no file sharing

I have tried setting up a wireless network, I only get internet connection,
no file sharing. I get message that says MS home not accessible...contact
system administrator..network path not found.

what am I doing wrong. or what id blocking file sharing?

biggieG wrote:

> I have tried setting up a wireless network, I only get internet
> connection,
> no file sharing. I get message that says MS home not
> accessible...contact system administrator..network path not found.
>
> what am I doing wrong. or what id blocking file sharing?

This is most commonly caused by a misconfigured firewall. Run the
Network Setup Wizard on both computers, making sure to enable File &
Printer Sharing, and reboot. The only "gotcha" is that this will turn
on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party
firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like
Norton 2005/06) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. If you have
third-party firewall software, configure it to allow the Local Area
Network traffic as trusted. I usually do this with my firewalls with an
IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would
substitute your correct subnet.

Then create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
Shared Documents folder.

If that doesn't work for you, here is an excellent network
troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna. Take the time to go through it
and it will usually pinpoint the problem area(s) -
http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

network path not found:

see http://www.amw1.com/faq/error-messages/faqs.htm


"Malke" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> biggieG wrote:
>
>> I have tried setting up a wireless network, I only get internet
>> connection,
>> no file sharing. I get message that says MS home not
>> accessible...contact system administrator..network path not found.
>>
>> what am I doing wrong. or what id blocking file sharing?
>
> This is most commonly caused by a misconfigured firewall. Run the
> Network Setup Wizard on both computers, making sure to enable File &
> Printer Sharing, and reboot. The only "gotcha" is that this will turn
> on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party
> firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like
> Norton 2005/06) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. If you have
> third-party firewall software, configure it to allow the Local Area
> Network traffic as trusted. I usually do this with my firewalls with an
> IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would
> substitute your correct subnet.
>
> Then create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
> home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
> folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
> Shared Documents folder.
>
> If that doesn't work for you, here is an excellent network
> troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna. Take the time to go through it
> and it will usually pinpoint the problem area(s) -
> http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Had the same problem. Resolved by going to the router control address
(198.162.1.1 on my PC) on the host PC. Go to the configuration tab, and
configure the Private LAN. Private LAN must be set to Enable. For me,
disabling the Private LAN DHCP Server setting works best.

Good luck. HH

Socrates wrote:
> network path not found:
>
> see http://www.amw1.com/faq/error-messages/faqs.htm
>
>
> "Malke" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>>biggieG wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I have tried setting up a wireless network, I only get internet
>>>connection,
>>>no file sharing. I get message that says MS home not
>>>accessible...contact system administrator..network path not found.
>>>
>>>what am I doing wrong. or what id blocking file sharing?
>>
>>This is most commonly caused by a misconfigured firewall. Run the
>>Network Setup Wizard on both computers, making sure to enable File &
>>Printer Sharing, and reboot. The only "gotcha" is that this will turn
>>on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party
>>firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like
>>Norton 2005/06) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. If you have
>>third-party firewall software, configure it to allow the Local Area
>>Network traffic as trusted. I usually do this with my firewalls with an
>>IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would
>>substitute your correct subnet.
>>
>>Then create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
>>home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
>>folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
>>Shared Documents folder.
>>
>>If that doesn't work for you, here is an excellent network
>>troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna. Take the time to go through it
>>and it will usually pinpoint the problem area(s) -
>>http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm
>>
>>Malke
>>--
>>Elephant Boy Computers
>>www.elephantboycomputers.com
>>"Don't Panic!"
>>MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
>
>

"HHatcher" wrote:

> Had the same problem. Resolved by going to the router control address
> (198.162.1.1 on my PC) on the host PC. Go to the configuration tab, and
> configure the Private LAN. Private LAN must be set to Enable. For me,
> disabling the Private LAN DHCP Server setting works best.
>
> Good luck. HH
>
> Socrates wrote:
> > network path not found:
> >
> > see http://www.amw1.com/faq/error-messages/faqs.htm
> >
> >
> > "Malke" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> >
> >>biggieG wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>I have tried setting up a wireless network, I only get internet
> >>>connection,
> >>>no file sharing. I get message that says MS home not
> >>>accessible...contact system administrator..network path not found.
> >>>
> >>>what am I doing wrong. or what id blocking file sharing?
> >>
> >>This is most commonly caused by a misconfigured firewall. Run the
> >>Network Setup Wizard on both computers, making sure to enable File &
> >>Printer Sharing, and reboot. The only "gotcha" is that this will turn
> >>on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party
> >>firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like
> >>Norton 2005/06) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. If you have
> >>third-party firewall software, configure it to allow the Local Area
> >>Network traffic as trusted. I usually do this with my firewalls with an
> >>IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would
> >>substitute your correct subnet.
> >>
> >>Then create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
> >>home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
> >>folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
> >>Shared Documents folder.
> >>
> >>If that doesn't work for you, here is an excellent network
> >>troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna. Take the time to go through it
> >>and it will usually pinpoint the problem area(s) -
> >>http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm
> >>
> >>Malke
> >>--
> >>Elephant Boy Computers
> >>www.elephantboycomputers.com
> >>"Don't Panic!"
> >>MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
> >
> >
>
Workgroup is not accessible
General

