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Moving XP client to different office

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15 replies

by labrat 1 view

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I have a system running Windows XP Pro. It was configured at the main office but has been sent to a branch office.

Main office info:
IP Addy was 10.1.1.25
Sub-net was 255.255.255.0
Gateway was 10.1.1.85

Branch office info:
IP Addy is 10.1.2.25
Sub-net is 255.255.255.0
Gateway is 10.1.2.85

I have always configured the workstations at the main office, changed the IP parameters, and shipped it to the branch office. But these new XP Pro systems got to the branch and will not connect. Actually, the network connection status is "Connected" but it shows zero packets received (many packets sent) and it cannot PING the 10.1.2.85 Gateway or any other valid address on that network.

I brought the systems back to the main office, changed the IP parameters back to those correct for this office, and the system logs into the network fine.

Sent them back to the branch office but still no go. I removed NIC from Hardware Mgr, deleted the user accts, and tried to rebuild the network protocols and user accts--No Go! It looks like it is sending packets but not receiving any. Sounds like there is some security parameters screwing things up. (?)

Previous workstations ran Windows 2000 Pro and just changing the IP parameters worked fine for them. Why am I having problems with XP Pro?

15 replies

by paul.n

swap the NIC cards from another PC that works if poss.
Check the domain and workgroup settings.
do an ipconfig to check that there is address there
Let me know how you fare

by labrat

NIC checks OK. domain is correct. Ipconfig shows exactly what should be there. Thanks for the suggestions.

by simy

If it connects to the network at the main office, then the NIC should be fine. If you are running XP SP2, try disabling the firewall temporarily to see if it will connect. Also, you can try to connect it to a known working network point in the branch office.

Hope this helps

by labrat

It has all current updates from the Microsoft website. The firewall is off. The new system was tried in 2 offices and in the "data closet" directly to the hub with a known-good 7ft patch cable. Thanks for the suggestions.

The new system has a network status as "Connected" so it seems it connects to something (?) but it will not ping any addresses in the branch office. The connection status shows packets are being sent but zero are received. Older systems at the branch can ping each other. The new system will ping its own NIC.

When I took the system back to the main office, all I did was change the IP protocol parameters and it immediately connects and logs in. It even "found" the old user acct settings that I thought I had deleted and rebuilt.

by labrat

**Note: When I explorer the network from the branch office, it shows a domain (correct name) but only shows the new computer in the domain. It "feels" like some security parameter knows the main office is where it safely joined the domain but it refuses all incoming packets when it is at the branch office.

by cg it

well something isn't right with your TCP/IP settings. Since your using a static addressing, the symptoms your stating points to the computer being on the wrong subnet. e.g. you send out but do not receive in, therefore packets destined for the computer in question are dropped because it can't be found.

You also state the firewall is disabled, and if you bring it back to main office and just change the settings, network connectivity works fine. Therefore, the problem is at the branch office. Since all you change is the TCP/IP settings, it's got to be those that cause the problem.

by cg it

you don't mention DNS server addresses. I would suggest to verify your DNS server addresses.

by labrat

Since workstations running NT Workstation and Win2000 have worked fine with this process, it seems to me it is in the XP SAM/SID setup. Thanks for the suggestions.

by normh3

Sounds as if a road trip to the branch office may be in order. Hopefully it's located in honolulu or miami

by labrat

Thanks. LOL!! Been there twice this week driving 300 miles round trip!! I'm just going to take the system to the branch and rebuild it there so the SAM/SID crap gets set right. This is going to be a pain so I got to find a solution to this configuration problem. I'm leaving the question open in case anyone else has any ideas about moving XP Pro workstations to different locations. My research shows that I should mention the domain controllers are running Windows NT 4.0 platform.

by labrat

The main office has a WINS server but the branch offices do not have one inhouse. I tried to reinstall the OS so it rebuilds the SID/SAM entries but the system says a "newer" OS exists and blocks the reinstall. I have 3 workers who have been waiting on PCs for 3 weeks now. This is turning into a bad situation for me. Arrrgh!

by labrat

I rebuilt the systems at the branch offices. I did not find an answer as to why an XP system could not be moved to a new office and just change the IP settings for network connection. No more answers coming here so I will close the question. Thank you very much to all of you who offered suggestions (or just thought about the problem). This is a great community!

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