File sharing in wireless network - network path not found

What I have:
One laptop and one desktop, both connected to a wireless router. They are
both able to access internet without problems. Both computers have McAfee
AntiVirus. Windows Firewall is off. I can ping each computer from the other
computer. System is Windows XP Home Edition SP2.

Problem:
I can search and see the other computer in My Network Places. However when I
click the computer name, the following message shows "\\computer name is not
accessable. You might not have permission to use this network resource.
Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access
permission. The network path was not found.". I need help to access and
share files and printers among the computer. Thanks.

Dear James,

If you get a helpful answer to this, I would sure like to know about it. I
have the same problem and I have asked techies from here to the North Pole,
combed the posts, etc, and have found nothing useful. I can ping and search
the computers on my network using IP addresses just fine. But the
"automatic" and very handy Network Neighborhood, or whatever Microsoft calls
it these days, is simply non-functional. And the oddest thing about this is
that the experienced tech people seem to respond as if they had never
encountered such a problem. How can it be? is their general response.

Good luck,

Les

"James" wrote:

> What I have:
> One laptop and one desktop, both connected to a wireless router. They are
> both able to access internet without problems. Both computers have McAfee
> AntiVirus. Windows Firewall is off. I can ping each computer from the other
> computer. System is Windows XP Home Edition SP2.
>
> Problem:
> I can search and see the other computer in My Network Places. However when I
> click the computer name, the following message shows "\\computer name is not
> accessable. You might not have permission to use this network resource.
> Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access
> permission. The network path was not found.". I need help to access and
> share files and printers among the computer. Thanks.

Same problem James. Wish I could offer a solution. I've tried everything and
going nuts with no solution.

"James" wrote:

> What I have:
> One laptop and one desktop, both connected to a wireless router. They are
> both able to access internet without problems. Both computers have McAfee
> AntiVirus. Windows Firewall is off. I can ping each computer from the other
> computer. System is Windows XP Home Edition SP2.
>
> Problem:
> I can search and see the other computer in My Network Places. However when I
> click the computer name, the following message shows "\\computer name is not
> accessable. You might not have permission to use this network resource.
> Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access
> permission. The network path was not found.". I need help to access and
> share files and printers among the computer. Thanks.

I had the same problem - the problem is with a missing protocol. Try this:

Windows 2000

<Note: If you have an XP computer on your network please see our area about
file and printer sharing for Windows XP>

Starting from the desktop:

1. Go to My Computer > Control Panel

2. Double click on Network and Dial - Up Connections

3. You should see Local Area Connection or something similar. If you're not
sure which network card you're using select each Local Area Connection(s) and
follow step

4. Click Properties

5. You should have the following:

*Client for Microsoft Networks

*File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks

*Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

*NetBEUI

*IPx/SPx

If you don't have NetBEUI or IPx /SPx please go to Step 6, else please go to
step 7

6. Next click Install and select the protocol that needs to be added:

NetBEUI

IPx/SPx Compatible Protocol

7. Click Close and Close again

8. This will bring you back to “Control Panel�. Double click on System

9. This will bring up the "System Properties" Window, you'll be on the
General Tab, click the Network Identification tab.

10. Click Properties

11. Check to be sure that the computer name you're using is a unque name on
the network, and workgroup is set, not domain. Now make sure that this
computer has the same Workgroup as the rest of the network.

Windows XP

To setup a network in Windows XP, you'll need to run the networking wizard
in Windows XP you can access it by going to:

Start> Control Panel> Network Connections (If you do not see “Network
Connections� click on the Switch to Classic View option on the left hand side
of Control Panel).

On the left side you'll see "Network Tasks"

Click on the option for Setup a Home or Small Office Network

This will bring you to a wizard.

Select the option for Connecting to Residential Gateway (That's the router).

Once the wizard is finished you'll have to make a floppy disk that you'll
take around to the other computers to set them up. After you set them all up,
shut down all the computers, and then start them up and you should be able to
share files.

Please Note:

If you're using Windows 98/ME and try to access a Windows 2000/XP PC then
you may not be able to access the shared portions of the Windows 2000/XP
computer due to user right restrictions. To get around this you may want to
have the Window 2000/XP PC access the files from the 98/ME machine. Else
you'll need to setup User permissions.
For more information on that you can check Microsoft’s website or contact
their technical support.


"James" wrote:

> What I have:
> One laptop and one desktop, both connected to a wireless router. They are
> both able to access internet without problems. Both computers have McAfee
> AntiVirus. Windows Firewall is off. I can ping each computer from the other
> computer. System is Windows XP Home Edition SP2.
>
> Problem:
> I can search and see the other computer in My Network Places. However when I
> click the computer name, the following message shows "\\computer name is not
> accessable. You might not have permission to use this network resource.
> Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access
> permission. The network path was not found.". I need help to access and
> share files and printers among the computer. Thanks.