Windows filesharing/mapping drives

[Supermercado]

I have two machines, a laptop and a desktop that I want to use as a server. I'll refer to them as laptop and server for sake of ease. The laptop is running XP Pro SP1a and the server is running XP Pro SP2. Both machines are connected wirelessly to my Netgear WGR614v4 router. My ultimate goal is to get both hard drives in the server mapped to the laptop so I can play mp3s and work on the files stored on the server.

I've been trying unsuccessfully to get Windows filesharing to work. If I go into explorer and try and type in \\server, it doesn't find it. If I go to network places and try to navigate to it, I can see it but when I try to connect, I get a permission error. When I try and actually map the drive, the login window pops up but no matter how many times I try and login, it just denies me. It doesn't actually say anything; it just returns me to the login prompt. I've tried both simple and not sharing on the server. I've tried guest account enabled and disabled. I've tried it with the SP2 firewall enabled and disabled. I can ping back and forth from each machine to the other machine. I'm running an ftp server on the server and I can connect and transfer files, etc. from the laptop just fine, which leads me to believe that the problem is somewhere in the Windows filesharing, but I don't know much about this kind of thing and I've tried everything I can think of already to make it work.

That's probably not very well laid out and hard to read, but I'd really appreciate any help that anyone might be able to give me. If the solution ends up being something more in-depth than can easily be fixed in a post, PM me and we can maybe work something out over AIM or something. I'd really like to get this working tonight if I can. Thanks for reading.

 

[deadly99]

Have you shared anything on server yet? Right click on folder and select share.

 

[Supermercado]

Yup, I've tried sharing both drives in total out as well as sharing out a folder on one of them. Makes no difference.

I suppose I should have mentioned that in my original post. I knew I'd forget something.

Edit: I just made sure that the drives were shared out. They are. I went to explorer on the server and typed in \\server and both drives came up as being shared. I still get the "cannot find" error when I try and access them from the laptop, though.

 

[classy]

Have you turned off simple file sharing for the XP machines? Open the C drive on each XP machine go to the Tools Menu-Folder Options-View- Look in the Advance settings options scroll down to the last entry in the list, which is Use Simple File Sharing, uncheck it. That should fix your problem.

 

[Supermercado]

I've tried it with simple file sharing on and off. I get the same error both ways. It can't find the server. I'm at a total loss for things to try to make this work.

 

[classy]

Did you first log into an account on either of the machines through network places?

 

[classy]

Originally posted by: classy
Did you first log into an account on either of the machines through network places?

Scratch that I read everything this time. Turn off the ftp service and see if you can share files normally.

 

[Supermercado]

Whether or not the FTP server is running makes no difference.

I also just tried connecting to my main desktop (it's in the same room as the laptop, connected to the same router via a wire) from the laptop. Getting the same errors there as I am when I try to connect to the server.

 

[PowerEngineer]

Are the server and laptop members of the same workgroup?

When you marked the drives for sharing, did you share them with NETWORK or EVERYONE?

 

[Supermercado]

They are both members of the same workgroup, yes.

For the users, I've tried everything I know of. I tried both EVERYONE and the username that I use on all of my machines. I didn't know that you could share with NETWORK, but I assume if I set it to EVERYONE, that will include the NETWORK users, as well, right?

 

[classy]

You need to start from the beginning. You should set both machines to do nothing but share files. You can easily set up everything from scratch again, but you should first make sure that both machines can share files without any other services running. Then go from there.

 

[Supermercado]

What exactly do you mean by start from the beginning? Turn off all the sharing and try again? If so, I've done that. No dice. The ultimate goal is to get the mapped drive to work and the sharing has to work to do that, so I've been trying to get that to work. I'm exactly where I started: pinging works but trying to access the other machine fails every time.

 

[JackMDS]

There is No magic, either you keep missing something, or your system network stacks are so buggy that it can not function correctly.

You can either start from ?Scratch? or try to use NetBEUI for the sharing.

Log to this page it has a lot of links to instructions to Windows Network Settings, and Sharing.

Link to: Windows Network - Installing & Sharing.

P.S. ?Scratch one? is reinstalling the network. ?Scratch two? is reinstalling windows.

:sun:

 

[Supermercado]

*sigh* I got it working. After all that, it turned out it was stupid ZoneAlarm on the laptop causing all the trouble. I put it on there one day a couple months ago and totally forgot it was there. I turned its level of protection down all the way and the sharing worked right away. I really feel like a schmoe now. But I just wanted to post here and let you guys know that I got it working after all and wanted to say thanks for helping me in trying to get it working.

