Networked computers disappear from network neighborhood

[jrlouie]

I have had a home network running for several years with very few problems. Now, if I open Network Neighborhood, the list is there for a few seconds, then everything disappears. I also get a message that Home (the workgroup name) is not accessable.

A folder under my documents and settings, NetHood, has all the info for the computers and folders on the net. When I open NN, everything in the NetHood folder gets deleted. If I browse to NetHood, I can network everything by clicking on the entries. (I used GoBack to return to a point before the files were deleted and copied the entire folder to another hard drive.) I can also get to the internet with no problem.

Is this some problem with Windows Update or Norton Internet Security? I have NAV automatically updated and the system was scanned Friday. Turning off the NIS firewall didn't make any difference. Windows Firewall is off.

[redwudz]

It would help if you filled out your computer details. We have no idea what OS you are using, so it's a little hard to give advice.

[Bjs]

Do what redwudz asked , but

1: Describe each unit on network , and os used
2: How are you connected to nett , device (brand / model)
3: How are the units connected to each other ,

A: All pcs must be using the same workgroup name , or else
B: All pcs must use a "unique" name , or else
C: Check tcp/ip protocols

The confusing part is this mysteriously disappearing folder act , on which you use roxio's go back product to resolve .

Run avgfree on each system that has internet connection available ... there's a nasty bug going around that mess's with networks .

If found to be the case , contact me via pm to resolve .

About drive mapping : http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000472.htm

[lordsmurf]

NIS is blocking it. Yes, even after you disable NIS, it's too late, the damage is done. You need to add your local IP addresses into the safe list in the firewalls in use, on each computer, and then reboot. That should work.

[redwudz]

I dumped NIS several years ago because of it blocking just about everything and slowing down everything else. Reminds me of Vista UAC.

I asked the OP about his operating system because of the word 'nethood' that reminds me of W98 which I struggled with compared to W2000 or XP to set up networking.

[jrlouie]

Sorry. One pc has W98, one XP pro, 3 xp Home. All are connected through a Linksys 4 port router to a DSL modem. 2 are connected to the router through a switch.

NIS has all the IP addresses and all pc's are in the same workgroup. Like I said, the network has been fine for over 3 years.

The specific NetHood folder is on an XP home machine. Sorry, it is My Network Places on XP, not Network Neighborhood.

I'm thinking that it was a problem with Norton, because I just checked to see what was listed in Network Places, since I can restore the folder if it gets deleted again, and everything is now working! (I contacted NIS's customer support, which was no help, but apparently they fixed the problem.)

It really wasn't just me. I tried it several times after checking various network and NIS settings and had to use GoBack to restore the links before I finally just copied the folder. I had the same problem with 3 different computers on the network. (All have NIS.) None of them could even get to the workgroup.

Thanks for your help anyway. Too bad I can't bill them for time wasted.