I'll try this again, and I won't be vague at all. ;)
I have a home office network consisting of 7 computers, 6 of which run
Wiudows XP Pro SP2. The other one is Windows Vista Ultimate (the machine I
am on now). It's patched daily automatically by our friends at Microsoft.
I use Bright House/RoadRunner for my cable modem ISP.
File and print sharing is set up so that all computers can print to and
share with two other machines. The router I was using before moving to
wireless was a LinkSys BEFSR81, firmware revision 2.51.1 It was a perfectly
functioning network for what I wanted to do. Then I moved to wireless.
The changes:
I installed a LinkSys WRT54GS, version 6.0, with firmware revision 1.52.0.
I have two Dell Latitude laptops with built-in wireless capability. On all
other machines I installed LinkSys PCI wireless adapters, model WMP54GS
(with SpeedBooster).
The setup worked nicely as far as throughput and reliability were concerned.
I had a problem with dropped connections on the router, but I found the
cause and eradicated the problem (it was being caused by one of the laptops
going into sleep mode while connected to the network -- why it screwed with
the router itself I don't know, just that it did).
In the network neighborhood on the XP machines they could all see other, and
all computers showed up on the Vista network map as being in the same
network.
WPA-Personal with TKIP encryption is the protection scheme. Again, no
problems with that.
I made sure all of the adapters were operating in infrastructure mode
instead of ad-hoc.
I soon discovered that NONE of the machines could communicate with each
other in terms of file and printer sharing. The exception is a Brother
MFC-665CW printer/fax with wireless support. As long as the Brother control
center software is installed on each machine, they can print to it. They
cannot, however, install via Network Neighborhood or through the Windows
printer setup in the control panel. It is only through the software they
are able to do so.
After spending 24 hours researching the problem on the 'Net, I finally
decided to disable wireless on a few workstations and hook them up again via
CAT-5 only. The WRT54GS still would not allow the machines to share. At
last, I removed the WRT54GS and reinstalled the BEFSR81. Voila, I had file
and printer sharing back, even with the Vista machine.
I believe I have isolated the problem to the WRT54GS OR perhaps the setup of
the individual wireless adapters. On the laptops the wireless worked out of
the box -- all I had to do was enter the security information. When I
installed the wireless adapters for the PCs, I did nothing out of the
ordinary in setup. Again, general connectivity to the router and to the
Internet was smooth as silk. But internally, the machines will not transact
with each other.
Getting back to the wireless router (WRTG54GS), I will conclude by saying
that it shipped with the most current firmware (according to the LinkSys
Website) and I have made absolutely no changes to the routers optional
settings, except, of course, to enable the WPA-Personal security and to
enable SSID broadcasts.
There it is. I have to make this work via wireless, or I have to take all
this stuff back to Office Depot for a return. Please help if you can.
The Rejuvenated Techie wrote:
> I'll try this again, and I won't be vague at all. ;)
Make sure all of your machines have the same workgroup name. I don't use Winblows so I can't tell
you how to do that in M$ world. Make sure all machines get their address via DHCP. Go into the WRT's
setup screen by typing 192.168.1.1 in a browser. Look around for settings that may twig you to the
blockage. Mine works flawlessly with a Mac and several Linux boxen on the inside. You'll get it.
Others may have other helpful ideas...or not
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
"John Navas" <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
news:77ia131ug2mndiu7n72024tgpqkt6c5q41@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 5 Apr 2007 14:06:46 -0400, "The Rejuvenated Techie"
> <nevertell@anon.com> wrote in
> <46153b99$0$17381$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>:
>
>>I'll try this again, and I won't be vague at all. ;)
>>[SNIP]
>
> Troubleshooting File and Printer Sharing in Microsoft Windows XP
> http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en
>
With all due respect, it is obvious you did not read my entire message.
There is ZERO problem with file and print sharing with a wired router. I
isolated the problem to the wireless setup.
"The Rejuvenated Techie" <nevertell@anon.com> wrote in message
news:46153b99$0$17381$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> I'll try this again, and I won't be vague at all. ;)
>
> I have a home office network consisting of 7 computers, 6 of which run
> Wiudows XP Pro SP2. The other one is Windows Vista Ultimate (the machine
> I am on now). It's patched daily automatically by our friends at
> Microsoft.
>
> I use Bright House/RoadRunner for my cable modem ISP.
