Can't see other network computers...

[crowland2]

I have a home network using a netgear router. I"m working on a friend's computer and am trying to add it to my network but can't seem to get it going. It's Win98 and 3 of my 4 computers are winxp, but my other computer in the network is Win98 and it's running fine. On my friend's computer, I have internet access throught my router. I can ping the other computers, but I can't open them up with the network neighborhood. I get an error telling me to do the network troubleshooter. When I try that, I only get to answer one question, and nothing else comes up. My other computers are shared and I can access the files. From my computers, I can see the name of my friend's computer, but can't open it up (the files are shared). Does anyone have any obvious ideas? Thanks!

Oops--forgot to mention she had the same problem on her network. She had internet access but couldn't see the other computers.

[ecross]

You didn't say what version of Windows XP you were using. Are you using Windows XP Home or XP Professional?

If any of the computers have the Windows Firewall enabled, make sure it is properly configured for file and printer sharing. With Windows Firewall enabled, go to the Exception tab, and click to check the File and Printer Sharing checkbox.

If you've installed a third party firewall program such as Norton Internet Security, McAfee, PC-cillin, eTrust, or ZoneAlarm, make sure that it's configured to allow access on the local area network. Also see the following link.

Browsing the Network
http://www.wown.com/articles_tutorials/browse.html

[TropicalBound]

Did you configure the Win98 machine to be a member of the same workgroup as the rest of your computers? Did you enable NetBios over TCP/IP?

[crowland2]

Sorry I'm just getting back to this...

On my network, it's winxp pro, but have a win98 attached. Her network was set up with a winxp laptop. The other computer is a win98SE. This one, as stated, a win98.

I disabled Zonealarm on my network to make sure that wasn't the problem. Winxp firewall is disabled. I don't think it's my router, because I work on lots of computers and I've never had to adjust through the router.

NetBios over TCP/IP is enabled. The workgroup is set up with the same name.

Any other ideas? Thanks for the responses.

[ecross]

Keep in mind that disabling personal firewalls isn't going to solve anything and sometimes it doesn't always work. It's best to configure or completely uninstall ZoneAlarm while troubleshooting the network. ZoneAlarm should have a way to add the Ip Address of the other computers to the Trusted Sites.

Remove All Firewall Programs While Troubleshooting
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/troubleshoot/removefirewall.htm