Problem connecting an XP Pro SP2 machine to a workgroup

I can't seem to get a simple 3-computer workgroup to work at my new office.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Here is the situation, as
detailed as I can make it...

I have internet service through Adelphia, using a Motorola SB5100 SURFBoard
Cable modem. This connects to a Linksys Wireless G Broadband router with a
4-port switch. The router's wireless capability is disabled. All three
computers connect via Ethernet to the router, and all can browse the internet
without problems.

The computer's are as follows:

Computer OfficeA: a laptop running XP Pro, SP 1
Computer OfficeB: a laptop running XP Home, SP 2
Computer OfficeC: a desktop running XP Pro, SP 2

I have been attempting to set up a simple workgroup that allows sharing of
files and printers between all three in a peer-to-peer manner. On A & B, I
ran the Network Connection Wizard, created a workgroup named Sam1, and
everything worked fine. Then, on C, I ran the wizard, and the following has
occurred:

From A and B, when I go into My Network Places -- Entire Network --
Microsoft Windows Network -- Sam1, I see all three computers. When I expand
A and B, and see the Shared Docs and printers as expected. But, when I try
to expand C, I get the following message:

"\\OfficeC is not accessible. You might not have permissions to use this
network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if
you have access permissions. The network path was not found."

From C, when I go into My Network Places -- Entire Network -- Microsoft
Windows Network -- Sam1, I get the following message:

"Sam1 is not accessible. You might not have permissions to use this network
resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have
access permissions. The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently
available."

I went the MS online support center and found a suggestion (article ID
318030) to make sure NetBIOS over TCP/IP was enabled on all computers, and to
make sure the Computer Browser service was started on all computers. The
Computer Browser service had been started on all machines, but NetBIOS over
TCP/IP wasn't enabled on any of them, so I enabled it on all machines in the
manner stated in the article. Then I rebooted all three machines, but I
still get the same problem.

Computer C's network connection appears to be the problem, and I've tried
all sorts of different settings on the Network Connection. I disabled the
Windows Firewall, but this hasn't helped. What really confuses me is that C
does see the Sam1 workgroup, but it doesn't see any computers, not even
itself, in the workgroup.

I'm stumped and trying to get my new network up and running before 8am
Monday, so if anyone has a suggestion, can you please email me at
?

Thanks,

Ron Stanley

In article , "Ron
Stanley" Ron wrote:
I can't seem to get a simple 3-computer workgroup to work at my new office.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Here is the situation, as
detailed as I can make it...

I have internet service through Adelphia, using a Motorola SB5100 SURFBoard
Cable modem. This connects to a Linksys Wireless G Broadband router with a
4-port switch. The router's wireless capability is disabled. All three
computers connect via Ethernet to the router, and all can browse the internet
without problems.

The computer's are as follows:

Computer OfficeA: a laptop running XP Pro, SP 1
Computer OfficeB: a laptop running XP Home, SP 2
Computer OfficeC: a desktop running XP Pro, SP 2

I have been attempting to set up a simple workgroup that allows sharing of
files and printers between all three in a peer-to-peer manner. On A & B, I
ran the Network Connection Wizard, created a workgroup named Sam1, and
everything worked fine. Then, on C, I ran the wizard, and the following has
occurred:

From A and B, when I go into My Network Places -- Entire Network --
Microsoft Windows Network -- Sam1, I see all three computers. When I expand
A and B, and see the Shared Docs and printers as expected. But, when I try
to expand C, I get the following message:

"\\OfficeC is not accessible. You might not have permissions to use this
network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if
you have access permissions. The network path was not found."

From C, when I go into My Network Places -- Entire Network -- Microsoft
Windows Network -- Sam1, I get the following message:

"Sam1 is not accessible. You might not have permissions to use this network
resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have
access permissions. The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently
available."

I went the MS online support center and found a suggestion (article ID
318030) to make sure NetBIOS over TCP/IP was enabled on all computers, and to
make sure the Computer Browser service was started on all computers. The
Computer Browser service had been started on all machines, but NetBIOS over
TCP/IP wasn't enabled on any of them, so I enabled it on all machines in the
manner stated in the article. Then I rebooted all three machines, but I
still get the same problem.

Computer C's network connection appears to be the problem, and I've tried
all sorts of different settings on the Network Connection. I disabled the
Windows Firewall, but this hasn't helped. What really confuses me is that C
does see the Sam1 workgroup, but it doesn't see any computers, not even
itself, in the workgroup.

I'm stumped and trying to get my new network up and running before 8am
Monday, so if anyone has a suggestion, can you please email me at
?

Thanks,

Ron Stanley

I've replied by E-mail, as you requested, and in the news group. If
you reply to me, please do it only in the news group.

Run "ipconfig /all" from a command prompt window on each computer and
look at the "Node Type" at the beginning of the output. If it says
"Peer-to-Peer" (which should actually be "Point-to-Point") that's the
problem. It means that the computer only uses a WINS server, which
isn't available on a peer-to-peer network, for NetBIOS name
resolution.

If that's the case, run the registry editor, open this key:

HLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netbt\Parame ters

and delete these values if they're present:

NodeType
DhcpNodeType

Reboot, then try network access again.

If that doesn't fix it, open that registry key again, create a DWORD
value called "NodeType", and set it to 1 for "Broadcast" or 4 for
"Mixed".

For details, see these Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

Default Node Type for Microsoft Clients
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;160177

TCP/IP and NBT Configuration Parameters for Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;314053
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com