I have the following problem and I really can't find the right answer :-(

Three pc's (A, B and C), A and B running windows xp home edition and C windows xp professional (all with service pack 2).

I have disabled windows firewall because I'm using zonealarm.
All three are connected together with cat5e cable and attached to a switch, also I have an isdn router to enable connection to the internet.

Here is what is happening !
While A and B are accesing the whole workgroup without a problem, C gives me the following error when I'm trying to see workgroup computers: workgroup is not accesible. You might not have permission etc.
Right at this moment if I open an explorer window and manualy give the network address of the other two pc's I can access them without a problem even if I still can't view workgroup computers. Also if I first open a shared folder from my network places then I have apsolutly no problem to use the menu "view workgroup computers", but all this until the next restart of the machine!! But even if all this is happening and because of this problem I can't have access to the internet while the other two have.

For me all this is very wired and I really can't understand why :-((
And offcourse I still can't have access to the internet.!

Please HELP!!

Hi. Sorry to hear about your problem. Have you tried emailing this issue to [email protected]?I know the help section with all it's links and on and ons can frustrate the heck out of people, but maybe a direct email just might get you help faster. Also, be patient, there are quit a few people here that can help, they'll sign on soon and catch up on the new request for help posts. Good Luck!

I subscribed to PC World a year ago and enjoy it as much today as I did then, try the following link, or email, maybe some problems can be solved from his point of view also.




Steve Bass writes the "Hassle-Free PC" column in PC World's print edition and is the author of "PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer," available from O'Reilly:
http://find.pcworld.com/43818 Steve Bass is busy with a dozen DIY projects. You can e-mail him, but don't expect an answer right away. Here's his address:
[email protected]

Good luck.

I'm wondering if the XP Pro machine is not on the same Workgroup or subnet. Is it set to automatically obtain an IP?

All three of them are on the same workgroup, same subnet and have static ip's.

Have you tried this with zonealarm turned off on all three computers (disconnect from the internet if this is a concern). I say this as I have had a few problems with Zonealarm myself. Worth a try if you've not done so already!

I have tried with zonealarm disbled and enabled again and the problem still persists. The most wired thing is that at the moment when it's giving this message if I try to open any of the shared folders it opens and from that moment and until the next reboot everything except from the internet connection works fine.

What about your gateway and dns settings (in TCP/IP properties) are they all the same?

I'm not into networking that much, but maybe this site might take you further, Good Luck!

http://www.plexxa.com/s/XP_Home_networking_problems

I just joined another forum and posted your issue, got one message back so far, don't understand it, but you might, good luck. I will help and forward your response to them, and maybe you can try joining to get 'the scoop' first hand.
The site is called computerforums.org. This was kind of short but maybe you can do something with it.


Has he ran network wizard?

__________________
CPU-Intel Pentium 4 630 3.0Ghz / 2MB Cache ~~OS Windows XP SP2
MOBO-Gigabyte 8I915P Duo Pro Intel Socket 775 (PCI-E)
HDD-Western Digital 160GB(SATA)
PSU-Aspire 500W ATX~~RAM-1GB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (512x2 Dual Channel)
GPU-MSI GeForce 6600 GT(PCI Express)

Thank's for the help, I will try there also!!