# Solved: Joining W7 netbook to MSHome group



## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

Hi I hope someone can help I am usually good at sorting computer problems but this one has me stumped.

I have currently 3 computers (2 Vista and 1XP) connecting to MSHome network. I also have Freecom NAS attached - all computers backup automatically to NAS. This system has been running for sometime with no problems. Files and printers share easily.

I now have a Windows 7 Netbook which connects to the network for internet access with no problem but I cannot get it to see the other computers (shared files/printers) or see the NAS. 

I am running McAfee on the Netbook, and it reports the presence of the other computers and NAS with no problems and is not treating as intruder.

Can someone suggest how I can get the netbook to connect; I cannot see anywhere to tell it to join MSHome, only how to share in a workgroup with other W7 computers. I am planning to upgrade my main Desktop but until I can connect to the NAS which has all my docs etc I cannot risk this.

Any help appreciated.
Mary


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, I'd disable the McAfee firewall to start, and if it still doesn't work, try uninstalling it and running the McAfee Removal Tool.

There is no issue networking these machines, I have that very mix with Linux tossed in for good measure, I have no issues networking any and all of them.

Also, go into Control Panel, System, and change the workgroup name to match the name the other computers use.

What is the exact issue connecting to the NAS? How old is that unit? FWIW, older Linux based NAS units that ran old versions of SAMBA for file sharing frequently have issues when connecting from Vista or Win7.


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## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

THanks for the quick response - I have changed the workgroup to match so the Vista machine now sees the netbook but won't connect to it (says it doesn't exist!) the XP machine sees it but says access denied.

I have firewalls on both machines switched off so now going to remove McAfee completely.

Will let you know how I get on.
Mary


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Here's my "cookbook" of debugging steps, let me know how far you get.

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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## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

Hi John

Decided to plug network cable in rather than try wirelessly!

So I can ping all the computers by name and ip address. All the services are running - some were manual so I have changed to automatic.

When I run the NETBIOS command the box disappears so quickly I cannot see what it says - how do I make it stay?

I can see the NAS now from the Windows 7 machine and have managed to map a drive to access docs which is the critical function I need. I can see and access the netbook from the Vista machine (haven't tried the XP) but cannot see or access the Vista/XP machines from the Windows 7 machine.

Seem to be getting there but slowly!!

Your help is very much appreciated as I am now in a position to access files and am happier about upgrading to W7 on another computer.

Mary


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

You didn't read this line of the instructions and follow it exactly. 

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

That opens the command prompt that allows you to keep the output on the screen until you close the command window.


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## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

whoops!! thanks NETBIOS is running on both the machines I am accessing at the moment.

All machines have me as a user with the same user name and password although other users vary I assume this is not an issue as I am logged in as me on all the machines.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

If it's all working, my work is finished here. 

*You can mark your own threads solved using the







button at the top of the first page of the thread in the upper left corner.©*


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## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

Well I thought I had it cracked! I have loaded W7 on the desktop and it seems to be working well, I can see and access all the other computers on the network but it will not let me access the NAS! It sees it and if I go in via the admin assistant I can access setting etc I can also ping with name and ip address but when I try and see contents/map network drive I get an error message: 

"freecom is not accessible you might not have permission to access this network resource. contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions"

I cannot see anywhere to give myself permission. I have checked all the settings etc above and they are all fine - this problem manifested before antivirus installed so that is not the problem. Also tried with firewall off and that makes no difference.

Any ideas to fix gratefully received.
Mary


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

What kind of account names do you have enabled on the NAS? This is probably not a firewall issue, it's an account permissions issue.

How old is the firmware on that Freecom NAS?


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## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

Hi John

The NAS is a Freecom Network hard drive model 29013, I've had for less than a year but I think it has been around for ages. My firmware version is

NAS2891-009B2 LOADER 3.2

There is an update to NAS2981 on the freecom website which refers to models xxxxD and xxxxE - cannot find anything on my drive similar to this.

There do not seem to be account names on the NAS at all you just share the folders (so should be accessible from anywhere) this has been done. The only area that seems to have accounts is the FTP server and I have added me to see if it helps but doesn't make any difference.

The netbook which is running W7 RC can access the NAS but the desktop with W7 Pro cannot.

Thanks so much for your help
Mary


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

What is the date of the firmware. If it's more than about two years old, it probably has the SAMBA issue that causes problems for Vista/Win7 computers.

I just noticed you said one Win7 computer has access, that puts a different light on it. 

What kind of file security does that NAS offer? Could this be an issue of account names on the two computers?

Let's see this from each of those two Win7 boxes.

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, 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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## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

Cannot find a date for the firmware but it has been around for some time - have googled and there were people asking about an upgrade in Feb 08. There was no clear answer so have emailed freecom to see what situation is.

There does not seem to be any security settings on the NAS other that FTP upload. I am using the same user name and password on all the computers.

This is nbtstat & ipconfig for the desktop (W7 pro) that cannot access

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Mary>nbtstat -n

Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.9] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Local Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
MARY-PC <00> UNIQUE Registered
MSHOME <00> GROUP Registered
MARY-PC <20> UNIQUE Registered
MSHOME <1E> GROUP Registered
MSHOME <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered

C:\Users\Mary>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mary-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : WAG160N

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : WAG160N
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ether
net Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-15-58-9B-72-81
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::6573:dfff:c506:7a96%11(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.9(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 02 November 2009 12:55:58
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 03 November 2009 12:55:58
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.120
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 234886488
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-12-7F-E1-91-00-15-58-9B-72-81

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 212.159.6.10
212.159.6.9
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.WAG160N:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 12:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:d5c7:a2d6:282a:66:a88e:b667(Prefer
red)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::282a:66:a88e:b667%13(Preferred)
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

