The state of the home network....

[poltr1]

I can still ping both machines. But I still can't view files or share printers.

From the laptop's POV in My Network Places, I can see the desktop and the laptop, but I'm blocked whenever I click on the desktop machine's icon. From the desktop's POV in My Network Places, I see nothing, not even itself. If I try to create a shortcut and browse for it, I don't see "Microsoft Windows Network" under "Entire Network".

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling some components. I even renamed the network and ran the Network Setup Wizard on both systems. Still nothing.

I'm stumped.

Shout-outs: Happy birthday persis!

Comments

[poltr1]

IP addresses are set manually.

A crossover cable connects the desktop to the laptop's docking station.

I'm not sure why the Tun Miniport adapter shows up at all. My network card is a SiS 900 and I just upgraded the driver.

I'm gonna try reinstalling XP. "sfc /scannow" gives me a bunch of "file not found" errors because I upgraded to SP 3.

[hms42]

Ok... Good luck with that.

Hmm... If possible, do you happen to have a switch (or better a router) that you can use to link the machines and 2 straight cables?

Now obvious question.... Are both machines set to the same IP address? (Doesn't sound like it, but it had to get asked.) Same subnet, right?

What IP set are you using?
10.x.y.z
172.16 (thru 32).x.y
192.168.x.y

are all private networks and should work fine.

Just trying to see if this may help figureout the cause.

[poltr1]

At this point I'm convinced that the problem is based on the absence of "Microsoft Windows Network" on the desktop.

Rolling back SP3 and reinstalling from the SP2 disk didn't bring it back.

I'm using 192.168.0.x for both machines. The addresses are different. (Give me an email address and I'll send the list to you.) And they're both plugged in and turned on. :)

[hms42]

Right click on the desktop
Properties
2nd tab (Desktop)
Customize Desktop

This will allow you to show/hide the Network ICON on the desktop.

Email - harold at panix dot com

[poltr1]

When I said "Desktop", I meant "desktop computer". (Or to use its network node name: orac.)

The setting you discuss enables my "My Network Places" icon, which is already on the desktop. If I turn off common tasks (Tools|Folder Options|General), and click on "Entire Network", I see the Microsoft Terminal Services and Web Client Network icon. I don't see an icon for Microsoft Windows Network. But I can still ping orac and tardis (the laptop) and get feedback. I also enabled the icon in the "MSHOME Properties" window.

Some history: I had a hub and ethernet cabling. In June, I acquired a Linksys wireless router. Even though I still use dial-up, I wanted to use it as a wireless access point for the laptop. I couldn't use it that way, so I wrapped up everything and saved it for future use.

Thanks for all your help so far.