Specific Networking Problems and Solutions
Problem: Windows XP takes a long time to open a shared
disk or folder on a computer running Windows 95, 98, or Me
Description: This is a different problem than My
Network Places taking a long time to
open. This problem occurs after you double click a shared
disk or folder.
Possible Solutions:
- Disable searching for scheduled tasks
This
Microsoft Knowledge Base article describes a bug in
Windows 2000 Professional that might also exist in Windows XP.
Disable searching for scheduled tasks by deleting this registry
key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace\
{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}
· Delete stored network passwords
1. Click Control Panel | User Accounts.
2. Click your user name.
3. Click Manage my network passwords.
4. Click each entry and click Remove.
Problem: Network Connection Has IP Address 169.254.x.x
Description: The network card is configured to obtain
an IP address automatically, and it’s connected to a network
with a DHCP server: hardware router, another computer running
Internet Connection Sharing, cable modem, DSL modem, etc. But it
gets a 169.254.x.x IP address, which indicates that it can’t
communicate with the DHCP server:
Possible Solutions:
- Connect the computer using a different Ethernet cable or
hub/switch/router port.
- Download and install the latest firmware for the hardware
router.
- Disable XP’s Internet
Connection Firewall on the local area network
connection.
- The card is configured to automatically sense network
speed and duplex mode, but auto-sensing is failing. Configure
the speed and duplex mode manually. For example, most switches
and routers use 100 Mb speed and full duplex. To make the
settings, right click the network connection and click
Properties | Configure | Advanced.
- Un-install the network card and move it to a different
slot.
- If you have a cable modem connection, turn off the
computer, turn off the cable modem, and wait a few minutes.
Turn on the cable modem, and then turn on the computer.
Problem: Renewing a DHCP lease fails, with error message
“An error occurred while renewing interface <name>: The system
cannot find the file specified.”
Problem: Network connection configured to obtain an IP
address automatically has IP address 0.0.0.0
Solution: Make sure that the DHCP Client
service is running:
- Right click My Computer, and click Manage.
- Double click Services and Applications.
- Double click Services.
- Double click DHCP Client. If the Service status
is Stopped, click Start.
- Set the Startup type to Automatic.
Thanks to Lightcap, who suggested this fix in a news group
message.
Problem: Computers can ping each other by IP address, but
not by name.
Description: An attempt to ping a computer by name
gets the message Ping request could not find host <computer
name>. Please check the name and try again.
Solution: Make sure that
NetBIOS Over TCP/IP is enabled.
Error Message: Network Cable Unplugged
Description: Don’t take this message literally – there
are many causes besides not having a cable physically plugged
into the network card. The message really means that the network
card doesn’t detect a live link to another device on the other
end of the cable.
Possible Solutions:
- Download and install the latest network card driver
program.
- Check the cabling – a bad cable will prevent link
detection. Substitute a cable that’s known to be good.
- Check the link lights on the device on the other end of
the cable, whether it’s a hub, switch, router, or a NIC in
another computer. It should show a live link to the NIC. If it
doesn’t, try a different port.
- Auto-detecting speed and duplex mode can be unreliable.
Set them manually. Most routers and switches use 100Mb, full
duplex. Hubs can only use half duplex.
Error Message: xxxxx is not accessible. You might
not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the
administrator of this server to find out if you have access
permission .
Description: xxxxx is a computer or workgroup
name. This is a generic networking error message that doesn’t
provide much, if any useful information. It should be followed
by a more specific message.
Error Message: The list of servers for this workgroup is
not currently available.
Solution: Make sure that the Computer Browser
service is running on at least one Windows XP computer on the
network:
- Right click My Computer, and click Manage.
- Double click Services and Applications.
- Double click Services.
- Double click Computer Browser. If the Service
status is Stopped, click Start.
- Set the Startup type to Automatic.
Error Message: Unable to browse the network. The network
is not accessible.
Description: This error message appears on a computer
running Windows 95/98/Me.
Solution: Make sure that:
- The user is logged on. Click Start |
Log Off <user name> and log back on.
- The Computer Browser service is running on at least
one Windows XP computer on the network.
Problem: Internet Connection Sharing Clients Can’t Access
Some Web Sites
Description: This is a common problem when the host
computer has a DSL connection that uses PPP Over Ethernet
(PPPoE), due to a bug in the Windows XP PPPoE client.
Solution: Many people have reported solving the
problem by using the
RASPPPoE
client instead of XP's. It’s available for
free download from its author.
Problem: Computer A Can Ping Computer B, but not Vice
Versa
Solution: This is almost always caused by an
improperly configured firewall on Computer A.
Problem: XP's Network Setup Wizard Says That No Network
Card Is Installed
Solution:
XP's Network Setup Wizard sometimes fails to recognize an
installed and working network card. This is because the NIC's
driver program doesn't respond correctly to all of the queries
that the Wizard makes when it's looking for a NIC. Configure the
card’s TCP/IP properties manually.
Problem: One Computer Can’t Access Some Web Sites, but
Other Computers Can
Solution: Look for the Windows Hosts file on
the problem computer:
- Windows 95/98/Me: C:\Windows\Hosts
- Windows 2000: C:\WinNT\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts
- Windows XP: C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts
Open it with a text editor and you'll probably find lines
with the names of the sites that you can't access. Delete those
lines, save the file, and try again. If those are the only lines
in the file, delete the file. Be sure to save it with a file
name of just Hosts, with no file type. If your editor
saves it as Hosts.txt, rename it to just Hosts.
The Hosts file can be created by "web accelerator" programs
that store name-to-IP address translations. This might speed up
access by a tiny amount, but it causes problems when a site's IP
address changes.
Error Message - PING: transmit failed, error code 65
Description: This error message occurs when you try to
ping any IP address.
Solution: A firewall program has been incompletely
removed. Re-install it, then remove it as described in our
article on removing firewalls.
Problem: A shared disk or folder doesn’t appear in My
Network Places
Description: The disk or folder is shared correctly on
another computer, but it doesn’t appear.
Solution 1: Click Add a network place and
follow the prompts to add it. Browse to it through Entire
Network, or specify the path name using the form
\\computer\share.
Solution 2: Click View workgroup computers,
then click the computer that has the shared disk or folder.
Error Message: No more connections can be made to this
remote computer at this time because there are already as many
connections as the computer can accept.
Description: Windows XP Home Edition allows a maximum
of 5 other computers to access its shared disks and folders
simultaneously. Windows XP Professional allows a maximum of 10.
This message appears when the maximum has been reached and
another computer requests access.
Solution: There’s no way to change the limit. A
computer that’s already connected must close its connection
before another can have access.
Error Message: An error has occurred while trying to share
<filename>. The Server service is not started. The shared
resource was not created at this time.
Solution: To start the Server service:
- Right click My Computer and select Manage.
- Double click Services and Applications.
- Double click Services.
- Scroll down the list of services and double click
Server.
- Click the Start button.
- Set the Startup type to Automatic.
- Click Apply and OK.