Homenetwork behaves very crazy !

[nopfusch]

Homenetwork: 1 host A desktop, 1 client B desktop, 3 other clients mobile (notebooks). All comp’s
P4 and running on 5 separate original WXPpro, SP2 and updated continuously.
Client B crashed because of an aged HDD. This was a small HDD with XP and the printers and MS office on it. So no data loss.
After the newHDD was installed, same XPpro was loaded and windows nearly 4 hours updated and all the other prog’s loaded, the networking began.
The network uses not one password, not before, not now. Everbody has access to anything on the network. All drives, folders and some files are shared.
NowI have no rights to look from A into shared folder/files of B. But I can look the opposite way!! From the client B to host A !
I ran the Wizzard +/-50 times? I checked with my ISP all settings, then I discovered that sometimes (I’m sober) I can access the internet from B and sometimes not.
Usually one can see (Show all connections) the “internet connection to host A” is connected and sometimes not. I manually select connect (with right click), after 15 sec’s the message comes-up “connection failed”.
Before it connected, as soon as one selected on B the internet or IE. Host A is always on if any client is on. If the host A is off, no client can connect to the internet.
And the curiosity does not stop.
Sometimes I have connection to the web although it says “connection to internet to host A failed” ??
The diagnostics for Windows XP (something I never saw before) came now and then up and offers a search to the problem. Usually it says “ .. cannot pinpoint a particular problem …”.
But on 3 or 4 occasions, it came up with a connectivity problem at the end of a 2 ¾ pages printout:
HTTP, HTPS, FTP Diagnostics:
Warn: Error 12007 connecting to www.microsoft.com (http://www.microsoft.com/): the server name or address could not be resolved.
The same message 4 times, then

Error: Could not make an HTTP connection.
Error: Could not make an HTTPS connection.
Error: Could not make an FTP connection.

Any help greatly appreciated, that network drives me nuts ……..:curse: :curse: :curse:
Thanks
Nopfusch

[Sussex Tech]

Do you have a switch/hub etc for all your machines? And when you reinstalled Windows did you name the machine the same name as it had before? And are you using the same cable? Check that this is not loose, if the connection loss is intermittent you may find that it is a dodgy cable

Good luck mate

[degsy]

Before it connected, as soon as one selected on B the internet or IE. Host A is always on if any client is on. If the host A is off, no client can connect to the internet.Are you using ICS?

[nopfusch]

Thanks to both.
I forgot to mention the set-up, sorry:
One little hub (with external PSU) with 8 ports, no assigned socket, just plug-in any PC at any of the RG45 sockets. If your PC is on and the LAN port on the PC is working, a LED next to the socket comes on and indicates communication.
No driver nor any other S/W was necessary.

Yes, same names (same upper & lower case, same workgroup name).
That's an idea, to replace all cables. Thanks.

Degsy,
what is ICS?
The sentence of mine is a mess. What I ment is, that although linked via the working local area connection, no internet connection icon was on B. Only if you opened the Internet Explorer, the second connection icon (little monitor in the task bar) comes on.
And now when I reboot B, then I have a 50/50 chance, that no internet connection icon comes on, when I try to connect to the internet. Just an hour ago, I logged on to Yahoo with B (A was on the Internet), bu I could not - after 10 minutes or so suddenly the internet connection Icon came on and a second or two later, Yahoo looged me in. But today I can't see B (from A). All the mobiles are out so I cannot check on another machine. Now I checked on B, B can't see itself on the local aerea network, but see's A ?? !! ??.
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp http://images.cybertechhelp.com/forumimages/icons/icon9.gif http://images.cybertechhelp.com/forumimages/icons/icon9.gif

My son says I have a haunted set-up. Maybe he is right. http://images.cybertechhelp.com/forumimages/icons/icon8.gif
nopfusch

[nopfusch]

I was away, thats why no action here.
I have now linked the host and the client desk top directly with a LAN cable with "crossed" connection, to elliminate all possible influences from the hub and possible cable faults.
Still the same problem: client can look into shared files of the host and if permitted in the host, can change also files.
But the host cannot even look into shared files of the same client.
I checked permissions and owners: all for administartors and system, besides some others.
There is one thing: my assigned drive name changes to a $D although I want another name (e.g. "PCA_D"). And if I select "my" name, as soon as I press "OK", the name changes back to $C (for C:\) or $D (for D:\) etc.
This is another point: was that changed with one of the MS updates? It is actually not really secure to share the drives via a default setting !

Edit the next day: please reverse the file sharing letters: $C must be C$ and $D must be D$, etc.

Any other advice ?
thanks
nopfusch