Home network puzzle -- things have fallen apart.

Cyril N. Alberga

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Jan 4, 2010, 2:38:02 PM1/4/10

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I have three computers which until recently shared all their disks via a
wired/wireless home network. Recently the networks has gotten into a mess and I
haven't found out how to get it working again.

The situation:

Computer A has read/write access to the disks on computers B and C
Computer B has read/write access to the disks on computer A, but throws an
error "\\C is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this
network resource. etc."
Computer C can't even access the network, throwing an error
"Network is not accessible. etc."

When this first happened all machines had matching (name & password) users, with
full permissions set on all. (Note that it had been working, but machine C was
off-line for a while, and was used away from the house -- it is a laptop)

On advice I created new user ids, identical on all machine, members of the
administrators group, and set permissions from those. I renamed the machines
and the created a new workgroup. But the same behavior persists.

What is my next step on getting this sorted out????

Cyril N. Alberga

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Jan 4, 2010, 5:25:55 PM1/4/10

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Finally had a bright idea. The problem is in ZoneAlarm! So I'll toddle of to
them for help.

Shenan Stanley

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Jan 4, 2010, 5:46:08 PM1/4/10

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Cyril N. Alberga wrote:
> Finally had a bright idea. The problem is in ZoneAlarm! So I'll
> toddle of to them for help.

IMHO, the help you need from them:
http://download.zonealarm.com/bin/free/support/cpes_clean.exe

That's the removal/cleanup tool you should/could run after properly
uninstalling ZoneAlarm from the Control Panel --> Add or Remove Programs.

For most home users, ZoneAlarm causes more trouble than it is worth. The
Windows XP Firewall, especially when combined with the use of a NAT router
device, is *more* than sufficient. Most home users find little to no
benefit from running it and it is yet another variable when things go wrong.

Your system will likely run faster without it as well.

I'd recommend the following 'security' on your Windows XP system...

* Get rid of whatever AntiVirus solution you have (particularly if it is an
all-in-one type, unless it happens to be one of the two I am about to
suggest) and install either of these:

- Avira AntiVir (free)
- eSet NOD32 (AntiVirus only) (cost)

* Get rid of whatever AntiMalware solution you have (unless it happens to be
the one I am about to suggest) and install and occassionally scan with (or
purchase and use to actively protect yourself with):

- MalwareBytes

* Get rid of any third-party firewall software and utilize the built-in
Windows XP firewall.

* Uninstall all unnecessary software, particularly any search/toolbars you
do not use, any applications that run all the time that you never utilize,
etc. If you have some 'weather' desktop stuff - learn to look outside. ;-)

Your performance, protection and ease of use will go way up.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Steve Hayes

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Jan 4, 2010, 7:49:38 PM1/4/10

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We have had a similar problem.

My wife's laptop (running Vista) won't allow her to send files to my desktop
(running XP) and demands a password.

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Steve Hayes

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Jan 4, 2010, 7:50:36 PM1/4/10

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Ah, yes, we had problems when we reinstalled Zonealarm, but had it working
better since then.