XP networking issue....

[rubberman]

i have 3 XP pro computers that i network at home so i can grab and share files from one another. For some reason my desktop lost networking and will not see the other computers. i ran the home networking wizard and it says it cant finish because of an error. i use an ethernet card to access the internet and that part works fine.

[TBoneit]

It would be helpful to know what the error is. I suspect that nobody will be able to help without knowing what error you are getting.

Good Luck.

[rubberman]

it gives no specific error. i start the network wizard, select MSHOME, select file sharing on, select computer connects directly to the internet thru a gateway. Then it comes up saying there was a error and thats it. no error number or any other specific info

[redwudz]

It sounds like a file sharing error, and not a networking error. Have you tried 'unsharing' one of the drives you can't see, then reboot, then set up sharing again on that drive or folder?. The OS sometimes seem to lose track of which drives are set up to share and that seems to work most times. Sometimes it seems to take a resetting of the sharing and a reboot of all computers involved.

And most obvious, have you tried to 'ping' the other computer? In a command window, type ' ping 192.168.0.X ' without the quotes and with the proper address for the problem computer. I suspect that will work since you have internet access. You can also try ' ipconfig /all ' while you are there to get more info about your connection.

One last thing that has worked for me before, though I don't know why: Change the workgroup the computer is on to a different name and see if it will share. You can change it back if it does work. That seems to reset things also.

I wish I knew more about networking, but once I get it all running properly, I just leave it alone and forget the problems I had. I find Vista to be even worse, especially dealing with XP computers on the same LAN.

[MOVIEGEEK]

1.Make sure Windows Firewall is turned off(or make an exception).
2.Go to My Computer(or Explorer) and right-click on your folder(s) and select Sharing and Security,make sure the box to Make This Folder Private is unticked.
3.Go to Control Panel->Network Connections and right-click on LAC icon->select Properties and make sure File And Printer sharing is ticked.

More tips:
http://www.duxcw.com/faq/network/xpnet.htm

[rubberman]

my Vista laptop and ps3 can see the computer. but only as a media server using WMP

[rubberman]

figured it out. Windows media player had sharing on. As soon as i disable it, all the computers in the house became visible. weird...