XP Pro Networking Fun 2

[bpatters69]

Hello Folks,

I just set up a home network with my home PC which is running Windows XP Pro. I also have a work PC that I would like to share files and my printer. My work PC runs Win 2000 and it is part of a domain. My home network is a workgroup called Patnet.

Ping Tests
Home to 127.0.0.1 (Yes)
Home to self (No)
Home to work (Yes)

Work to 127.0.0.1 (Yes)
Work to self (Yes)
Work to Home (No)

When I go to "my network places" on my home PC and click on "View workgroup computers", I get an error saying that I do not have the right privledges to access my home network "Patnet". I am logged on as an admin.

Questions

Is the NIC on my home PC defective? The card is new and I use the card to access my DSL connection?

If I create a home network profile for my work PC, will it change the setting that allow me to use network resources on my work domain?

Thanks, Bill


Bill Patterson
Florida

 

[jthiessen]

Do both machines use the same password for administrator? You must have the same username/password on both machines.

Josh

MCSE, CCNA, MCT, MCP

 

[bpatters69]

Thanks, Josh.

The passwords will not be the same on my work PC vs my home PC. I will take a look when I get a chance.

Even if I do get the username\password thing worked out, the fact I cannot ping from my work PC to my home PC would most likely mean that I cannot share files. Right? Don't need to be able to Ping from my work pc to my home PC and vice versa to set up a network? Thanks, Bill

Bill Patterson
Florida

 

[bcastner]

. Same workgroup name (use all Capital letters for safety), unique Computer Name.
. No firewall issues, including the native ICF XP firewall; third-party firewalls; and "hidden" firewalls in antivirus programs (PC-Illan for example);
. All usernames and passwords synchronized at all machines: Username and passwords (exactly) on Computer A
made usernames with passwords (exactly) on Computer B, C , etc. Or, use the default "Simple File Sharing" and enable the Guest account on all machines;
. Something: drive, Folder, printer, something shared on all machines. But something
. For all machines, under TCP/IP Properties for the Network Connection, Advanced, WINS tab, disable 'use LMHOSTS' and check to 'enable Netbios over TCP/IP'

 

[wolluf]

But remember - if you join your work machine to the workgroup - it will leave the domain - so domain username/password will no longer be valid (will need a local one) - and you'll need to get somebody to rejoin you to the domain when back at work (unless your user has domain privileges to do this).

 

[TheAggie]

Bill,
Just as a start, what you want to do does work.

I agree with woluff - don't join your work PC to the workgroup or you'll be sorry. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, and lost network access at work until I could get a domain admin to re-add me.

I have a home network w/ Linksys Router connected to a Cable Modem and 3 WinXP (2 XpPro & 1 XpHome) Desktop PCs and have a Win2000 Laptop that I move back ad forth between here and work. The work laptop is joined to a Domain and the desktop PCs are all on a workgroup. Only the home desktop PCs passwords are synced; the laptop has a unique set of passwords and accounts. I transfer files ,share printers that are connected to the desktops, and share the internet.

Are either of the PCs running firewall software? If so try temporarily disabling the firewall and retrying the pings.

Also, I assume from the address 127.0.0.1 that you mentioned that you have a DSL router to connect the PCs and I also assume that it has a DHCP server that the PCs are configured to use. It would help to confirm how your IP is configured. If you could do a "ipconfig /all" from the dos prompt on each of the PCs and attach it in a reply and also some info on your router that might show something.

Good luck,
Mark

 

[bpatters69]

Mark & Others,

Many thanks for your tips. I do have Norton Firewall configured on my desktop PC. I never even thought that it might interfere with networking. The router I am using is the Homeportal 100w. The 100w has a hardware firewall but according to the online literature, the 100w does not interfere with sharing.

I ping'd 127.0.0.1 because that ping will test basic TCP/IP connectivity on the LAN card in my home PC. Right? My work PC is off-line but I can run ipconfig /all on my home PC. The problem is the Dos window does not support copy all and paste. Is there a way I can print the outout to a text file and do a copy and paste?

My ISP is BellSouth and I am using a PPoE connection. My hardware config is a Westell Wirepseed Modem which connects to the Homeportal 100w. My home PC connects via an ethernet cable and my work pc via wireless.

I would be satisfied if I could Map a connection to a shared folder for file sharing at this point. I have seen the command net use etc but I can't even get that to work.

Sorry for being so remedial... thanks, Bill



Bill Patterson
Florida

 

[TheAggie]

Bill,
Ah but the DOS window does support cut-and-paste but it is somewhat hidden. In the upper-left corner of the dos window is a C: Icon. Click on that and you will get a menu list that includes a "menu>" pull-out. From the pull-out you can choose "mark" and drag a box around what you want to copy then choose "copy" from the pull-out then just paste it in to whatever you want just like normal. Another interesting thing is that you can also paste text into the dos window as if you typed it from the keyboard.

