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  • #2150657

    Cannot Access a Computer on my Workgroup

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    by mowen64 ·

    I had networked 3 computers togather for a friend, one is a Acer laptop and the other two are HP desktops. We have no problems accessing two of them and seeing files inside those two machines via the network.

    One of the computers on our network we can see on the network but when we click on it to access the computer we are asked for a username and password for that computer in order to gain access to it or its files.

    The one thing is that machine does not have any username or password set up on it at all, why would we be asked for a username and password to access it and how can we get around this and gain accesss to it.

    Just for your info we are running windows XP Pro on the computers on workgroup.

    Thanks

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    • #2914296

      Clarifications

      by mowen64 ·

      In reply to Cannot Access a Computer on my Workgroup

      Clarifications

    • #2914286

      The best way is to give the computers on a network passwords..

      by Anonymous ·

      In reply to Cannot Access a Computer on my Workgroup

      Why i say this is that no one on the outside will have access to your networked computers.
      So go into the “setup a network” and go form there, make sure that you have given the computer in question a password. This will make it more easier. Once setup, the computers in question will be connect automatically (when clicked and all the boxes are ticked).
      Or do this….

      Configuring Windows XP to match an existing Network.

      1.Disable your firewall and virus checking: Before removing, installing or making significant modifications to anything to do with the Network, you should disable your firewall and virus checking. They may link into TCP/IP and give problems when their links disappear. Most Firewalls and Virus checkers have a flag to say if they should load automatically on startup which should be unticked and the system rebooted. After you have finished they should be re-enabled before you take too many risks.
      2.Disable the Internet Connection Firewall: To disable ICF on the Local Area Network (LAN) Connection,
      Open Network Connections,
      Right click LAN Connection at the bottom and click Properties.
      The Properties sheet shows the network components associated with the connection.
      Select the Advanced tab, then un-check the “Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet” box.
      Windows XP asks you to confirm your decision to disable the firewall – Click OK to disable it.
      This step should also be done for the Internet Connections if you intend to use a separate Firewall such as ZoneAlarm.
      3.Set up Names: Firstly set up the Computer Name, Workgroup Name and Computer Description – on XP this is via the Network Connections I prefer to
      Go to the Control Panel and to change it to Classic View
      Open Network Connections
      Select LAN Connection at the bottom
      Click Network ID on the Advanced drop down Menu at the top
      Enter a Computer Description
      A unique Computer Name and
      the same Workgroup Name for all machines on the same network
      If you are selecting and setting the Name and Workgroup for the first time on a new network it is best to use Upper letters and numbers only and to keep them less than 12 characters for
      4.Add the IPX/SPX Protocol: IPX/SPX is fully supported in XP and is my prefered “safe” protocol which is used on networks set up as in Painless Networking. The name is slightly different with NW (for Netware) in the front.
      Click Start, click Control Panel, and then Open Network Connections.
      Right-click the LAN Connection and then click Properties.
      On the General tab, click Install.
      Click Protocol, and then click Add.
      Click NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol and click OK.
      Two NWLink items are added to the connection’s Properties
      Restart your computer even if not requested and The IPX/SPX protocol should now be installed and working.
      5.Set up Bindings: By default, Windows XP binds all installed protocols to each network connection and service. We need to remove various bindings to limit the services using each protocol. The mechanism is very different to Win9X and in XP one should:
      Open the Network Connections folder and on the Advanced drop down menu click Advanced Settings
      Click the connection name under Connections. The appropriate bindings appear under Bindings.
      To remove a binding, un-check the corresponding box. For example, we want to use IPX/SPX instead of TCP/IP for file sharing,so we un-bind TCP/IP from both File and Printer Sharing and Client for Microsoft Networks.
      It is also necessary to right click the LAN Network Connection and click properties then untick the TCP/IP box to completely prevent TCP/IP being used instead of IPX/SPX.
      Restart your computer even if not requested
      6.Sharing: The existing network will already have shared folders but you will need to set them up on the XP machine before you will see it over the Network. If you can not see the Sharing Tabs on the Properties of a Folder check File and Printer Sharing is enabled in the LAN configuration
      7.Testing: The Configuration should now be complete and you should be able to see the XP machine from the existing network and vice versa in Network Neighborhood/Network Places. One thing to note is that it can take a long time before Network Neighborhood/My Network Places fully updates for new machines and reconfiguration – this is because a Browse Master is automatically selected to retain Network configuration information and organise traffic and that process is not repeated until a change is recognised which can take a while. It took a long time before the XP machine was displaying up to date information although the Network was working fine from the other machines. Turning all the machines off and starting together may help.
      8.Security Testing and Firewalls: The use of the IPX/SPX protocol and breaking of all bindings between TCP/IP should now have closed the security holes inherent in the use of TCP/IP over a LAN but it is still wise to check the security both with and without the firewall using the the Shields Up tests at the Gibson Research Corporation.
      9.Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall: If you do not have a firewall it may now be possible to (re-)enable the simple built in Firewall on the Dial-up Connection without affecting the LAN – see above for the proceedure.

      Please post back if you have anymore problems or questions.

    • #2914283

      Verify

      by ic-it ·

      In reply to Cannot Access a Computer on my Workgroup

      Simple file sharing is turned on in the one asking for a password.

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