Network not working

Ok I have a Linksys router, and wired desktop, and a wireless labtop connected to it. I had this working before but I restored both my labtop and desktop computer. I created a new network in network tasks "Set up a home network for a home or small office". I did that and I was able to share files for a few minutes. Now on my wired desktop I go to Mshome work group and there is only the wired computer in there, and on the labtop it says

"Mshome is not accessbile. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have permissions"

Any ideas?

 

Make sure all machines are in the same workgroup. To do it manually, please do the following:

1. Hit windows key + break (or right-click 'My Computer' and select 'Properties')
2. On the 'System Properties' dialog select the 'Computer Name' tab
3. Press the 'Change' button
4. Under 'Workgroup' ensure the radio button next to workgroup is selected, and the EXACT SAME TEXT is entered there for EVERY machine on the network.

Make sure all machines can communicate with the router:

1. Hit windows key + r
2. In the 'Run' dialog, type 'cmd' (without the quotes)
3. Hit enter (or click 'OK')
4. At the command prompt type 'ping ipaddressofrouter' (without the quotes, replacing ipaddressofrouter with the network address of your router)
5. Press enter

Each machine SHOULD receive replies. If not, please do the following:

1. At the command prompt (see steps 1-3 above if necessary), type 'ipconfig /all' (without the quotes)
2. Press enter
3. When the command is finished executing, press 'ALT + PRNT SCRN'
4. Open MS Paint
5. Hit 'CRTL + V' to paste the screenshot.
6. Post them here.

I assume that you're using DCHP to configure your client network adapters, so pinging shouldn't be a problem. Does the wireless laptop detect your network? Are there any security settings preventing you from connecting properly? WEP? WPA?

 

Hey,
I don't want to hijack this thread, but I'm having similar problems with my network and thought you could kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

I have a laptop connected via Linksys router to our Desktop, too. My network worked fine for a few days, but now I no longer see nor can connect to my network. When I go to Network Connections - there is nothing there when it used to show both my laptop and desktop shared folders and printers.

I can ping to my router, so that's not the problem. I'd love further advice and hopefully this will help MasterMosely as well.

Thanks!! Stephanie

 

3rd section, steps 1-6 would be most helpful here. Can you post your IPCONFIG?

 

For some reason, pasting in Paint didn't work, so I just copied and pasted in this post. I hope it worked.

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

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

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Jiggy
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : socal.rr.com

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Cont
roller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-1F-20-A9-C5

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : socal.rr.com
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Dell Wireless WLAN 1350 WLAN Mini-PC
I Card
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0B-7D-06-42-10
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 216.143.132.20
216.143.132.21
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, March 28, 2007 8:28:08 AM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, March 29, 2007 8:28:08 AM

 

Okay, that looks good.

Have you made sure that all machines are (still) in the same workgroup, as per the first set of instructions below?

What happens when you open 'My Network Places'? Nothing is listed? Any error messages?

Is your 'Network Connections' service running? To confirm, please do the following:

1. Hit windows key + r (or click Start --> Run)
2. Type 'cmd' (without the quotes)
3. Press enter (or click 'OK')
4. At the command prompt, type 'net start "Network Connections"' (without the single quotes)
5. Press enter
6. Confirm that the service starts successfully, if it is not already started.

 

Both computers are in the same workgroup. When I open My Network Places, I don't see anything except "WRT54G" which is my Linksys router. Everything else is blank when I usually see the folders that I have shared on each computer.

And it seems that my network connection is already running. Any more thoughts?

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

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephanie>net start "Network Connections"
The requested service has already been started.

More help is available by typing NET HELPMSG 2182.

 

A few last things I can think of:

1. Ensure the Computer Browser service is running on all machines (same instructions as below, just using "computer browser" instead of "network connections")

2. 'View Workgroup Computers' link on left hand side of 'My Network Places'... does it help at all?

3. Filesharing settings. On all machines:
- Open Windows Explorer
- Select 'Folder Options' from the 'Tools' menu
- On the 'Folder Options' dialog, select the 'View' tab
- Ensure 'Use simple file sharing' is checked at the bottom of the list (or unchecked if you prefer a more business-like network, and are familiar with using it)
- Apply any changes

4. Access other computers by IP:
- Hit windows key + r (or click Start --> Run)
- In the 'Run' dialog, type '\\ipofremotecomputer' (without the quotes where ipofremotecomputer is the network address of another machine you wish to access)
- Press enter (or click 'OK')

Does that work?

 

Okay! Very interesting things happening here. Where to start...
1. Computer Browser is running.
2. When I click 'View Workgroup Computers' is gave me an error sign: "MSHome not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact Administration to find out. List of servers for this Work Group is currently unavailable."
3. Filesharing settings: I do not have the option "Use simple file sharing" when I go into Tools>Folder Options>View. I'm on Windows XP.
4. When I access my desktop IPaddress from my laptop - I get all of the folders and printers that I have shared on my Desktop. I can even click on them and access the folders. When I clicked on the printers I have shared, my computer installed them and they became available. However, I clicked on My Network again and still nothing on the screen. When I clicked View Work Group, I got the same error message.

When I tried to access my laptop from my Desktop, I got an error message: "Network Path can't be found."

Is it all messy? Do I have to re-create my Network and if I do, is there a good thread for that? I tried to find one to create this one and couldn't find a simple, good one.

Let me know if these insights help at all and thank you so much for your help!
Stephanie

 

I didn't see anything in the above posts about firewalls. If you have a firewall running on any of the computers, it makes that computer inaccessible unless you tell the firewall to allow it.

 

That's a good thought, shnerdly, but I already have both my firewalls set. Something new that is happening is that my network on my Laptop is showing up. I havecan access the shared folders and printers. However, on my desktop - My Network Places is still empty and I can't figure out what's going on. I can ping both computers back and forth with ease. Very frustrating...