(More) Workgroup connection problems 9

[SnailUK]

I have a problem with access to one of two computer connected via a workgroup network. It has been working fine but suddenly stopped. The only thing I have done, apart from spy ware cleanup is to un-install Norton System Works 2003 and install Zone Alarm.
Both workgroup computers are visible in My network places and PC1 (running XP Pro) can access PC2 (running XP home), however PC2 cannot access PC1 – I get the message:

\\PC1 is not available. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this service to find out if you have permissions.

Access is denied.

I have read through most of the (large number) of previous posts on this subject and have so far carried out/checked the following, all to no avail:

•Under TCP/IP Properties for the Network Connection, Advanced, WINS tab, disable 'use LMHOSTS' and check to 'enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP'

•HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters IsDomainMaster=FALSE on PC2 and TRUE on PC1

•identical workgroup name, different computer names
•something shared on both machines
•real passwords, no blank or empty passwords used
•all usernames and passwords duplicated on all machines
• The only anti-virus/firewall I have running is Zone alarm with anti virus. Both the network addresses are listed in the “trusted” area.

•I think Simple file sharing disabled on both machines, but not sure how to check this.

•I have downloaded and run the Windsock Fix program.

I could put up with this and just use the access from PC1 to share files, however I have a briefcase set up to synchronise my Outlook mail account and this will not work now.

Can anybody suggest anything else I can try please?
Thanks in advance....

 

[bcastner]

Two comments:

. If IPCONFIG reports a node type of "Unknown", you are going to be fine. It will default to "Broadcast" Node type 1. All this implies is that neither of these registry value exists:

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netbt\Parameters
NodeType
DhcpNodeType

Usually XP gets the Node Type correctly, but there is often an issue with notebook computers that visit several sites. Some hotels and hotspots, as well as office sites, will configure WINS server entries, manual DNS server entries, LMHOSTS entries, etc. and the user is puzzled why they cannot browse their Home LAN anymore when they return. So, watch your NodeType value, which IPCONFIG /all will show you. For a Workgroup LAN you want a value of 1 or 4.

To save you manually editing the registry, open a notepad session to be called fix_nodetype.reg, and copy and paste the below:

********** start copy/paste below this line ********
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters]
"NodeType"=dword:00000001
"DhcpNodeType"=-
******** end copy/paste above this line **********

2. I repeat my cautions about using LMHOSTS as a solution:
. It is maintenance headache
. It requires static IPs rather than the use of DHCP

For Workgroup LANs Netbios over TCP/IP can provide satisfactory name resolution. If you have issues, please see my thoughts above about posting the problem here. Provide Event Viewer details and any specific error messages and the problem can be sorted.

Bill Castner

 

[AGOULD]

Bill - very interesting once again. Another site affecting the laptop's configuration was almost certainly the cause of the problem. It manifested itself when I returned from delivering a course and connected to a hospital network. Whilst an IP address and DNS were both assigned the IT people would not allow me to configure the laptop for access (great when delivering a course on internet resources...).

However there were no changes that I could find to WINS entries etc, so it is a concern that this could happen. As reported before ipconfg /all reported a node type Peer-to-peer, so this was almost certainly changed following connection to the hospital network.

Despite this, previously I could not always ping computer names, only IP addresses, and making the changes to LMHOSTS changed this (I think). There must have been something up with the network, but I don't know what.

I did check the event log early on. There was/is an error that persists:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: WinMgmt
Event Category: None
Event ID: 24
Date: 29/07/2004
Time: 08:32:43
User: N/A
Computer: DELL
Description:
Event provider attempted to register query "SELECT * FROM __InstanceDeletionEvent where TargetInstance ISA "BRCM_NetworkVirtualAdapter"" whose target class "BRCM_NetworkVirtualAdapter" does not exist. The query will be ignored.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

I checked the link which was not that helpful. Apparently this relates to a Windows Installer, but which program is responsible is difficult to know. Searches on the MK KB reveals nothing, and a general search via Dogpile reveals someone asking a question about it in Czech (not helpful!), and no answer. The laptop nows works fine, but the error does relate to a virtual netwrok adapter. I have no idea how relevant this is.

For me this highlights how the MS KB articles can be difficult to follow. The one referring to the NodeType = "unknown" (Q310570)implies this is an error, and does not give the helpful (essential?) information you have kindly provided.

Thanks for the recommendation for the registry file - have done this.

A star to you I think.

Andrew

 

[bcastner]

Your Event error is from a WMI script (launched by Windows Management). Apparantly the Broadcomm network adapter registers the instance of the adapter (a virtual adapter instance) but does not register a WMI class entry for it. I would not worry about it

Any good Win2k/XP registry and scripting guide will discuss WMI scripting and its SQL like querying.