C:\Users\Mary>

This is the same for the Netbook that can access the contents of the drive W7 RC (via wired connection could not connect wirelessly)

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7100]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Mary>nbtstat -n

Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.106] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Local Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
MARY-NETBOOK <00> UNIQUE Registered
MSHOME <00> GROUP Registered
MARY-NETBOOK <20> UNIQUE Registered
MSHOME <1E> GROUP Registered

Bluetooth Network Connection:
Node IpAddress: [0.0.0.0] Scope Id: []

No names in cache

Wireless Network Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.105] Scope Id: []

NetBIOS Local Name Table

Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
MARY-NETBOOK <00> UNIQUE Registered
MSHOME <00> GROUP Registered
MARY-NETBOOK <20> UNIQUE Registered
MSHOME <1E> GROUP Registered
MSHOME <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered

Wireless Network Connection 2:
Node IpAddress: [0.0.0.0] Scope Id: []

No names in cache

C:\Users\Mary>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mary-Netbook
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : WAG160N

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 06-21-63-CA-20-FF
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-22-69-E9-48-28
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : WAG160N
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Atheros AR5007EG Wireless Network Adapter

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-21-63-CA-20-FF
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::289b:f9bd:4aeb:a8eb%12(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.105(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 02 November 2009 13:07:39
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 03 November 2009 13:07:39
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 218112355
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-11-CB-23-55-00-13-77-D3-77-27

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 212.159.6.10
212.159.6.9
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : WAG160N
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Marvell Yukon 88E8040 PCI-E Fast Ethernet
Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-13-77-D3-77-27
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::3986:44bc:9c8a:b991%11(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.106(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 02 November 2009 13:07:42
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 03 November 2009 13:07:42
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 234886007
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-11-CB-23-55-00-13-77-D3-77-27

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 212.159.6.10
212.159.6.9
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.WAG160N:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : WAG160N
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:d5c7:a2d6:2494:3628:a88e:b667(Pref
erred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::2494:3628:a88e:b667%15(Preferred)
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

C:\Users\Mary>

Thanks
Mary


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Hmm... I'm trying to get to Freecom, but their site doesn't load right now...

I'd like to see the manual for this beast...


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## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

OK so I may have noticed an anomoly above, on the desktop that cannot access NAS it is showing DCHP server on the LAN as 192.168.1.120 the netbook has 192.168.1.1 at the same place. The NAS is set to a static IP (otherwise kept dropping connection) at 192.168.1.120.

Have also come across another problem - on the netbook I can access the drive I mapped to the NAS a few days ago but when I try to access the NAS to map another folder I get the 'freecom is not accessible...' message!!

Arrgh!


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## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

I have just read through the whole manual - it doesn't really say anything useful it is very basic.

The only other thing I have noticed is that the Freecom Network Assistant software is supposed to be able to map folders to drives but for mine it doesn't see the folders. When I have mapped drives so far I have done via windows.

Mary


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I missed that DHCP server anomaly, that is odd!

I think we may want to do a couple of things to that box. First, I'd like to insure that all of these settings are proper, run through the following procedure.

*Configure DHCP for Windows Vista & Windows 7*


 Click on the Start menu, and select Control Panel.
 Click on Network and Internet. (Skip this step if you do not see this Control Panel item.)
 Click on Network and Sharing Center.
 Click on Manage network connections.
 Right click on Connection you wish to change and choose Properties. If Windows say it needs your permission to continue, click Continue.
 Select Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.
 Select Obtain an IP address automatically.
 Select Obtain DNS server address automatically.
 Click OK to close the TCP/IP Properties window.
 Click OK to close the Local Area Connection Properties window.
 Click Close to close the Network Connections window.
 Click Close to close the Control Panel window.

Next, let's do a stack reset.

*TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Vista or Windows 7.*

Start, All Programs\Accessories and *right click* on Command Prompt, select "*Run as Administrator*" to open a command prompt.

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands, each followed by the Enter key:

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: *netsh winsock reset catalog*

Reset IPv4 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. *netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log*

Reset IPv6 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. *netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log*

Reboot the machine.

Finally, post another IPCONFIG /ALL here for that machine.


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## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

Done, here is the log:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Mary>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Mary-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : WAG160N

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : WAG160N
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ether
net Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-15-58-9B-72-81
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::6573:dfff:c506:7a96%11(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.103(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 02 November 2009 14:56:51
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 03 November 2009 14:56:51
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 234886488
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-12-7F-E1-91-00-15-58-9B-72-81

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 212.159.6.10
212.159.6.9
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.WAG160N:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : WAG160N
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 12:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:d5c7:a2d6:282a:66:a88e:b667(Prefer
red)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::282a:66:a88e:b667%13(Preferred)
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

C:\Users\Mary>

Mary


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## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

I have spent hours today trawling the Freecom site forums to see if I can find anything relevant (search didn't throw anything useful) so found this:

the fnsa.exe might not find the network drive on windows 7, but you can map manually by rightclick on workplace and choose map network drive and enter \\servername\foldername then you can map the folders.
We hope to get a fix for the fnsa soon.

IT WORKS!!!!!

I can now access the Freecom drive.

Thanks for all your help John - it is very much appreciated and the computer is running faster after some of the tweaks above especially setting some of the services to Automatic that were manual.

I will mark thread as Solved.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

OK, I still wonder why the normal network browsing doesn't work, that's pretty odd.


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## Mary883 (Apr 22, 2008)

Weird isn't it - I think it may be an authentication issue as you suggested at one point, even though it doesn't ask for a password etc one of the assistant functions is map drives and on Vista/XP it goes straight in but from W7 it asks for user name and password and just gives a blank screen whatever you enter.

I will just have to keep an eye open for updates to firmware/software but at least there is a work around.

Mary


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