NetBui vs TCP/IP

Thanks for the new forum ... now to the post.

Had a situation recently involving a small network not being able to communicate. Had 4 machines running different OSs (NT Server 4.0SP4, Win98 original version, Win98 2ED, and Win95SP1). All use same 3COM NIC and are connected via a hub.
Why do I need NetBui to have them all communicate? W95 and NT (and W98 2ED if memory serves me right)ran fine with TCP/IP only, but with W98 original version had to have NETBUI to access it.

Any thoughts or general discussion on the matter will be appreciated ... thanks.

You don't need to have NetBeui to make them work. TCP/IP will work fine in your scenario, provided it is configured correctly.

Remove NetBeui from all the machines first, and make sure that TCP/IP is bound to the NIC on each machine. Make sure they all have the same Network Number (determined by MASK). For example:

Network ID: 192.168.100.0 / 255.255.255.0
(replace .0 in first number with 1 to 254 so each machine is unique). Leave default gateway blank unless you know better.

Reapply latest SP on the NT machines and start cross pinging machines to see what works, and let me know.

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MCSE

I agree that it should have worked, but it didn't ... IPs were all bound properly,same subnet, etc., but the one machine would just not work.
Also originally had IPs assigned using DHCP on the NT server and had the same problem. I turned this off after setting up the WIN98 2ED machine to use ICS ... might re-enable it someday and disable ICS DHCP, but after messing with getting ICS to run right I didn;t feel like going back to re-enable DHCP on the NT server.

On the machine that wouldn't work, remove Dial Up Networking under Add/Remove Programs on the control panel, then remove all services and protocols under N.N., reboot. You don't need to remove the NIC driver.

Then reinstall Microsoft Networking, and add TCP/IP. Reset IP address/mask/gw, and it will probably work. I have this problem ALL the time.

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MCSE

When you say "communicate", are you saying that the W98 original is not able to ping the other machines or not able to browse network neighborhood. If its not able to browse network neighborhood, its probably because you don't have file and print sharing installed on the W98 original machine

File/Print sharing are enabled on the failing machine. Error I get is that it is unable to browse the network. If I ping other workstation NICs I get a valid reply, so that indicates to me that there is a connection; however, since I can't view any of the other workstations in Network Neighborhood, I can't access any shared resources.
Have removed/reinstalled protocols and services a number of times on the failing machine, but get the same results. None of the other workstations (running W95, NT4, and W982ED) have this problem. They all work fine with TCP/IP only.

Try this. I found that win98 needs to match up with the IRQ numbers of the other cards in the system or come close in order for it to work. I use IRQ 10 or 11 for the net cards. These can often be used by the modem card or perhaps the sound card. Check Start\settings\control panel\system\device manager and look at the resources of each card. Win98 does not easily allow you to change the IRQ so you need to yank out the conflicting card (modem or sound), start up and let plug and play detect the net card, check that the irq is close in number, and then reinstall the removed card. Check for conflict between the modem and sound card. This worked for me after experimenting for some time but all 10 work now.

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do it with an architect

Been there ... done that.
No modem in the unit. Sound card and NIC are using different resources - no conflicts.
Agree with what you're saying, but ....

Try creating a LMHOSTS file on your problem machine. Enter the IP address and NetBIOS name (PC name) of each machine on the network. If you have multiple protocol on the machine, make sure on the TCP/IP properties under the Advanced tab that the option to "Set this protocol to be the default protocol" is checked. If you have only one protocol it should be grayed out.