11:06 PM on May 2, 2006
Ding ding ding!!! This works! I can now paste shortcuts to the IP numbers on the desktop and use the network no problem. But why won't //devicename work? What do I need to do to fix this? Errors persist even when my firewall is turned off. File and printer sharing for Windows is ticked. Everything is in the same workgroup.
posted by Crotalus at 11:06 PM on May 2, 2006
OK, so it's a name serving issue. Which sucks, because there are all kinds of ways to break that.
In your position, I'd be installing Ethereal on the laptop and on a couple of your other computers, getting traces going on all three, and just letting both the machines sit there without trying to do anything with them for a while. You should see periodic bursts of broadcast traffic as the machines on your network tell each other who they are.
You'll likely find that what's coming out of your laptop is either nothing (in which case you should check to see that the Server and TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper services on your laptop are both still running) or has values that look like they should match what's coming out of the other machines but don't (in which case you should be able to work out what forgotten configuration change has prompted this misbehaviour).
Ethereal does a good job of decoding this kind of traffic, so you won't need hexadecimal entrails-reading skills. There really is no substitute for seeing what's going on in your network.
posted by flabdablet at 12:01 AM on May 3, 2006
In your position, I'd be installing Ethereal on the laptop and on a couple of your other computers, getting traces going on all three, and just letting both the machines sit there without trying to do anything with them for a while. You should see periodic bursts of broadcast traffic as the machines on your network tell each other who they are.
You'll likely find that what's coming out of your laptop is either nothing (in which case you should check to see that the Server and TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper services on your laptop are both still running) or has values that look like they should match what's coming out of the other machines but don't (in which case you should be able to work out what forgotten configuration change has prompted this misbehaviour).
Ethereal does a good job of decoding this kind of traffic, so you won't need hexadecimal entrails-reading skills. There really is no substitute for seeing what's going on in your network.
posted by flabdablet at 12:01 AM on May 3, 2006
I'm actually having the exact same problem, and this:
You could try pinning this down a little further by attempting to access the target device by IP address instead of by name - try opening e.g. \\192.168.1.3 instead of \\devicename.
works for me as well. flabdablet, how do I check and see if the Server and TCP/IP Netbios Helper services are running? If they're not, how do I fix them?
posted by mdbell79 at 4:25 AM on May 3, 2006
You could try pinning this down a little further by attempting to access the target device by IP address instead of by name - try opening e.g. \\192.168.1.3 instead of \\devicename.
works for me as well. flabdablet, how do I check and see if the Server and TCP/IP Netbios Helper services are running? If they're not, how do I fix them?
posted by mdbell79 at 4:25 AM on May 3, 2006
Right-click on My Computer, select Manage. In the left pane of the Computer Management window, expand Services and Applications, then click Services. Scroll down the list of services until you find Computer Browser, then double-click on it to bring up its property sheet. Similar for Server and TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper.
The service's property sheet has buttons that let you stop, start, pause or resume a service. You can also set the startup type. For all three of these, the startup type should be Automatic, which means that they get started when Windows starts (Manual means that they get started on demand).
Stopping and restarting services is a pretty harmless pastime, but I don't recommend messing with the startup types unless you are (a) scrupulous about keeping notes as you go (b) have a good idea what you're trying to do before you do it. Which is why I recommended that you do some packet traces with Ethereal before even going there.
posted by flabdablet at 3:45 PM on May 3, 2006
The service's property sheet has buttons that let you stop, start, pause or resume a service. You can also set the startup type. For all three of these, the startup type should be Automatic, which means that they get started when Windows starts (Manual means that they get started on demand).
Stopping and restarting services is a pretty harmless pastime, but I don't recommend messing with the startup types unless you are (a) scrupulous about keeping notes as you go (b) have a good idea what you're trying to do before you do it. Which is why I recommended that you do some packet traces with Ethereal before even going there.
posted by flabdablet at 3:45 PM on May 3, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
There may be better suggestions, but I've fixed a similar problem by adding a shared directory on the computer that is having trouble seeing everybody else.
Also, there have been many similar questions, XP networking is buggy this way, so try some of these results.
posted by Chuckles at 7:26 PM on May 2, 2006