Thank you for your kind comments.

Bill Castner

 

[SnailUK]

In spite of all the wonderful help and assistance given by everybody, I regret I have still not resolved the problem with my workgroup connection, in fact I am now worse off because I on longer have the one way connection I had previously!!

On pc1 if I go to view workgroup computers I can see both pc1 and pc2 listed. If I double click on pc2 the list of shared folders is displayed, however when I double click on one to open it I get the message: \\pc1\folder 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. PLUS Not enough server storage is available to process this command. This is new, as I used to be able to access pc2 from pc1.

On pc2 if I go to view workgroup computers I can see both pc1 and pc2 listed. If I double click on pc2 I immediately get the message: \\pc1 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. PLUS Access is denied.

I can ping both computers from each other, both by IP address and by name.

So far I have done/checked the following:

• Under TCP/IP Properties for the Network Connection, Advanced, WINS tab, disable 'use LMHOSTS' and check to 'enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP'
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters IsDomainMaster=FALSE on PC2 and TRUE on PC1
• identical workgroup name, different computer names
• something shared on both machines
• real passwords, no blank or empty passwords used. Guest accounts disabled.
• all usernames and passwords duplicated on all machines. Passwords on both computers have been deleted and changed and are matching.
• The only anti-virus/firewall I have running is Zone alarm with anti virus. Both the network addresses are listed in the “trusted” area.
• Simple file sharing enabled because I have XP Home on one system and it cannot be disabled on this, so I have left it enabled on the system running XP Professional..
• I have downloaded and run the Windsock Fix program.
• I have tried unplugging the router.
• IPCONFIG shows the Node types as Unknown.
• I tried inserting the DWORD “Node Type=1” in the Registry, but as this made no difference and I had lost my one way connection, I deleted these. (it did not help restore the one way connection!)
• I have run the network diagnostic tool and get no errors.
• I have tested the TCP/IP connectivity and it is ok.
• If I enter “browstat “ to test for Master Browser issues, I get a message saying “- not recognised as a command”.
• AS per bcastner’s notes, I have not messed with the LMHOSTS file. (I can ping anyway”.

The event log shows some errors on both computers, but I cannot cause any to appear by trying to access the workgroup. Typical messages are:
Applications: Type=WARNING, Source=MSSQL$MICROSOFTBCM, Cat=(8), Event+19011
System: Type=ERROR, Source=Srv, Cat=none, Event=2011 (This error is on both systems).

As you can imagine I am a little frustrated!!

Whilst I consider myself to be reasonably computer numerate, I am not in the same league as some of my learned friends out there, however this point strakes me:

• I can ping both computers by name..
• I can see one computer from the other in ‘My Network Places’ , ‘Explorer’ etc.
• I can see the shared folders on one system

Therefore surely the network must be working ok? It’s just the permissions that seem to be the problem. But how do I fix it?

Thanks all!

Steve.

 

[koala15]

Steve,

My 2 cents ....

Have you removed (not disabled) the dial-up adapters from both machines.

I found that removing them fixed the problem, but your situation maybe different from mine.

If this does not help, please post a resonse.

Greg.

PS: I will do some further research.

"Life is full of learning, and then there is wisdom"

 

[bcastner]

SnailUK,

1. Browstat.exe
Setup for Support Tools Software
The Windows Support Tools for Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Windows XP 64-Bit Edition are located in the \Support\Tools folder on the Windows XP Professional and Windows XP 64-Bit Edition CDs, respectively. The \Support\Tools folder contains a Windows Installer file (suptools.msi), which installs the Support Tools utilities and tools on your computer's hard drive.

2. (PC2) in not accessible. you might not have permission touse this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions. Not enough server storage is available to process this command.

This message means that some software (Norton AV is famous for this) has reset the value of IRPStackSize in the registry.

In the Event Log on PC2, you likely will find:
"Error: The server's configuration parameter "irpstacksize" is too small for
the server to use a local device. Please increase the
value of this parameter. EventID 2011"

Fix:

To set the IRPStackSize back to the default (15 for XP, 11 for NT), perform the following steps:

1. Start the registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\lanmanserver\parameters
3. Double-click IRPStackSize (or if this registry setting doesn't exist, create it of type DWORD and ensure the case is correct).
4. Change the base to decimal, set the value to 11 for Win2K or NT or 15 for XP, and click OK.
5. Reboot the computer.

Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT all have an IRPStackSize value that controls how much physical storage space and RAM are available to new applications, and some new software installs incorrectly set this value.
This value ranges from 11 to 20 for XP and from 11 to 15 for Win2K and NT. If you set this value to less than 11, you'll receive an error message indicating that the system doesn't have enough server storage.
As a result, clients won't be able to access network shares and Event ID 2011 will appear in the System log.

In Windows 2000, the default value of IRPStackSize is 15, and the range is from 11 to 50. In Windows XP, the default value for IRPStackSize is 15, and the range is from 11 to 50. In the Value Data box, type a value that is larger than the value that is listed. If you created the IRPStackSize value using the proceudre described above, the default value is 15. It may be necessary to increase this. It is recommended if an increase is necessary that you increase the value by 3.

Norton AV inexplicably often sets this value to 11.

A reboot is required for this to take effect.

3. For both machines, check Administrative Tools, Local Security Policy. (I do not have XP Home, so this policy may not be there):

For the value "Network Access: Sharing and Security Model for local Accounts" Be certain it is set to "Guest only - local users authenticate as Guest"

4. For NodeType in the registry:

To save you manually editing the registry, open a notepad session to be called fix_nodetype.reg, and copy and paste the below:

********** start copy/paste below this line ********
REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters]
"NodeType"=dword:00000001
"DhcpNodeType"=-
******** end copy/paste above this line **********

Double click the file to merge the contents with your registry. Reboot.

 

[bcastner]

On reflection, two additional points:

. As you are achieving name resolution, do not fiddle anymore with nodetype or the Computer Browser service;

. I noticed this in your listing "• real passwords, no blank or empty passwords used. Guest accounts disabled."

I want to be very clear here: You do not need to enable the Guest user account; it certainly will not hurt to do so but it does not matter either way. But you cannot disable the Guest User Group account, either in Local Security Policy or in lusrmgr.msc.

For Simple File Sharing this is the User Group Account for all authentication of remote usres:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;300489

 

[bcastner]

It occurs to me that if you are throwing an Event 2011 in the Event Logs of both machines, you will need to check the IRPStackSize value of both.

 

[freaser]

SnailUK, just thought I would put my two cents in. double click ZoneAlarm in active taskbar or open it up on both machines, click on Firewall and make sure that you have Trusted Zone Security set to medium on both machines. I sometimes set the computers to high because when I am not using the network no one else cannot look at the other computer. If I have one or the other on high I cannot access it from the other.

 

[SnailUK]

OK, at last we’re making progress!!

Thanks a lot to bcastner, koala15 and freaser for the last three posts.

Sorry it takes me a while to get back with a response, but I work all day on my computers with a feed from the Eurex futures exchange in Frankfurt and I cannot afford for the system to go down, hence I restrict my fiddling with settings to weekends!

First bcastner: I have been through your very useful suggestions and can report as follows:
1. I left Browstat alone as you later suggested I do.
2. You were right, the IRPStack on both machines was set to (11). I binned Symantec and all its products earlier in the year due to numerous problems they could not resolve and thought I had surgically removed all traces of it, but maybe not…
3. The Local security Policy settings are as you suggested they should be on the XP Pro machine. As you thought, that Policy is not available on XP Home.
4. I have not re-inserted the Node Type into the registry, as you suggested. When I tried previously it made no difference anyway.
5. Sorry, what I meant was that I have selected “Guest account is off”

freaser: I checked the Zone Alarm settings for the trusted zone and they are both set to Medium.

koala15: I have not as yet removed the dial up adaptors as this would be a bit of a task to reinstall them (I have 4 installed including AOL which I don’t think I can manually configure). I would appreciate a second opinion on this idea.

NOW, HAVING DONE THE ABOVE, I AM BACK TO SQUARE ONE! WHICH IS AN IMPROVEMENT, BELIEVE ME.

By that I mean I can now connect to PC2 from PC1, move files across etc. But I still cannot connect to PC! Form PC2. The message now is
“\\PC1 is not available. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this service to find out if you have access permissions.

Access is denied.”


In the event viewer on PC2 I have:
• Application: Error=Application error. Category=(100). Event=1000
• System: Error=Service control manager. Category=None. Event=7034
But I am not sure these relate to this problem as I have just tried to access again with the same result, but no messages were generated, however I did get a message on PC1’s viewer:
• System: Event=Error. Source=DCOM. Category=None. Event=10005
• Application: Event=Warning. Source= MSSQL$MICROSOFTBCM. Cat=(8). Event=19011

Bcastner, is it worth me upping the value of the IRPStack on PC2, as it looks like that began to sort things out?

Incidentally, I do have a Bluetooth network adaptor installed in PC2 which gives me the message on start-up saying it is not connected, as I do not keep the dongle plugged in. Could this cause a problem?

