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GrayStrickland

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Netbios doesn't find LAN names that Ping finds

Problem: can't browse to resources of other pcs on my LAN. Sometimes trying to open \\pcname\share results in the other pc. Sometimes this results in me being  prompted for a username and password and sometimes it just says that that \\pcname cannot be found. Strangely, even when it "can't find" \\pcname\share, it can still ping pcname. Even when it finds \\pcname, it prompts me for a username and password when it should not -- and no matter what username and password I give it, it is never satisfied.

OS: Windows XP Pro (sp3).

Netbios is enabled (Control Panel, Network Connections, select Network connection, select TCP/IP and hit properties, click Advanced, go to WINS tab, "enable netbios over tcp/ip" is enabled (and so is "enable lmhosts lookup."

My LMHOSTS file has these entries:

192.168.3.33      BUFFY      #PRE
192.168.3.40      HP-QUAD      #PRE

\\buffy and \\hp-quad are the pcs on my LAN that I cannot connect to. I can ping those names, but I can't connect to \\buffy\share or \\hp-quad\share

Q. -- How do I fix it so that I can connect to  \\buffy\share or \\hp-quad\share?
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Jackie Man
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Run the ipconfig command for the XP machine which has problem.

ipconfig /all >results.txt

Post the content inside results.txt back and we can see what is the problem.
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GrayStrickland

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Windows IP Configuration



        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : ThinkpadR61i

        Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :

        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast

        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

        DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : tu.ok.cox.net



Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:



        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : tu.ok.cox.net

        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Express Adapter

        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1C-26-10-CF-74

        Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes

        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.3.7

        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0

        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.3.1

        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.3.1

        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 68.105.28.11

                                            68.105.29.11

                                            68.105.28.12

        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, March 14, 2010 9:42:20 PM

        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, March 15, 2010 9:42:20 PM



Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:



        Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected

        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82566MM Gigabit Network Connection

        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-15-58-C6-CD-A7



Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 4:



        Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected

        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : TAP-Win32 Adapter V9

        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-FF-03-BC-05-99



Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:



        Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected

        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth PAN Network Adapter

        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-10-60-55-32-3C

You are connecting over wifi as Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection ( Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected).

Have you set the NetBIOS for Wireless Connection?
I have netbios enabled for the wireless adapter and the wired adapter.
Netbios-wireless.jpg
Try the steps below:

1. Open the Run dialog box by pressing [Windows]R.
2. Type Cmd.exe in the Open text box.
3, Type NBTStat -R in the resulting command prompt.

In this situation, the parameter is case-sensitive, so make sure you use an uppercase R.

This command forces Windows XP to purge the contents of the NetBIOS name cache and then reload the #PRE-tagged entries from the LMHosts file.

Source: http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-22_11-5288888.html
are you running a Domain? If Yes make sure DNS does not have old records which can lead to problems and also correct the DNS Server's settings to point to your Domain DNS.
 
You also seem to be running DHCP on your Router so you need to correct the DNS Server's address in Router's web page.
and last but not the least increase the lease period on your router (DHCP)
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, March 14, 2010 9:42:20 PM

 Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, March 15, 2010 9:42:20 PM
 
your current lease is 24 hours. This will cause such issues. I would recommend you to set it to 12 days minimum.
@ Jackieman

I tried:

1. Open the Run dialog box by pressing [Windows]R.
2. Type Cmd.exe in the Open text box.
3, Type NBTStat -R in the resulting command prompt.

It reported "successful purge of and preload of the NBT Remote Cache Name Table." However it does not solve the problem.


@ Vickzz

"are you running a Domain?"

I do not have a domain at home, although this notebook is sometimes used at my office where we have a domain.

"You also seem to be running DHCP on your Router so you need to correct the DNS Server's address in Router's web page."

Huh? The DNS server listed by IPconfig/all on my notebook are:
68.105.28.11, 68.105.29.11 and 68.105.28.12, which are the DNS servers of my ISP, Cox Communications. My router shows that the DNS servers used by the router are:68.105.28.11 and 68.105.29.11.

What do you mean that I "need to correct the DNS server's address in router's web page?"
You may ignore DNS configuration as you dont have domain but as you have a very short lease of IP address It is highly possible that your machines will get different IP almost every second day.

