VinPetrol

has anyone else had this prob ? i have a laptop an 2 desktops connected by wireless router. i have played with all the settings an managed to get the 2 desktops to see each other, share files an internet, but cant gat the laptop to apperar for the life of me.

also it doesnt seem to hold the settings cuz i have to do it all again uopn switching the computers on each morning...

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP !

wacky.banana

Vin,

This post will get moved to another forum in a minute. However try the following:

Start by pinging each computer and see if you get a return. If yes then you have a software problem (maybe Norton intervening). It also proves that your wireless network is setup correctly. In any case:

- deinstall Nortons then, assuming you are running Win XP,
- run the XP network setup wizard , even if you have done so before.
- If you are running fixed IP addresses make sure you don't have a conflict.
- if running dhcp make sure each pc has dhcp set to on.
- manually type in your dns server settings (don't set this to auto as it won't work).

If all this gets you to a fully working system then reinstall Nortons and setup your IP ranges and/or addresses within Nortons as trusted accounts.

Post back up so we know how you got on.

HTH

WB

jpor

iTrader: (1)

Ugggh... Norton!

I take it this is Norton Firewall? If so then with all firewalls you need to poke a hole in the firewall for any IP and/or ports you want to let through it so you can connect correctly.

Have you got the firewalls running on Windows XP? In other words you have service pack 2 installed. This caught me out at work when S2 came out and PCs wouldn't connect on the office network.

VinPetrol

Wacky, i am running xp, dhcp is switched on on all pc's. i really think its norton not lettin me through, because if i uninstall it, everything connects, but with no protection.........doh !

i also set the ip range to allow all my pc's to pass through the firewall, but it jus wont let em all past.

i will try uninstalling an re-installing norton and starting from scratch to see if this will help.

i am not entirely sure how to:

"manually type in your dns server settings (don't set this to auto as it won't work)."

...where is this setting, how do i know what to change it to ?

thanks a lot for your reply its most appreciated


jpor, yep this is firewall plus all the other bits you get with the package thing from norton. sp2 is installed, does it need to be installed on all computers ?

also i think im correct in saying that i only need to install the firewall on the 1 pc which is connected to the internet, because the other 2 pc's connect to it through the router......im def gettin more an more confused...aaarrrgh !!

G00ner

Bin Norton, it caused my wireless network loads of grief, plus it's a resource hogging pile of ****.

I run Nod32 and windows firewall, it all works well and uses minimal resources.

wacky.banana

Vin,

DNS settings: start>control panel>network connections. Right mouse click on local area connection and when you see the dropdown menu click on Properties. You will see a window with 3 tabs, ie General, Authentication, Advanced. make sure the general tab is clicked, then scroll down to Internet Protocol (TCP).

Click on the properties box on the right and you will se the page with DNS settings. Click on "use the following DNS settings"and type in your preferred and alternative dns settings (you can get these from your service provider).

Click ok, job done.

Come back after you have done this otherwise diagnosing the problem starts to get complicated. BTW I charge London IT support consultant fees for this.

My bill is in the post to you.

WB

mike1210

Firstly if the router is running is NAT mode (it should be) then that in itself acts like a firewall against incoming traffic as it only lets in what you send out requests for.

Disable norton and see if that helps

The firewall on service pack 2 will block file sharing by default until you tick file and print sharing on the exceptions list.

Im not sure 100% sure on your setup but do all the pc's connect via the router be it wireless or hardwired. They should be pretty safe from the outside world with the router protection

could go on to www.auditmypc.com and do a test on the firewall

or http://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?rh1dkyd2 and do a test on the common ports on all the computers

VinPetrol

thanks for the sugesstions, i will go through em, an try again see if i cant get this thing to work now...cheers everyone, i'll let u know how it goes.

BillyWhizz

if you're running a router you need to configure nortons to allow the same network address range (eg.192.168.0.0) as your router or it won't see anything. just open nortons firewall and configure home networking.


I just got a router with a built in firewall and am running nortons and had the same prob until I changed the network address range in nortons. took me a couple of minutes.

no need to uninstall or ditch or anything.

VinPetrol

iv tried that, i added the same range that i specified on the router in nortons, but it jus didnt seem to make a differece.......?

BillyWhizz

have you tried manually setting the ip addresses on all 3 pooters?

if you set them within the same range they should see each other no problem... but we are talking about windows.


also... I know it sounds basic but is the wireless card working on the laptop, and is it set to infastructure or ad hoc (peer to peer)?

if it's set to peer to peer it will be trying to connect to another pc rather than the router.


all worth thinking about


hth

VinPetrol

yep, its an all in one job, but im still using the modem that came with the broadband.

BillyWhizz

so I guess you using ICS to connect to the interweb?

forget the internet for now and concentrate on getting the pooters to see each other. then set up the router for your internet.

also as you lose settings it may be worth setting the addresses manually so they stay the same

VinPetrol

Well, got it all working in the end!

Dont know exactly what the prob was tbh, but think it may have been the access list on the router, and the fact i thought i had added all 3 machines to it, but in actual fact hadnt atall, it was a very unclear gui and i misunderstood the way in which the gui was laid out...very poor design !


still between us we got it sorted. thanks for all your advice

wacky.banana

Only just refound this thread! Good result.

John1uk

what make is your laptop and what is the specification?

Regards john

PC Medic

www.pc-medic.net