Another option is to pipe the output to a file using "ipconfig /all >stuff". This will send the screen output to a file named "stuff"

Regarding the firewalls - they normally should let a ping through but some can be configured to block that. Did you try disabling the Norton Firewall just to see?
I have a friend that described something similar and he is using Norton Firewall. The problem goes away when he disables the firewall.

Make sure and get the ipconfig from each computer while they are connected to your router.

Just to clarify - you are talking about having all the computers tied together to the same local router/hub and not trying to get two computers at different locations to talk together over the internet - right? That would be a whole different thing.

Have fun,
Mark

 

[bpatters69]

Thanks, Mark. Here is the Output from my home PC ipconfig /all

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\default>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : PATTERSON
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 8:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : gateway.2wire.net
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Eth
ernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-50-FC-8F-58-14
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.1.37
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.0.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, February 20, 2004 2:32:41 PM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, February 21, 2004 2:32:41
PM

Here is the output from my work PC

C:\>ipconfig /all

Windows 2000 IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : FLE757201359639
Primary DNS Suffix . . . . . . . : ad.bls.com
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : ad.bls.com
bls.com

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : AD.BLS.COM
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Xircom Wireless Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-40-96-59-AC-78
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.1.34
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 172.16.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 90.27.25.18
90.70.105.31
Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 90.10.129.133
Secondary WINS Server . . . . . . : 90.70.105.27
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, February 20, 2004 2:31:11 PM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, February 21, 2004 2:31:11
PM

Ethernet adapter {540933BF-1ED7-4856-8DFA-F3D245461F22}:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NOC Extranet Access Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 44-45-53-54-42-00
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 0.0.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . :

The output listed in green changes when I log onto my VPN from work. The output presented above is taken from when I am not logged onto the VPN.

As additonal Info:

My home network is called "Patnet"
My home PC is called "Patterson"
The folder I want to share is at c:\shared which is located on my home pc

To connect to the shared folder from my work PC to my home pc, the command should be:

//patnet/patterson/share

or something similar...Right?

Thanks, Bill

Bill Patterson
Florida

 

[bpatters69]

One other note. My work PC and my home PC can now Ping each other. I enabled my work PC into a trusted zone on my Norton firewall. Thanks, Bill

Bill Patterson
Florida

 

[TheAggie]

Bill,

Your IP config seems fine. Good to hear you are pinging now.

Couple of questions/notes:
I have had password sync problems if you are trying to access a PC outside your domain if that PC has an account with the same name as you are logged in on the pc that is in a domain. I.E. your home PC has an account with the same name as the account you are using on your work laptop. You can check the home PC account names by typing "control userpasswords2" from the run/command prompt.
Have you tried connecting the laptop direct (without wireless) to see if it a wireless security issue - I'm not a wireless guy so I don't have any wireless knowledge. Does the home portal even have another connection?

Also, what is your current status - have you managed to share anything yet?

Mark

 

[bpatters69]

Still no go on this. Can anyone tell me the exact command that I can use in a DOS window to map from my work PC to my home:

net use M.......

Info:

Home workgroup name = Home
Home PC name = Patterson
Work PC Name = File0302453453
Shared Account between work and home =gdqk7b4
location of shared file on home PC = c:\share

Thanks, Bill

Bill Patterson
Florida

 

[00071491]

Well once you get everything up and running (and i hope you do), there is this nice little program called NetSwitcher, which can allow you to do all sorts of things with networking, one you might be interested in is switching from a Domain to a Workgroup and being able to save each setting for where ever you are. Check it out, really nice program, works well for me beings I work in 3 different schools with 3 different network settings, ie. DHCP, Static IPs, DNS, Domains vs various workgroups.

Here's the Link:

http://www.netswitcher.com

Good luck with everything.

 

[TheAggie]

Bill,
First, regarding "Shared Account between work and home =gdqk7b4". If your work PC is on a Domain I would recommend against setting up an account on your home PC with that same name. I know that sounds like the right thing to do, but I have had problems with getting that to work. It seems that when you are logged in under an account that exists on the other PC then Windows makes some assumptions that don't seem to work properly if one machine is authenticating with a domain and the other is not.

Second, the DOS command you can use:
net use S: \\Paterson\SHARE PASSWORD /USERaterson\gdqqk7b4
where:
S: is the local drive letter you want the share to mount to
SHARE is the share name you set up for c:\share (you can find it by right-clicking the share and chosing "sharing..." - also make sure the NTFS and share permissions are both set to allow access to it from gdqqk7b4
PASSWORD is the password for Paterson\gdqqk7b4. I've included the domain specification 'Paterson\' to try and coerce Windows into using the right account but I don't know if that will work.

If you go the other way (home PC accessing a share in the work PC) you would need to specify the accunt as DOMAIN\gdqqk7b4 wher DOMAIN is the name of the domain you are authenticating with (not necessarily the domain your work PC is attached to).

Good luck,
Mark