network probs: can't map printer cuz can't see target host machine

[denodave]

Scenario: two XP machines and two Macs running through a router, all machines can be pinged and router interface can be accessed from all machines, so connectivity is not the problem. A printer is setup on one XP machine (A) which we need to access from the other (B). The (A) machine does not show up at all in the workgroup or in the MS Network thus we cannot add its printer to the (B) machine.

I had this problem on a different occasion and was able to map the printer from the target (A) machine to the desktop of the (B) machine and it worked; this time I tried to duplicate it and got this error: "You do not have sufficient priveleges to add printer. Do you want to run this as a different user?" I clicked yes and got a Run As dialog box. Tried to use the radio button to select a user and password (no password was in use) and got this response: "run dll as an app - login failure:account restriction" All users on all machines have administrator rights, so I don't understand that.

The thing I'd really like to know is why one of the XP machines is not being seen on the windows network but is pingable. Yes, they are in the same workgroup. There seem to be others who have this same sort of problem seeing machines on a peer network. What's up with this deal?

The Macs are not at issue. Thanks for any input!

Email me! dsaunders114@yahoo.com
Real men pray...especially techies!

 

[nAtHaNs]

hi,

try putting the hostname and IP address of each computer in its respective host file and see if that will help.

regards.

 

[denodave]

Thanks mate, but what host file are you referring to? I could be ignorant or tired or both, but I am not sure what you mean. A friend of mine suggested that I need to have identical user accounts on each machine; so if username "Bob3" exists on one machine it must also on the other with same password, and that may be the only way to avoid the "account restriction" problem...???

Email me! dsaunders114@yahoo.com
Real men pray...especially techies!

 

[caffrinho]

C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc

open the HOSTS file and add the machine names and their respective IP addresses in the host file in the form;

x.x.x.x MachineA

I'm not sure that that's going to fix it for you, however. You say "All users on all machines have administrator rights". Can you expand on that?
Are you saying that the user, user1 on Machine A (machineA/user1) has been added to the administrators group on machine B?
Or is it just that all users on machine A are in machine A's admin group, and likewise with users on machine B?

 

[denodave]

These machines have been left pretty much in default configuration; thus every user with an account on each individual machine has administrative privileges. Machine A has four users, all administrators; machine B has two users, all administrators.

Thanks for the specifics on the hosts file. I will try it and see. How does this affect the ability of a machine to be seen in a workgroup? Why would XP not auotomatically recognize peer machines when a new workgroup is set up (which I also tried)? I am finding some of XP's networking functions to be rather mysterious! -- Thanks again!

Email me! dsaunders114@yahoo.com
Real men pray...especially techies!