Thank again everybody for the continued help, especially bcastner.

Steve

 

[bcastner]

Ahhhh.....
This should not be this hard.

. You do not have to bump the IRPStackSize, you just want to be certain it is not at a value of 11. Make sure all machines have a value of 15.

. This registry value on all machines should show either 1 or 4 Decimal:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters]
"NodeType"=dword:00000001

No other Decimal value will work.

. I offered in a different thread a checklist for Windows networking. Even if an item in the list seems silly, just do it. Start with the first and opening question, and only follow my answer below if a reboot and test of both machines does not resolve the issue:

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?SQID=796583&SPID=779&page=1

 

[bcastner]

Also,

. You did set the IRPStackSize to 15?

. See this odd consequence of removing Norton AV:

http://www.bl.com/moshe/text/quiddities/norton_errors.html

. See also my faq779-4625

. See also this MS KB article:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=811259

Do the latter part of the KB, "How to recover from Winsock2 corruption."

Bill

 

[bcastner]

If you did all of the above, and the issue is still not resolved, install Netbui on both machines.
You have to promise that you will not tell any other Windows networking guy I told you to do this.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/itpro/networking/netbeui.asp

Why:

http://www.scotsnewsletter.com/38.htm#tipadaweek

And use the Netbui stack from Win2k:

http://www.scotsnewsletter.com/38.htm#tipadaweek

 

[bcastner]

I am sorry, the Scott's newsletter links above used to resolve to different discussion points about Netbui under XP. The links above now resolve to a single article.

For intractible issues with Netbios over TCP/IP, I resort to Netbui; and I can assure you that the the Windows Network "experts" do the same darn thing.

It is a hidden weapon, and Windows Network "experts" are not supposed to sugest this as a repair.

Please advise back how the issue is sorting for you.

Bill Castner

 

[SnailUK]

For bcastner.

Many thanks Bill.

I will chseck out all the links during the week and report back how I get on.

And yes, I did set both IRPStacks to 15.

Steve.

 

[Ganzir]

Hi, I am experiencing the same Problem.
To be a little more detailed:

I´ve got to PCs (let´s call them a and b)

Currently they are connected over a switch, but I did try crossovercable as well.

On both runs WinXP Pro (exactly the same version)

I´ve read this thread carefully und tried the one (your little regestry hack) and the other thing (messing with the host and lmhost) to no avail...

After all I´ve decided to install NetBEUI and uninstall the NWLink-Protokoll.

NetBEUI didn´t fix my problem, but at least a and b find each other (with search for computer) much faster than with NWLink and each of them is displayed under "entire network" in the workgroup the belong to (they are both in the same workgroup) but before installing NETBEUI they didn´t show up there.

But still my problem remains the same whenever I try to accsess a from b or vice versa I get the following massage:

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

Access is denied.

Any idea what I can do (besides Foramt C: on both mashines)?

The strange thing is this, it worked this very morning, they both found each other and data transfer was possible. After I rebooted them both nothing worked anymore.... (before reboot I chanced nothing regarding filesharing)

I hope someone can help me slowly I´m growing really desparate

Greetz
Ganzir

 

[Ganzir]

Maybe this can help to identify my problem. I´ve disabled simple file sharing on mashine a. When I try to access mashine "a" I get the same error massage as quouted above, but instead of Access is denied it said "A specified authentication package is unknown."

Greetz
Ganzir

 

[linney]

For XP to talk to XP you shouldn't have to use NetBEUI or NWLink-Protokoll? They should only require "Client for Microsoft Networks", "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks", and "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)"

Is there any Firewall interfering with the connection? Some Antivirus products come with a hidden firewall component.

Can they Ping each other?

Can they communicate if you load "Safe Mode with Networking"?

You cannot view other workgroup computers on the network on a Windows XP-based computer

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;903267&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

This is good diagnosis procedure to follow.

http://www.michna.com/kb/wxnet.htm

Home network shares???
thread779-972205

How to troubleshoot network connectivity problems

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;325487&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

WinXP Connectivity Issues
Lost Connectivity after Registry or Malware Cleanup
faq779-4625

 

[Ganzir]

Yes, I thought so too, and until yesterday morning everything was fine.

No there is no Firewall blocking the connection (the windowsfirewall is disabled)

Yes they can ping each other.

But I´ll check out the Safe Mode thing. I´ll report back, when i´ve done so.

Greetz
Ganzir

 

[Ganzir]

Hi again, the Save, Mode leads to nothing. The Save Mode makes it even worse.

Within savemode they are not able to ping each other, and my workgroup is empty.

Greetz
Ganzir