We have a home network set up as follows:
One desktop PC, running XP SP3.
One laptop PC, running XP SP3
Two laptop PCs each running Vista Home Basic.
Although the three laptops have Ethernet sockets, they are normally accessing the Internet via their (inbuilt) wireless adaptors. Only the desktop is hard-wired via Ethernet to the Modem/Router, which is a Netcomm NB6Plus4Wn ADSL2+ 11n Wireless Modem Router with 4 Ethernet ports. A Canon Pixma P4000 inkjet printer is attached to the desktop PC. As it is the only printer in the home, successful printer sharing is absolutely essential.
Until recently we were using a D-Link modem and D-Link wireless router piggy-backed into the modem. It had worked fairly reliably for a couple of years but increasingly we were experiencing an apparent clash and DoS for some laptops if all three were accessing the internet at the same time. This was worked around by connecting one of the laptops to the modem via Ethernet cable and disabling its wireless NIC. I never really tried too hard to understand why this was occurring, because of the work-around.
Access issues nevertheless became more and more frequent in spite of the work-around. After checking around on this site a while ago and posting a question, I purchased the Netcomm modem/wireless router to replace two network hardware items with one, and also because the Netcomm complied with the 11n standard for higher wireless data transfer rates.
While the problem of no internet access was solved by this course of action, we can no longer access the Canon printer. I just HATE troubleshooting networks under Windows, especially when you go from a working situation to one where things dont work (there were no printer access issues with the D-Link hardware in place, with the laptops successfully connecting wirelessly to the printer via the home network).
NO settings on the PCs have been altered. I am wondering whether the change of modem/router is involved, and would greatly appreciate it if someone could set out a logical procedure for me to follow (or point me to an existing one) in order to troubleshoot this problem. Ive read about disabling simple file sharing, creating exactly the same user accounts on every PC, disabling firewalls, etc etc but frankly Im a bit lost in terms of coming up with a logical sequence of steps which allows you to eliminate particular causes as you go along rather than a mish-mash of loose ideas where after trying a lot of ideas for an hour, you have neither fixed anything nor increased your understanding of why the problem is even occurring in the first place - which can be very frustrating.
Other facts occur to me which are likely to throw more confusion than light on the subject. In My Network Places on the desktop (XP) machine, the two Vista laptops are seen, but not the XP laptop (most of the time see later). Equally, the XP laptop cannot see the XP desktop which makes it impossible to print from the former! To make matters worse, a couple of days ago this inability of the XP machines to see each other persisted for a fair while; then, without warning and as if by a miracle, they each appeared within My Network Places. Hence I rushed to do a print from the XP laptop and in the 30 seconds it took to open some software, load a document and then request a printout, I got the Printer not found on the network error again. Quickly checking within My Network Places showed that the desktop PC had disappeared just as quickly as it had miraculously appeared moments before! It is the sort of ludicrous and inexplicable situation for which Windows is so derided and well-known.
This question has turned out longer than I thought but I know it helps to put as much detail about the issue up front. In (hopefully) answering this question, could someone also clarify definitively for me the issue of firewall v. no- firewall (it may be involved in a solution for my problem).
Firstly, without exception antivirus programs recommend turning off Windows FW and utilising their own. And Ive read that Windows FW is weak , which seems to support this as a good idea. What I lack in knowledge however is just how exposed the home network would be if I turned off ALL FWs. Ive never fully understood exactly what a FW does that a combination of antivirus software and spyware doesnt. The alternative that Im aware of is to leave a firewall on but to add entries to its Exception List . This option seems to me to imply that forever you will be greeted with a pop-up message from the firewall asking whether to block or allow internet sites. If Im correct here, it becomes a nightmare and a road block likely to frustrate the user into disabling the firewall just to get peace!
OK, time for me to stop and wait&
