Networking Problems - including mixed XP and Vista home
networks.
Stop press..11/05/08.
Someone
reported a problem under Vista where during first run, error popups
showing file open errors on '///picsys$/username (note no computer name
in path - starts with three slashes). After a few tries the problem
went away. We are currently investigating. If you have the same problem
please Contact Us, mentioning if you use Vista or
XP)
Welcome on our advice page on home network problems. Mixed
networks of XP and Vista PCs seem particularly problematic.
PIC-PC Specific section: Before we get deep into possible network problems, on the PC you cannot
see using PIC-PC, please try running the 'PIC-PC Settings for...'
program from the start menu, and on the main dialog un-tick then
re-tick the 'Enable Network (LAN) control' tick box. This will make
sure our data directory is shared.
While this page applies to anyone with a home network, it is
primarily aimed at PIC-PC customers, so we'll start by defining
a simple test, which if it works, will mean PIC PC network functions should work.
Run Windows explorer (Hold 'Windows' key down and press 'E').
Look at 'Network' (Vista) or 'My network places/entire network/
<workgroupname> (XP)
a) You should be able to browse the public (Vista) and SharedDocs (XP)
directories on all connected PCs.
b) You should also be able to change files in these directories.
For PIC-PC network features to work properly, you must be able to do
(a) and preferably (b). PIC-PC does set access permissions on the
directory it uses, but the ability to change other files on a remote PC
at least rules out some networking problems. If you can do
(a) and (b) and still have a problem with PIC-PC, please contact us..
Problems with mixed Vista and XP networks.
This is a problematic area. Here is a list of symptoms, and what to try:
1. I cannot see the XP PCs from my Vista PC.
You may need to install the LLTD Responder on your XP PCs
for Network Discovery to work. See
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922120
2. I can now see the remote PC in the list but I cannot see
any folders on the remote PC.
In Vista, make sure you have :
(1) Set the network type as 'Private'.
(2) Set 'Network Discovery', 'File sharing', 'public folder sharing'
all ON, and
Password-protected sharing 'OFF'.
(3) If you have password-protected sharing turned off, you
shouldn't need to do this, but on one of our tests we
did...Make sure you have an account on every PC (XP and Vista)
with the same user name
and password.
Use this account when you use PIC-PC across the network. If
you
do not do this, you will have to browse the remote computer using
Explorer and enter the logon details at the prompt before you can
successfully access it with PIC-PC.
(4) Make sure you have the same workgroup name for all PCs - note Vista
and XP have different default names! XP uses MSHOME,
Vista uses WORKGROUP by default. Strictly speaking, you don't need
identical workgroup names for PIC-PC to work, but it makes it easier to
see if other problems are resolved because it enables you to browse
each others public (shared) folders..
Full details of how to do the above, plus lots of info on
network problems can be found at:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727037.aspx
Although this article is aimed at techies / advanced users, the
abstract at the start of the above document has links to some
more basic articles. Unfortunately you will probably have to
read
the whole thing. But at the end, not only will PIC-PC work
over
the network, you will finally be able to share files between PCs!
If you suspect your firewall software might be causing a problem,
unless you trust your modem/router firewall 100%, don't turn off the
firewalls without first unplugging your ADSL line!
If turning off the firewalls solves the problem,
re-enable
the firewalls and use the info in the above link to set allowed
traffic. You might also have to enter the IP addresses of all the PCs
into the firewall settings as 'trusted' connections. Refer to the
documentation that came with your firewall.
Here are some more Microsoft links:
Basic XP - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/filesharing.mspx
Advanced XP - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304040
Vista - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/evaluate/vista_fp.mspx>
Printer Sharing XP - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/honeycutt_july2.mspx
Firewall setting for Sharing XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875357
If all the above is no help, you might like to look at this Technet
forum entry. There is a lot to wade through, but this poor
person finally succeeded getting his XP and Vista PCs to talk. There
are lots of hints and suggestions:-
http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1683125&SiteID=17
