problem sharing files using windows internet connection sharing

[virtuosity]

I share my internet connection at home using internet connection sharing in windows 98. I can access the internet from the computers on my lan but I can't acess the files on one computer from another. When I click on the Entire Network icon in Network Neighborhood, it says "unable to browse the network". I tried using the network troubleshooter to troubleshoot the problem to no avail. How do I fix it so I can share files between my computers?

Thanks.

 

[warlord]

what protocols have you installed?
have you enabled file and printer sharing?
are all your workgroup name's the same?

 

[virtuosity]

The workgroups are the same and I installed file sharing on both computers on the lan.
I have TCP-IP installed on the client computer and TCP-IP and NETBEUI installed on the host computer.

 

[compudog]

Try explicitly sharing the drives on each PC. Open My Computer and right click on the drives you want to share. Select Sharing from the drop down menu. Once the dialog opens, select Shared As, and the type of Share you want for each drive/resource. Full, Read Only or Depends on Password. You can also try installing the NetBEUI on the client PC as well. You also want to check which protocol (TCP/IP or NetBEUI) is set as the default. Set both to the same. If you don't see your computer in the Network Neighborhood then you need to check your network settings in control panel. Also, after making any changes, do a reboot.

 

[virtuosity]

I tried adding the NETBEUI protocol to the client computer and now I can search and find the other computer on my lan. But when I try to access the files on the computer, I get an error message that says something like the other computer on the lan is not accessible, no error information is available.

 

[compudog]

Now that you can see the other PC on your LAN, you're better than half way there! Open My Computer, right click on each drive you want to share on your network. Click Sharing. Select Shared As, Enter whatever you want in Share Name and Comment boxes. Access type should be Full if you want to read and write to a network drive. You can also use the password feature. Keep in mind that if you have a "always-on" connection you should run some sort of hardware or software firewall to protect your PC's from intrusions from the net, but that's a different topic.

 

[virtuosity]

I set up the sharing configuration for each of the network drives but I still can't share the drives. When I try to access one of the network drives, it says the networked computer is not accessible, no error information is available. And when I try to access the other network drive, it says the networked computer is not accessible because it isn't logged on.

 

[compudog]

When you reboot Windows, a Username & Password Logon box should come up. If it doesn't, something is not configured in the Network Applet in Control Panel. If it does, you MUST enter a username and password for the network resources and sharing etc to work.

 

[warlord]

compudog,

thats not true, none of the computers on my lan have a logon box at the start up, and this lan runs fine.

 

[virtuosity]

I have two NICs in my host computer, one connected to my cable modem and the other one connected to my LAN. I just found out that if I swapped the ethernet cables connected to the NICs, thereby switching the roles of the two NICs, I could access network drives on my LAN but both computers on the LAN would be unable to access the internet. I thought this new finding might be of some relevance to my problem.

 

[compudog]

Warlord, do you have TWEAKUI installed? You can configure tweak to automatically supress the windows logon. Typically, when you first set up a LAN, Windows will ask for a Username and Password. If you don't do something otherwise, the authentication dialog will be there. Then, if you just dismiss the dialog, you won't be logged on, and won't have access to the network. While it is true you don't have password boxes, a newly set-up Lan will.

 

[devoed]

1.How many PC's are you trying to connect?

2.What OS on each Machine? (Just 98SE or a Mixture?)

3.How Many Adapters are listed in the Network Settings Menu?

4.For each of those adapters is there an appropriate TCP/IP stack or NetBuei
+ IPX/SPX?

5.Do you see Client for Microsoft Networks in the Network Settings?

6.Do you see FILE AND PRINTER SHARING in the menu?

7.If your using tcp do you have every machine on the same subnet mask?

8.On the machine with 2 nics.....Are you letting DHCP assign an address to the one
connected to the cable modem and on the other using a 192.168. bla bla address? (Should be the only machine with internet connection sharing Installed)

9.Once file and printer has been added to Network Settings....have you actually shared anything?

10.Have you tried Removing all network adapters/clients/protocols just incase corruption due to many attempts at setting the network up properly?

DevoeD

 

[DJFuji]

Just a thought....

You dont happen to have a software firewall setup that prevents outside access, do you? Sometimes programs like blackICE will prevent others from accessing your folders, even on a LAN

 

[warlord]

compudog,

no, I'm not using TweakUI. it slows down boot ups, and bypassing the network login is that way is time consuming.

When installing windows, you have the option of not giving windows a network password, properly done, and you'll never see a login popup. I've done that many a time.

I don't recall the other way exactly, and my efforts to search came up not finding the thread. however, another way is to remove it is to uninstall client from mircosft networks and microsoft family login, the restart. you'll have to install them again or it makes you install them, but it will get rid of the login.

 

[compudog]

Warlord, I realize there are a couple of different ways around the network logon. If virtuosity was bypassing the logon box by hitting ESC he would not have had access to network resources. You are absolutely correct in the Client for Microsoft Networks removal technique as well. I was just throwing out ideas. But thanks for the correction!