>
> File and print sharing is set up so that all computers can print to and
> share with two other machines. The router I was using before moving to
> wireless was a LinkSys BEFSR81, firmware revision 2.51.1 It was a
> perfectly functioning network for what I wanted to do. Then I moved to
> wireless.
>
> The changes:
>
> I installed a LinkSys WRT54GS, version 6.0, with firmware revision 1.52.0.
> I have two Dell Latitude laptops with built-in wireless capability. On
> all other machines I installed LinkSys PCI wireless adapters, model
> WMP54GS (with SpeedBooster).
>
> The setup worked nicely as far as throughput and reliability were
> concerned. I had a problem with dropped connections on the router, but I
> found the cause and eradicated the problem (it was being caused by one of
> the laptops going into sleep mode while connected to the network -- why it
> screwed with the router itself I don't know, just that it did).
>
> In the network neighborhood on the XP machines they could all see other,
> and all computers showed up on the Vista network map as being in the same
> network.
>
> WPA-Personal with TKIP encryption is the protection scheme. Again, no
> problems with that.
>
> I made sure all of the adapters were operating in infrastructure mode
> instead of ad-hoc.
>
> I soon discovered that NONE of the machines could communicate with each
> other in terms of file and printer sharing. The exception is a Brother
> MFC-665CW printer/fax with wireless support. As long as the Brother
> control center software is installed on each machine, they can print to
> it. They cannot, however, install via Network Neighborhood or through the
> Windows printer setup in the control panel. It is only through the
> software they are able to do so.
>
> After spending 24 hours researching the problem on the 'Net, I finally
> decided to disable wireless on a few workstations and hook them up again
> via CAT-5 only. The WRT54GS still would not allow the machines to share.
> At last, I removed the WRT54GS and reinstalled the BEFSR81. Voila, I had
> file and printer sharing back, even with the Vista machine.
>
> I believe I have isolated the problem to the WRT54GS OR perhaps the setup
> of the individual wireless adapters. On the laptops the wireless worked
> out of the box -- all I had to do was enter the security information.
> When I installed the wireless adapters for the PCs, I did nothing out of
> the ordinary in setup. Again, general connectivity to the router and to
> the Internet was smooth as silk. But internally, the machines will not
> transact with each other.
>
> Getting back to the wireless router (WRTG54GS), I will conclude by saying
> that it shipped with the most current firmware (according to the LinkSys
> Website) and I have made absolutely no changes to the routers optional
> settings, except, of course, to enable the WPA-Personal security and to
> enable SSID broadcasts.
>
> There it is. I have to make this work via wireless, or I have to take all
> this stuff back to Office Depot for a return. Please help if you can.
>
> Thank you.
Briefly disable the personal security encryption. Keep the SSID. See if
they can connect. That will at least eliminate a possibility. You might
also back everything off to Wireless 'b' temporarly to establish a baseline.
I note that you did say that all computers have Internet connectivity. My
suggestions were to just get a base line.
On Thu, 5 Apr 2007 15:08:52 -0400, "The Rejuvenated Techie"
<nevertell@anon.com> wrote in <46154a46$0$1370$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>:
>"John Navas" <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
>news:77ia131ug2mndiu7n72024tgpqkt6c5q41@4ax.com.. .
>> On Thu, 5 Apr 2007 14:06:46 -0400, "The Rejuvenated Techie"
>> <nevertell@anon.com> wrote in
>> <46153b99$0$17381$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>:
>>
>>>I'll try this again, and I won't be vague at all. ;)
>>>[SNIP]
>>
>> Troubleshooting File and Printer Sharing in Microsoft Windows XP
>> http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en
>
>With all due respect, it is obvious you did not read my entire message.
>There is ZERO problem with file and print sharing with a wired router. I
>isolated the problem to the wireless setup.
I did read the entire (lengthy) message.
I suggest you read and follow the advice from Microsoft.
And not just blow off those trying to help you.
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
"John Navas" <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
> I did read the entire (lengthy) message.
> I suggest you read and follow the advice from Microsoft.
> And not just blow off those trying to help you.
You must forgive the length, but the devil, it seems, is in the details, and
many here love the devil. I gave brevity a shot and it didn't go over well.
I'm not blowing anyone off. But if you read the message, you should clearly
see that when the old router is put back in, Microsoft Networking works
fine. Put the wireless router in, and nothing works.
I'm wondering if the wireless network name should be the same as the
workgroup name in Windows?
"The Rejuvenated Techie" <nevertell@anon.com> wrote in message
> I'm wondering if the wireless network name should be the same as the
> workgroup name in Windows?
