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Specific Networking Problems and Solutions
Problem: Windows XP takes a long time to open a shared
disk or folder on a computer running Windows 95, 98, or
Me
Description: This is a different problem than
My Network Places taking a long
time to open. This problem occurs after you double
click a shared disk or folder.
Possible Solutions:
Disable searching for scheduled tasks
This Microsoft
Knowledge Base article describes a bug in Windows
2000 Professional that might also exist in Windows XP.
Disable searching for scheduled tasks by deleting this
registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace\
{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}
· Delete stored network passwords
1. Click Control Panel | User Accounts.
2. Click your user name.
3. Click Manage my network passwords.
4. Click each entry and click Remove.
Problem: Network Connection Has IP Address 169.254.x.x
Description: The network card is configured
to obtain an IP address automatically, and it’s connected
to a network with a DHCP server: hardware router, another
computer running Internet Connection Sharing, cable modem,
DSL modem, etc. But it gets a 169.254.x.x IP address,
which indicates that it can’t communicate with the DHCP
server:
Possible Solutions:
Connect the computer using a different Ethernet cable
or hub/switch/router port.
Download and install the latest firmware for the
hardware router.
The card is configured to automatically sense network
speed and duplex mode, but auto-sensing is failing.
Configure the speed and duplex mode manually. For example,
most switches and routers use 100 Mb speed and full
duplex. To make the settings, right click the network
connection and click Properties | Configure
| Advanced.
Un-install the network card and move it to a different
slot.
If you have a cable modem connection, turn off the
computer, turn off the cable modem, and wait a few minutes.
Turn on the cable modem, and then turn on the computer.
Problem: Renewing a DHCP lease fails, with error
message “An error occurred while renewing interface <name>:
The system cannot find the file specified.”
Problem: Network connection configured to obtain
an IP address automatically has IP address 0.0.0.0
Solution: Make sure that the DHCP Client
service is running:
Right click My Computer, and click Manage.
Double click Services and Applications.
Double click Services.
Double click DHCP Client. If the Service
status is Stopped, click Start.
Set the Startup type to Automatic.
Thanks to Lightcap, who suggested this fix in a news
group message.
Problem: Computers can ping each other by IP address,
but not by name.
Description: An attempt to ping a computer by
name gets the message Ping request could not
find host <computer name>. Please check the name
and try again.
Description: Don’t take this message literally
– there are many causes besides not having a cable physically
plugged into the network card. The message really means
that the network card doesn’t detect a live link to another
device on the other end of the cable.
Possible Solutions:
Download and install the latest network card driver
program.
Check the cabling – a bad cable will prevent link
detection. Substitute a cable that’s known to be good.
Check the link lights on the device on the other
end of the cable, whether it’s a hub, switch, router,
or a NIC in another computer. It should show a live
link to the NIC. If it doesn’t, try a different port.
Auto-detecting speed and duplex mode can be unreliable.
Set them manually. Most routers and switches use 100Mb,
full duplex. Hubs can only use half duplex.
Error Message: xxxxx is not accessible. You
might not have permission to use this network resource.
Contact the administrator of this server to find out if
you have access permission .
Description: xxxxx is a computer or workgroup
name. This is a generic networking error message that
doesn’t provide much, if any useful information. It should
be followed by a more specific message.
Error Message: The list of servers for this workgroup
is not currently available.
Solution: Make sure that the Computer Browser
service is running on at least one Windows XP computer
on the network:
Right click My Computer, and click Manage.
Double click Services and Applications.
Double click Services.
Double click Computer Browser. If the Service
status is Stopped, click Start.
Set the Startup type to Automatic.
Error Message: Unable to browse the network. The network
is not accessible.
Description: This error message appears on a
computer running Windows 95/98/Me.
Solution: Make sure that:
The user is logged on. Click Start |Log Off <user name> and log back
on.
The Computer Browser service is running on
at least one Windows XP computer on the network.
Problem: Internet Connection Sharing Clients Can’t
Access Some Web Sites
Description: This is a common problem when the
host computer has a DSL connection that uses PPP Over
Ethernet (PPPoE), due to a bug in the Windows XP PPPoE
client.
Solution: Many people have reported solving
the problem by using the RASPPPoE
client
instead of XP's. It’s available for free
download from its author.
Problem: Computer A Can Ping Computer B, but not
Vice Versa
Solution: This is almost always caused by an
improperly configured firewall on Computer A.
Problem: XP's Network Setup Wizard Says That No Network
Card Is Installed
Solution: XP's
Network Setup Wizard sometimes fails to recognize an installed
and working network card. This is because the NIC's driver
program doesn't respond correctly to all of the queries
that the Wizard makes when it's looking for a NIC. Configure
the card’s TCP/IP properties manually. Here’s how to do
it for Windows 95/98/Me,
Windows 2000,
and Windows XP.
Then set the workgroup name to MSHOME.
Problem: One Computer Can’t Access Some Web Sites,
but Other Computers Can
Solution: Look for the Windows Hosts
file on the problem computer:
Windows 95/98/Me: C:\Windows\Hosts
Windows 2000: C:\WinNT\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts
Windows XP: C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts
Open it with a text editor and you'll probably find
lines with the names of the sites that you can't access.
Delete those lines, save the file, and try again. If those
are the only lines in the file, delete the file. Be sure
to save it with a file name of just Hosts, with
no file type. If your editor saves it as Hosts.txt,
rename it to just Hosts.
The Hosts file can be created by "web accelerator"
programs that store name-to-IP address translations. This
might speed up access by a tiny amount, but it causes
problems when a site's IP address changes.
Description: This error message occurs when
you try to ping any IP address.
Solution: A firewall program has been incompletely
removed. Re-install it, then remove it as described in
our article on removing
firewalls.
Problem: A shared disk or folder doesn’t appear
in My Network Places
Description: The disk or folder is shared correctly
on another computer, but it doesn’t appear.
Solution 1: Click Add a network place
and follow the prompts to add it. Browse to it through
Entire Network, or specify the path name using
the form \\computer\share.
Solution 2: Click View workgroup computers,
then click the computer that has the shared disk or
folder.
Error Message: No more connections can be made to
this remote computer at this time because there are already
as many connections as the computer can accept.
Description: Windows XP Home Edition allows
a maximum of 5 other computers to access its shared disks
and folders simultaneously. Windows XP Professional allows
a maximum of 10. This message appears when the maximum
has been reached and another computer requests access.
Solution: There’s no way to change the limit.
A computer that’s already connected must close its connection
before another can have access.
Error Message: An error has occurred while trying
to share <filename>. The Server service is not started.
The shared resource was not created at this time.
Solution: To start the Server service:
Right click My Computer and select Manage.
Double click Services and Applications.
Double click Services.
Scroll down the list of services and double click
Server.