 

[classy]

Originally posted by: SuperCommando
*sigh* I got it working. After all that, it turned out it was stupid ZoneAlarm on the laptop causing all the trouble. I put it on there one day a couple months ago and totally forgot it was there. I turned its level of protection down all the way and the sharing worked right away. I really feel like a schmoe now. But I just wanted to post here and let you guys know that I got it working after all and wanted to say thanks for helping me in trying to get it working.

LOL I kinda figured it was going to turn out to be something you over looked. You can add the IP in Zone Alarm so the other pc will be trusted. ZA works pretty well. Well you got it. Sigh, trust me, we've all been there

 

[JackMDS]

Yap, that is why the page in my above post starts with big centerd Red text.

Quote from: http://www.ezlan.net

Depending on how they set few software Firewalls, Live Virus Scanner etc., would keep working in the background even if you switch them Off.

Disable means that if possible do not let them load at Startup, take them out of the picture until the Network's Sharing problems are resolved.

:sun:

 

[Supermercado]

Ya. I feel really dumb right about now I think I just forgot that I even had ZA on the laptop. I'm a minimalist and I hate having lots of things showing in my system tray so I had ZA hidden and forgot it was there. Either that or I subconsciously didn't think it would make a difference. Hopefully I'm not quite that dense and I just forgot that it was running. I hope

Again, though, thanks for your help, guys.

 

[JackMDS]

Yap, I can identify with it happens to me too.

When ever there are unexplainable problems occurs, part of the solutions is to run these two programs.

These programs are free and probably two the best utilities available to a serious Computer person. It is just an EXE file nothing to install take few seconds to see what is the current status of what is running.

This one tells you what is currently running (and even let you temporarily kill it).

Link to: Process Explorer.

This one tells you all the Services or Drivers that are installed and running (ZA as well as Norton and others might leave a Process Running even after they Uninstalled).

Link to: NirSoft - ServicesWin.

:sun:

 

[Supermercado]

Ooo, nifty. Thanks for the links.

 

[Nocturnal]

Yes you have to remember that it could be your firewall. The SAME exact thing happend to me until I finally disabled Zone Alarm. LOL!

 

[mauiblue]

I've been tackling this same issue with file sharing for the past week and I also found that Windows XP Firewall also keeps you from doing file sharing. This is what I found after Googling the issue:

Internet firewalls can prevent file sharing

I found that I could only share files and my printer only after Win XP Firewall was disabled. I'm trying to see if I can configure this firewall to allow file sharing. I also had Norton Internet Security and ZA Pro installed (not at the same time, of course) and tried to configure them to allow file sharing but to no avail.

Fortunately, my wireless router does have a firewall so I do still have Internet security combined with my anti virus software. I just wish that the software firewalls were easier to configure to allow file sharing and block out hackers.

 

[Supermercado]

Ya, I thought about the Windows firewall on the server. The laptop is only running SP1a so no firewall there other than ZoneAlarm. They're both of course behind my router and I don't know how much of a difference it actually makes, but my router is connected to one of the ports on my dad's router downstairs. I've got a fair bit of port forwarding to do to get anything to get to my server Anyone know right offhand how much difference being behind two routers actually makes?

 

[JackMDS]

Beside splitting it into two Networks, and thus making it harder to share between them, using two Routers do not add any thing to security (it is Not like putting two filters on your water supply).

In my opinion it is a mistake to use ZA on any Non-Entry level system, it is too intrusive.

Use a Software firewall like the old Kerio v215. Free Small None Intrusive and Effective.

:sun:

 

[Supermercado]

Thanks for the reply. I didn't think it made any difference. The only reason we have two is because of where our internet connection comes into the house. It comes in downstairs and then directly into our wired router and from there, it splits off to my dad's computer right there and a 100' cable to the uplink on my wireless router upstairs. I have a wired machine and two wireless machines connected to that router.

None of those machines would be considered entry-level, would they? I'm guessing that an entry-level machine would be one that is connected directly to the cable modem and not behind a router at all? If so, then we have no entry-level machines and firewalls just confuse the issue. That's always kinda been my understanding of it and why up until a couple months ago, I didn't have a firewall on my machines at all. Something like Kerio v215 would be worth putting on, though?