" Sometimes trying to open \\pcname\share results in the other pc."
you need to change the Lease Period in your router.
For a simple network like yours, there is no need to use LMHOST fille. Just set all computers to be of the same workgroup and you can access the network shares of another computer within the same workgroup.
@ Jackieman

I agree that I *shouldn't* need a LMHOSTS file. I was only trying to use one to fix the problem, or assuage the symptom.  I *do* have all of of the pcs on the network set to the "Strickland" workgroup. That alone *should* solve the problem, but clearly something is broken.

Here's a snapshot of my home LAN:
* \\BUFFY -- Buffalo LinkStation Pro Duo network attached storage (NAS). This device is workgroup/domain aware. It is set to use the "Strickland" workgroup.
* \\HP-QUAD -- HP desktop set to use the the "Strickland" workgroup. This can see and open shares on \\Buffy with no trouble.
* Wife's thinkpad (notebook). This pc is set to use the "Strickland" workgroup. It can see and open shares on \\HP-Quad and \\Buffy with no trouble. This uses the same wifi connection as my notebook.
* My notebook (the one with the problem browsing shares on \\Buffy and HP-Quad
* Various DVRs (digital video recorders)
* Various media streamers
* iPhone
* Blackberry

As you know, my router is my DHCP server. I have everything on my network set to get IP addresses by DHCP (nothing is set to static), but I have "reserved" addresses set in the router for everything that I need to always be found in the same place (which includes \\Buffy, \\HP-Quad and the DVRs) so that they get the same IP lease everytime. Nevertheless, per your suggestion, I have increased the router's DHCP lease time to 12 days.
The best practice is to have static IP for server-like machines like your  \\Buffy, \\HP-Quad and the DVR and you should be fine after setting static IP address for those devices.
Besides, just set Advanced setting of TCP/IP for to Default instead of  "enable netbios over tcp/ip" and disable lmhosts lookup.
Then, restart XP and run the following commands in command prompt. You need to follow the sequence for the commands.
netsh winsock reset catalog

netsh int ip reset reset.log
NBTStat -R
Afterwards, restart XP and try to see whether it works.
 
@ Jackieman

"The best practice is to have static IP for server-like machines like your  \\Buffy, \\HP-Quad and the DVR and you should be fine after setting static IP address for those devices."

Do you think that there is any difference between giving them a truly static address and having them use DHCP, but giving them a reserved address? I'm not arguing with you. I truly don't understand. To me it seems the same, but I guess there's something here I'm overlooking.

@ Jackieman

"...restart XP and run the following commands in command prompt. You need to follow the sequence for the commands.

netsh winsock reset catalog
netsh int ip reset reset.log
NBTStat -R

Afterwards, restart XP and try to see whether it works."

I did the above. Still no joy. This is *WEIRD*

Trying to open \\buffy in Windows Explorer results in NOT FOUND
Trying to open http://buffy in Internet Explorer opens the webpage of my NAS
Trying to ping buffy at a command prompt, results in 4 positive, quick pings

Why is \\buffy not found, but http://buffy works and ping buffy works?

I wonder if there isn't something fundamentally jacked up with my Windows installation on my notebook. I wonder if uninstalling all networking in Windows (if that's even possible), then rebooting and reinstalling networking in Windows would fix the problem?
Do you set Advanced setting of TCP/IP for to Default instead of  "enable netbios over tcp/ip" and disable lmhosts lookup?
@ Jackieman

"...you set Advanced setting of TCP/IP for to Default instead of  "enable netbios over tcp/ip" and disable lmhosts lookup?"

Yes, I did that first, then rebooted, then did this:

netsh winsock reset catalog
netsh int ip reset reset.log
NBTStat -R
I see.

The answer is "Computer Browser" service is disabled or set to manual and the fix is as follows:-

1. Right-click "My Computer" -> Select "Manage" -> Go to "Services" and browse for "Computer Browser"

2. Right-click "Computer Browser" and select "Properties" and set the service to be Automatic in the Startup Type and enable it.

You should be able to browse for the UNC path immediately. If not, restart XP and try again.
Unfortunately, the Computer Browser Service was already (1) running and (2) set to automatic.

I rebooted.

After rebooting (and without running/starting *anything*, the Computer Browser Service was already (1) running and (2) set to automatic.

Something else is wrong. I wonder if it can be fixed without having to reinstall the OS.
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Jackie Man
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It *was* the AVG firewall.... the #$%@&#!#$ AVG firewall.  I don't have a clue how the AVG firewall rules were reset, but that was it.

THANK YOU.