Clive,
Few things are as frustrating as Windows networking problems! I've had the
symptoms you describe, but mainly when trying to connect copies of WL
running under different operating systems.
Big question: Can each of the machines in question "see" the others? In
other words, if you open Network Neighborhood on each machine, do you see
all the other machines on the network? You might have to open another folder
inside Network Neighborhood to see them. For example, on Windows 2000 you
open Network Neighborhood, then Computers Near Me. If you don't see the
other machines, then the network connections are not setup correctly or the
network hardware isn't working. If you see them, then there might be a
problem in the names you are specifying when you attempt to establish the
link in WL. What names and letters are you entering?
If you don't see the other machines in Network Neighborhood, then the
network configuration or hardware are the problem.
A few words about logon accounts: The matching logon accounts actually
relate to file sharing. The idea is that if a local user has to logon to
access the file system on a given machine, then anyone using another machine
to access those files over a network must be logged into an account
authorized on the target system to access the files. As far as I know, the
requirements for establishing logon accounts on each machine is dependent on
how XP security is setup. If you configure XP such that logon is required
when you boot up, then any machine that needs to connect to that machine
over the network must have a matching logon account, and you must be logged
into that account on the connecting machine in order for the network
connection to succeed. You do not necessarily have to be logged into that
account on the machine being connected to, although that is certainly
required in order to get the WL connection going. If XP is configured such
that no logon is required at boot time, then I believe you do not have to
establish logon accounts on the other machines. I'm not sure about this, but
I believe it's true. Again, the idea would be that if the local user doesn't
need to logon, then network users shouldn't have to logon either.
Even if the logon accounts are setup correctly, you may not see the other
machine(s) in Network Neighborhood. In order to see the icon for a given
machine on the network, that machine must have at least one disk drive
enabled for Sharing. The network can be setup OK and the logon accounts can
be setup OK, but if none of the hard drives on a machine is enabled for
Sharing, Windows won't show that machine's icon in Network Neighborhood,
even though it's there. To enable sharing on a disk drive, right click on
it's icon in My Computer and select Sharing.
If you still don't see the other machine(s) in Network Neighborhood, even
after rebooting, then the network isn't configured correctly. A key item is
that every machine on the network must be using the same Workgroup or Domain
name. These parameters are set by clicking the System icon in the Control
Panel (at least, that's how you do it on Windows 2000.) Select the Network
Identification tag. Domain names are typically used in client-server
networks in which one machine acts as a central server. Alternatively,
Workgroups are used for peer-to-peer networks in which all machines are
basically equal. Most home networks are setup peer-to-peer. Make sure all
machines on your network have the same Workgroup name, and make a note of
the Computer Name shown in the Network Identification tag. That's the name
used by your machine to identify itself on the network and the name you must
give WL when establishing the link.
If all that is setup correctly, and you still don't see the other machine(s)
in Network Neighborhood, then check the configuration for the LAN by
right-clicking on the icon for the network. How to get to that icon differs
depending on the version of Windows. On Windows 2000, you can get there by
clicking Start...Settings...Network and Dialup Connections. You can also get
there by right-clicking on Network Neighborhood and selecting Properties. At
a minimum, you need TCP/IP, Client for Microsoft Networks and File and Print
Sharing for Microsoft Networks. In theory, TCP/IP should be all you need for
protocols, but the older non-NT versions of Windows (95 and 98) might
require NetBUI as well. I've had mixed results on that. You might try
installing NetBUI on each machine, but I wouldn't do that until you have
exhausted all the other possibilities. If it's already there on one machine,
put it on the rest of them.
Next, check the TCP/IP configuration by highlighting the line Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP) and clicking properties. The buttons for "Obtain IP
address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically" should
be checked. If not, check them (on all machines) and reboot all machines. On
the Sharing tag, I would recommend disabling Internet Connection Sharing (if
it's enabled) until you get WL working.
If you still don't see the machine(s) in Network Neighborhood, the next
thing to check out is the IP addresses. Windows 95 and 98 have a DOS utility
called winipcfg that lets you dig down to this level. Under Windows 2000
it's called ipconfig. I don't' know what they call it on XP. Try both. Open
a DOS window and type:
ipconfig /all<ENTER>
This will list IP addressed for all you network connections. Make a note of
the IP address assigned to each machine. Probably the best thing to do is
report this information to me or to the reflector and we'll help you from
there. You can get a list of ipconfig commands by typing ipconfig /help
One thing you can try is to "ping" other machines on the network. First, run
IP config on each machine to get the IP address for its network adapter.
Then open a DOS window and type:
ping <IP ADDRESSS><ENTER>
for eample:
ping 192.168.0.1<ENTER>
This will send a message to the machine with the specified IP address. If
successful, you will get a reply (I think it does this four times.) A reply
means the network cards, hubs, etc. are working and the machines can
communicate with each other. If that works, try
ping <COMPUTER NAME><ENTER>
If that works, then the machines know each other's names. If that's the
case, then it's either the logon accounts or WL. If pinging the IP address
works, but not the computer name, then there's a problem with the DNS setup.
If pinging the IP address doesn't work, there's a problem with one or more
network cards, the hub, cables, etc. -- i.e., it's a hardware problem.
ipconfig has /release and /renew commands that I have successfully used to
get WL machines talking, but the problem was that a Windows 98 machine was
stuck on a previously assigned DNS server address and needed to be reset.
I've not had any luck getting the /release and /renew commands to resolve
Windows 2000 problems.
I have to say that this networking stuff is awful. My desktop and notebook,
both of which run Windows 2000, were able to connect to each other with
vanilla configuration parameters for a couple of years, then suddenly they
weren't able to anymore. I ended up having to use a fixed IP address for the
desktop and had to setup an LMHOSTS file on both machines so they could see
each other (see the WINS tag under TCP/IP advanced setup.) Basically, this
means that all the dynamic assignment of IP addresses and automatic
recognition of computer names isn't working anymore. My kludge works, but I
shouldn't have had to set it up this way!
I hope some of this helps. Let us know.
73, Dick WC1M
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clive Whelan [mailto:gw3njw@onetel.net.uk]
> Sent: Friday, February 07, 2003 3:23 PM
> To: writelog@contesting.com
> Subject: [WriteLog] XP networking woes
>
>
> Still in trouble :-(
>
> Set up
>
> XP pro
>
> WL 10.40 beta
>
>
> I believe I have done what somebody previously suggested, i.e. I
> have created identical accounts on each machine, called Writelog
> and assigned a password called Contest in each case.
>
>
> I then follow the procedures in the help file, and which
> previously worked under Win 98. However, although everything
> seems to be going OK, after about 5 seconds, it is reported that
> the network connection has been lost. This is exactly as
> happened previously. I should also add that all non WL aspects
> of WL are working perfectly.
>
>
> Any gurus out there who have been there , done it, and have the
> Tee shirt!
>
>
> All help appreciated.
>
>
>
> 73
>
>
> Clive
> GW3NJW
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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