Home WLAN and file sharing

PC: Windows XP Professional (connected with RJ45 cable)
NB: Windows XP Home Edition WiFi connection
Wireless router

I am trying to share some folders on PC so I can copy them onto notebook. Have joined them in a home workgroup with same workgroup name. Had similar settings b/w two PC before both connected through a wired Netgear router. File sharing and network printing was never been a problem back then.

I can’t browse the workgroup in network places.

I then unpluged wireless router, disable WiFi on notebook and connected both machines to old Netgear router. Same result, no luck.

Any suggestions? Anyone is running Professional and Home editions together at home?

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

Are the computer both on the same subnet? I mean do they have similar IP address, e.g. PC1 = 192.168.10.5 and PC2 = 192.168.10.6
If they are then try pinging one from the other. Also check to see if the XP firewall is enabled and if it is then opn up proper incoming traffic for the desired service. If you try all this and it still doesn't work then report back and we'll try something else.

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

SG, XP Home vs. Pro have you enable any EFS? or Compression Encryption on your share?

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

Thanks for reply.

They are on the same subnet with default gateway (router address). Windows firewall, WEP/auth and encryption are turned off ofcourse. Ping, net view, arp -a do not report anything. And as I said, I took out Wireless router from the environment and tried to use the Netgear wired router which always worked between my XP Pro PC and and an old Windows 98 desktop.

Anything else I am missing here? Shall I try network setup CD as it suggest at the end of the network wizard.

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

smoothy, i am off monday ..call me after work , i can come over and sit it up... i had to screw around in a lot of things, and one of them worked when i moved in house and setted up Wlan

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

Make sure you have same usernames on both machines.

Like: if PC has username smoothy, then NB should also have the same username in the LOCAL USER GROUPS/USERS

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

If "ping" is not working then there is something wrong. Firewall? Hardware driving missing/corrupted for ethernet? many possibilities.

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

gizzy, username would not prevent joining a workgroup or pinging other system on the net. Prob is that they are not seeing each other. If people remember it used to happen in peer to peer networking back in 95/98/NT days and we would play with TCP/IP stack over and over to make it work on it or use netbui protocol instead. Those days are over, everything is matured, proprietery TCP etc.

Najim, firewall on both machines are disabled. No fw or encryp used on router either.

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

if u can get on the internet from both machines at the same time, then problem lies in setting up the machines properly.. cuz u already tried the wired router and that didnt worked..

lets say dot 1 is your router, if u can ping 192.168.1.1 from both machines, then there is half a problem, try that first (before the internet-test)

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

Both machines can get on to internet without any problem. Also they can ping the router.

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

Turn off the firewall on both machines.

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

tofi i dont think firewalls block ping.. you could try though

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

^^ u can setup firewalls to block ANYTHING . .be it icmp echo, ping, tracerts, filtering BASED on criterias..

smoothy: try few things, network connections, properties of network, between general, authentication , advanced, the authentication should be turned off

(unchecking enable ieee 802.1x authentication for this network)

this connection uses the following main checks should be on client for ms networks, file and print sharing and tcp/ip protocol and ONLY THESE

i am 99% SURE all settings i told about will be the same as i wrote.. i cant remember what i did when i had this problem after moving..i have to be AT sight for these things to work ..

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

Faizy, authentication is turned ON on both machines as you mentioned. So probably that might be causing this. I will try that and let you know. However, I don't know what this authentication standard still doing there when we have firewalls, WEP and encryption. I hope its not the netbios type one for wireless communication.

Thanks again.

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

hmmmmmmm.. try it ..i am just throwing random settings as i am trying to re-call steps i took ..

while u at it, turn off the QoS Packet Control whatever in connection's properties

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

Thanks guys, tried this morning, it was firewall indeed. I disabled Windows firewall but the Norton firewall made sure things do not work across the network. After disabling that, I was able to do file sharing etc.

Thanks again.

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

acha. .since u DO need file sharing and its GOOD to have firewall enabled..put up one of the firewalls u find it easy to control, and add the second computer in trusted-hosts/computers..

Re: Home WLAN and file sharing

If both the machines are on the same subnet and if you can't even ping each other it couldn't have been anything but firewall.
Happy sharing.