"Mellowed" <nospam@spam.com> wrote in message
> Briefly disable the personal security encryption. Keep the SSID. See if
> they can connect. That will at least eliminate a possibility. You might
> also back everything off to Wireless 'b' temporarly to establish a
> baseline. I note that you did say that all computers have Internet
> connectivity. My suggestions were to just get a base line.
Tried all of that, including G only. No luck.
I'm calling LinkSys now. If anyone is interested in the final answer, let
me know. Otherwise, thanks for the help.
On Thu, 5 Apr 2007 16:47:51 -0400, "The Rejuvenated Techie"
<nevertell@anon.com> wrote in
<46156179$0$24695$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>:
>"John Navas" <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
>> I did read the entire (lengthy) message.
>> I suggest you read and follow the advice from Microsoft.
>> And not just blow off those trying to help you.
>
>You must forgive the length, but the devil, it seems, is in the details, and
>many here love the devil. I gave brevity a shot and it didn't go over well.
>
>I'm not blowing anyone off. But if you read the message, you should clearly
>see that when the old router is put back in, Microsoft Networking works
>fine. Put the wireless router in, and nothing works.
That _doesn't_ mean the Microsoft advice isn't worth following!
I'd be more sympathetic if you said, "OK, I tried that, but it didn't
help." Instead you just didn't bother.
>I'm wondering if the wireless network name should be the same as the
>workgroup name in Windows?
Irrelevant.
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
"John Navas" <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
> That _doesn't_ mean the Microsoft advice isn't worth following!
>
> I'd be more sympathetic if you said, "OK, I tried that, but it didn't
> help." Instead you just didn't bother.
I'm an MCSE four times over -- I could have written that document. What I
am not an expert on is routers. And I can say with 100% metaphysical
certitude that the network file and print sharing works FLAWLESSLY when the
BEFSR81 is running. Put the wireless router back in, and it's "network path
not found" hell.
Today I've done all of that stuff with the Windows personal firewall, file
and print sharing wizards, protocol tweaking, even adding NetBIOS just for
shits and giggles.
There is something in that router that is blocking the network's ability to
share files and printers. Aside from reinserting the LinkSys BEFSR81, I
also tried a Cisco 1601 and a hub -- that worked fine too.
I've got a ticket with LinkSys on this. I'm too damned tired to deal with
it tonight. Hopefully the Indian I talk to in the morning will have the
answer. Although I suspect he'll have me run wizards and such before he
finally believes it's the router.
On Thu, 5 Apr 2007 23:13:17 -0400, "The Rejuvenated Techie"
<nevertell@anon.com> wrote in
<4615baf7$0$24702$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>:
>"John Navas" <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
>> That _doesn't_ mean the Microsoft advice isn't worth following!
>>
>> I'd be more sympathetic if you said, "OK, I tried that, but it didn't
>> help." Instead you just didn't bother.
>
>I'm an MCSE four times over -- I could have written that document. What I
>am not an expert on is routers. And I can say with 100% metaphysical
>certitude that the network file and print sharing works FLAWLESSLY when the
>BEFSR81 is running. Put the wireless router back in, and it's "network path
>not found" hell.
>
>Today I've done all of that stuff with the Windows personal firewall, file
>and print sharing wizards, protocol tweaking, even adding NetBIOS just for
>shits and giggles.
>
>There is something in that router that is blocking the network's ability to
>share files and printers. Aside from reinserting the LinkSys BEFSR81, I
>also tried a Cisco 1601 and a hub -- that worked fine too.
>
>I've got a ticket with LinkSys on this. I'm too damned tired to deal with
>it tonight. Hopefully the Indian I talk to in the morning will have the
>answer. Although I suspect he'll have me run wizards and such before he
>finally believes it's the router.
For less time than you spent on these messages you could have actually
run through that document. But no, you're (drum roll) an MCSE.
Awesome. Good luck to you.
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
"John Navas" <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
> For less time than you spent on these messages you could have actually
> run through that document. But no, you're (drum roll) an MCSE.
> Awesome. Good luck to you.
You probably got a sore throat from reading the original message, it was so
long. Of course, it is still obvious you didn't read through the whole
thing, otherwise you wouldn't be ranting and raving over this Microsoft
document, a document, which whether you like it or not, I probably know more
about than you. And leave it to jealous pricks like you to get tight over
someone mentioning their credentials. Bugger off.
> "John Navas" <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
>
>> For less time than you spent on these messages you could have actually
>> run through that document. But no, you're (drum roll) an MCSE.
