# Solved: Workgroup is not accessible



## Samlighty (May 4, 2008)

Hi,

I am trying to share a folder through a network. I have the folder I want to share on a computer directly connected to the Wireless router (Vista) and the computer I want to access the files from is Wireless (XP). 
The workgroup they are both on is called "WORKGROUP" and when I click "View workgroup computers" an error message comes up:










I have enabled file/folder sharing on both computer, I have allowed it through both Windows firewalls.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks, Sam Lighty.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Turn off any firewalls for debugging. If the firewall is the problem, you'll have to configure it to allow access to "trusted zone" addresses. Note that some firewalls must be completely uninstalled to stop them from affecting your networking.

Hold the *Windows* key and press *R*, then type *CMD* to open a command prompt.

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands:

PING each remote computer by IP address, and if successful, PING by name. Open a command prompt as described above and type.

PING _<ip address>_ 
or
PING _<computer name>_

Where: 
_<ip address>_ - is the x.x.x.x IP address
_<computer name>_ - is the computer name

*A failure to PING is almost always a firewall configuration issue. Any failure to PING needs to be corrected before you go any farther.*

_*Note:* You can obtain the IP address and computer name of a computer by opening a command prompt (DOS window) and typing *IPCONFIG /ALL*. This should work for any Windows version. The IPCONFIG /ALL display will provide a wealth of useful information for debugging your network connection._

Check your Services are Started on all PCs: 

COM+ Event System (for WZC issues)
Computer Browser
DHCP Client
DNS Client
Network Connections
Network Location Awareness
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Server
TCP/IP Netbios helper
Wireless Zero Configuration (XP wireless configurations)
WLAN AutoConfig (Vista wireless configurations)
Workstation

_*Note:* You can check the services in Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services._

All of these services should be started, and their startup type should be automatic.

If a service is not running, open it's properties and check the dependencies. Check each of the dependencies and see which one is preventing the service from running. Checking the event log is also a good idea here, there may be clues to what is failing.

All computers should be in the same workgroup for computer browsing to function properly. File & Print Sharing has to be enabled on any computer you wish to share files or printers from. You also need to actually share the resource in question from My Computer, right click on the drive/printer/folder, and select sharing.

If you encounter difficulties accessing computers that are visible in Network Places (_Network and Sharing Center in Vista_), make sure the computer being accessed has an account with the same name/password as the system connecting to it uses to login. NOTE: Vista's default is to require a password on the account to enable file/print sharing.

While the default NetBIOS setting is correct for normal network configurations, it's possible for it to be altered, and it costs nothing to make sure it's correct. NETBIOS over TCP/IP must be enabled for normal network browsing. You can open a command prompt as described above and type the following command: *nbtstat -n*. This will display the status of NetBIOS or indicate it's not configured.


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## Samlighty (May 4, 2008)

Thanks for the reply JohnWill. I have followed all the procedures and I was able to ping both ways on the computers. All the services are running on both of the computers and NetBIOS is enabled.

After tweaking a few things the XP computer I want to access the shared files from can now "View workgroup computers". However, the only workgroup computer showing up is "lightys-laptop" which is the computer itself.

This makes me think I may have a different sort of problem now.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

You are pinging both ways by computer name?

Let's see this for each of the computers.

Hold the *Windows* key and press *R*, then type *CMD* then press *Enter* to open a command prompt:

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands, one at a time, followed by the _*Enter*_ key:

_Note that there is a space before the -n or the /ALL, but there is *NOT* a space after the - or / in the following commands._

NBTSTAT -n

IPCONFIG /ALL

Right click in the command window and choose *Select All*, then hit *Enter* to copy the contents to the clipboard.
Paste the results in a message here.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.


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## Samlighty (May 4, 2008)

> Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002]
> Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
> 
> C:\Users\Sam>NBTSTAT -n
> ...


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

How about the other computer?


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## Samlighty (May 4, 2008)

> Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
> (C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
> 
> C:\Documents and Settings\Sam>ipconfig /all
> ...


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

OK, both computers think they're the master browser. 99% of the time, this is a firewall component blocking networking.

This is the line from NBTSTAT that tells you you're the master browser, and there's only one in a workgroup.


> *..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered*


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## Samlighty (May 4, 2008)

What do you recommend I do? I have disabled both firewalls and the anti-virus I have on one of the computers.

Update:

I have now disabled the service "Computer Browser" on the XP computer. Note, it is the Vista computer I want to share files on.

I have done the commands again and here's the results:



> Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
> (C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
> 
> C:\Documents and Settings\Sam>nbtstat -n
> ...


When trying to view workgroups from the XP computer, I now get the error saying "Workgroup is not accessible...."


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

You should NOT be disabling services at this point, you're just making this into a moving target!


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## Samlighty (May 4, 2008)

JohnWill said:


> You should NOT be disabling services at this point, you're just making this into a moving target!


Can you make a suggestion to what I should do?

Thanks.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Let's recap. With all the services enabled again, firewalls disabled, and good connections.

Can you ping each way by computer name?
If you open a command prompt and type //*computer_name* what response do you get? Note that _*computer_name*_ is the name of the remote computer.


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## Samlighty (May 4, 2008)

Vista to XP computer



> C:\Users\Sam>ping SAM-LAPTOP
> Ping request could not find host SAM-LAPTOP. Please check the name and try again
> .


XP to Vista computer



> Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
> (C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
> 
> C:\Documents and Settings\Sam>ping SAM-PC
> ...


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Running on the XP computer, please post a HijackThis 2.00.2 Log here.


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## Samlighty (May 4, 2008)

> Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
> Scan saved at 07:28:28, on 03/02/2010
> Platform: Windows XP SP3 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
> MSIE: Internet Explorer v8.00 (8.00.6001.18702)
> ...


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I have heard of Bonjour causing issues with Networking. I don't see an obvious program that would be blocking things.

Try booting in *Safe Mode with Networking* and see if the symptoms are different.


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## Samlighty (May 4, 2008)

Okay, I could ping the XP laptop in Safe Mode (with Networking):



> Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002]
> Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
> 
> C:\Users\Sam>ping SAM-LAPTOP
> ...


However, when clicking view my workgroups, the Vista PC didn't appear.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Next, I'd use MSCONFIG to disable groups of startup applications and services until you narrow down which one is blocking you in normal mode.

We're making progress, it's just slow.


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## Samlighty (May 4, 2008)

Ok, I have stopped numerous services that aren't related to Microsoft. I can now ping the computer name without having to boot in safe mode.

Next step.. 

Update: This has now fixed everything! I can view all computers in the workgroup.

JohnWill, you sir, are a true legend.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Glad you tracked it down. Just for our information, what did it turn out to be?


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