PC Networking issues

[eurolarva]

We have a PC at work running XP pro. It is networked (hardwired) to a hub using static IP. There are times we attempt to access files on the network and it wont work unless we do a system restore to Feb 9, 2005. After doing this it will work for a couple of days and then the problem happens again. We have run and installed nortons virus, done a defrag and deleted all history, temp internet files, but have not deleted cookies. <br /><br />Any computer gurus who might have an idea why this is happening or how we can fix it? We are a small print shop sharing pc, macs, printers and various copiers. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[KRS]

Re: PC Networking issues

Check your windows firewall, it will shut you down every time.<br /><br />Check your Norton firewall as well.<br /><br />Does your hub have a firewall, are you on the internet or just 2 computers together?

 

[eurolarva]

Re: PC Networking issues

We have about 20 computers on the network. Here is the deal as sad as it may sound. There is not an active firewall on the hub or on the computers. We have three pcs and 17 macs. We added norton virus (no firewall) for the first time in 11 years last week. The XP firewall may be causing the problem so I will try and disable it tomorrow. My boss does not want to use a firewall for some reason. I am thinking that SP2 may have something to do with the problem we are experiencing. <br /><br />I am just the production manager here trying to find a simple solution. My home system has a hardware firewall and software firewalls and active virus protection. Trying to get these things at work in the past have caused multiple system crashes and headaches to the point where they were removed.

 

[PierBridge]

Re: PC Networking issues

Originally posted by eurolarva:<br /> The XP firewall may be causing the problem so I will try and disable it tomorrow.. I am thinking that SP2 may have something to do with the problem we are experiencing. <br />.

Yes and Double Yes......

 

[rwise]

Re: PC Networking issues

sp2 turns on and sets the firewall by default!

 

[vipzach]

Re: PC Networking issues

sp2 will enable the built in firewall like "rwise" said, may be the problem, but I doubt it. You need to check your network settings and your permissions. You can go to the properties of your local area connections and then go to the advanced tab and enable or disable your firewall.

 

[Xcusme]

Re: PC Networking issues

There can be more than one problem.<br />Basic things to check:<br /> Link

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: PC Networking issues

Couple of questions. Do you have either a WINS server or DHCP server? Are you connected through an actual hub or a router? Is it the XP Pro workstation that cannot access files on the other PC's/MAC's, or the other workstations that cannot connect to files on the XP Pro? <br /><br />If it's the former, whenever the problem occurs, open a DOS prompt on the XP Pro station and try to ping the target workstation that you need to get to, i.e. "ping nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn" without quotes. If that fails, you have connectivity problems rather than name resolution problems. Look to the firewall as mentioned earlier. If the ping is successful, ping by fully qualified computer name, i.e. "ping mypc.microsoft.com". If that's unsuccessful, name resolution is not occurring. That can be cured in a variety of ways. If successful, click Start, Run, and type in the target \\target-computer-name. At this point a window should open with the target computer visible. If permissions are amiss, that's all you'll see. Otherwise, you'll see all shared folders to which you have permissions.<br /><br />Hope this helps start you with trouble shooting.

 

[eurolarva]

Re: PC Networking issues

I disabled the firewall today by clicking on the security icon on the bottom right tool bar. The computer is left on at all times so I hope it will remain off. The computer shares files with macs and sometimes another pc. A lot of the things mentioned in this thread are pretty complicated however I will have one of the pre press guys see if he can figure some of this out. <br /><br />What I dont understand is why we can go to a February 9 restore point and that will work for a day and then it will not access the network. We are using a hub and not a router. <br /><br />I appreciate all the replies and will see if the firewall stayed disabled over night. I also shut down auto updates and nortons virus. We will manually scan for virus every friday night.

 

[beezee28]

Re: PC Networking issues

Do you use a server as an file server for the files or is the file stored locally in each workstation (PC's and Mac)?

 

[eurolarva]

Re: PC Networking issues

Our server is a dedicated mac. I disabled the sp2 firewall two days ago and we have not had to do a restore since then. I hope this is the fix. I will keep you posted as to any new developments. Thanks everybody for your help.

 

[KRS]

Re: PC Networking issues

All Hail The Great Windows Firewall.<br />.<br />oooga oooga

 

[eurolarva]

Re: PC Networking issues

Once again thanks for the fix Iboats. The firewall has been disconnected for about 2 weeks now and we have had not so much as a glitch on the pc. We had a new server installed and the guy who installed it says he sees tons of problems this new firewall is causing. He likes the new firewall because he makes easy money off of it.

 

[rwise]

Re: PC Networking issues

just another instance of microsoft getting in the way!