>> Awesome. Good luck to you.
>
>
> You probably got a sore throat from reading the original message, it was
> so long. Of course, it is still obvious you didn't read through the
> whole thing, otherwise you wouldn't be ranting and raving over this
> Microsoft document, a document, which whether you like it or not, I
> probably know more about than you. And leave it to jealous pricks like
> you to get tight over someone mentioning their credentials. Bugger off.
>
Your original post did not indicate what you've done to troubleshoot your
LAN. A few things to check with your WRT54GS in place:
1. Is AP Isolation disabled? (Hint - that's a router feature.)
2. Are all PCs/NetPrinters in the same subnet? (IPA and mask)
3. Do all PCs have DHCP client enabled?
4. Does the router have DHCP server enabled?
5. Does anything else in your LAN have DHCP server enabled?
6. Do all PCs use the same workgroup name?
7. Can every PC ping every other PC (and the router) by IPA?
8. Can every PC ping every other PC by name?
9. Do all PCs get their DNS server address automatically?
10. Do you have one PC hardwired to the router? (You really should.)
11. Did you disable the wired NICs on the PCs to switch to WiFi?
12. Do all PCs have the same default gateway IPA (192.168.1.1)?
13. Is MAC address filtering disabled?
Note that you should not simply believe that the router as shipped has
the normal default settings; it usually does, but checking is standard
troubleshooting practice.
--
Cheers, Bob
On Fri, 6 Apr 2007 07:51:14 -0400, "The Rejuvenated Techie"
<nevertell@anon.com> wrote in
<46163496$0$24791$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>:
>"John Navas" <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
>> For less time than you spent on these messages you could have actually
>> run through that document. But no, you're (drum roll) an MCSE.
>> Awesome. Good luck to you.
>
>You probably got a sore throat from reading the original message, it was so
>long. Of course, it is still obvious you didn't read through the whole
>thing, otherwise you wouldn't be ranting and raving over this Microsoft
>document, a document, which whether you like it or not, I probably know more
>about than you. And leave it to jealous pricks like you to get tight over
>someone mentioning their credentials. Bugger off.
<plonk>
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
Listen to me now, believe me later, as they say...
I don't know why this is, but XP machines with personal firewalls enabled
that can normally be accessed via the wire CANNOT, in most instances, be
accessed via wireless. Call me full of shit, but I've seen it many times.
Firewall the router -- not the PC. It's cheaper to just do the router
firewall than to do several machines.
On Fri, 6 Apr 2007 15:01:46 -0400, "Maxwell Edison"
<majoringin@medicine.com> wrote in
<46169929$0$1392$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>:
>Listen to me now, believe me later, as they say...
>
>I don't know why this is, but XP machines with personal firewalls enabled
>that can normally be accessed via the wire CANNOT, in most instances, be
>accessed via wireless. Call me full of shit, but I've seen it many times.
>Firewall the router -- not the PC. It's cheaper to just do the router
>firewall than to do several machines.
Others perhaps, but I've never seen that problem with the Windows XP
Firewall. That said, I always disable firewalls while troubleshooting
_any_ networking problem. 'Course there's really no need to tell the
anonymous "Rejuvenated Techie" that, since he's an MCSE not just once,
twice, or even three times, but _FOUR_ times over! :)
--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>
"John Navas" <spamfilter0@navasgroup.com> wrote in message
>>I don't know why this is, but XP machines with personal firewalls enabled
>>that can normally be accessed via the wire CANNOT, in most instances, be
>>accessed via wireless. Call me full of shit, but I've seen it many times.
>>Firewall the router -- not the PC. It's cheaper to just do the router
>>firewall than to do several machines.
>
> Others perhaps, but I've never seen that problem with the Windows XP
> Firewall. That said, I always disable firewalls while troubleshooting
> _any_ networking problem.
Have you ever fiddled with McAfee's Personal Firewall? It has a range of IP
addresses you can set that it will "trust" as far as inbound and outbound
connections are concerned. It works nice on wired networks. But there is
something about a wireless network that makes it completely flake out. When
it detects the network, it will pop up a window asking if you "trust this
network?" You select yes and you think all will be cool. But in my
experience, about 8 times out of 10, it just won't let that machine share
files and printers. Another common troubleshooting problem is that by
default McAfee disables ICMP (for PING) on whatever machine it's installed.
My Wireless Sharing Problem -- Specifics 
Linear Mode