If you get one of these symptoms or error messages or a similar one:

* You cannot access shares on other computers.
* You cannot locate other computers in the workgroup.
* When you double-click the workgroup in Network Neighborhood or My
Network Places, you get the error message: Workgroup is not accessible. You
may not have permission to use this network resource.
* Workgroup is not accessible. The list of servers for this workgroup is
not currently available.

Perform the following procedures, which could perhaps cause this problem,
and read also the chapter, "Network path not found". Retest after each
procedure. Reboot after making nontrivial changes.

1. If you have Service Pack 2 or higher installed, make sure the File and
Printer Sharing exception is enabled in the firewall. Reboot to allow the
browser service to start or start it manually (see below).
2. Check the IP addresses of the two computers that cannot connect to
each other. They should be in the same subnet, i.e. the first three (or two
or one, depending on the subnet mask) numbers should be identical. A
particular cause can be Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), because enabling
this changes the IP address to 192.168.0.1. All other computers should be set
to obtain their IP addresses automatically (through DHCP) and may have to be
rebooted.
3. Check whether NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled. It should be for almost
all small and home networks. You can find this setting in the properties of
the LAN connection. Double-click on the Internet protocol (TCP/IP), click on
the Advanced button in the lower right, click on the WINS tab and activate
Netbios over TCP/IP. You can later test whether the Standard setting is
sufficient and use that if it works. A more detailed description can be found
in the chapter "Netbios over TCP/IP".
4. Also make sure that the TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service is running and
has the proper start type. Select Administrative tools, Services, and change
the Start setting for the TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service to Automatic. Without
this service NetBIOS over TCP/IP will not function. Again a more detailed
description can be found in the chapter "Netbios over TCP/IP".
5. Have you really checked the NetBIOS node type as described in the form
at the top?
6. Make sure the computer browser service is running (see the special
chapter below).
7. If you notice that computers running older operating systems than
Windows XP disturb the computer browser system, you can try to disable the
browser service on those computers by stopping the service and setting its
start type to Disabled. Note, however, that you always need at least one
computer that can become a browser, otherwise Network Neighborhood or My
Network Places will not work. See also the special chapter on the computer
browser service below.
8. Make sure you have only one transport protocol installed, namely
TCP/IP. Remove, disable, or at least unbind (remove all bindings from) other
transport protocols like IPX (NWLink) and NetBEUI.
9. Uninstall third party client software that can interfere with the
networking settings. Such software could have come with network adapters or
with a router.
10. If you had other networking clients installed, like certain Netware
clients, you may be in for a long, bumpy ride. Some do damage that is almost
impossible to repair. You may want to try a repair installation of Windows
XP, followed by applying Service Pack 2 again, or, better, a repair
installation with a slipstream version of Windows XP with Service Pack 2
already integrated. See the very first chapter above for details.
11. Rid the computer of adware and spyware. For example, run Spybot Search
& Destroy. Please see the chapter "Winsock corruption" for details.
12. Repair the Winsock with the command: netsh winsock reset (This removes
all third party Layered Service Providers—LSPs. Please see the chapter
"Winsock corruption" for details.)
13. Repair the IP stack with the Repair command or with the command:
"netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt" without the quotes. Please see the
chapter "Winsock corruption" for details.
14. If the loopback feature is enabled in a connected router, disable it.
You may even need a firmware upgrade.
15. Change the workgroup name in all computers to a new, simple, short,
perhaps even all upper case one, to make sure there aren't any problems
there. You can later change it back.
16. Check all NetBIOS names for possible duplicates. For example, if the
workgroup name coincides with a user or computer name, this could cause the
problem. Try opening a command line window and issuing the command: net view
17. Issue the command: net view \\computername, where computername should
be replaced with one of the names displayed with the simple net view command.
Check all names for possible duplication.
18. Check your router's diagnostic and information pages for NAT
information, like which computer has which IP address. Any duplication here
could point to the problem.
19. Disable, better uninstall or upgrade, all antivirus software and third
party firewalls.
20. If all this doesn't help, remove all networking components, reboot,
then set them up again and work through this checklist once more.

Two of these points are also explained in the following Microsoft Knowledge
Base article.

You cannot access shared files and folders or browse computers in the
workgroup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318030/

And, most importantly, if you find that one of these points or any other
procedure solved your problem, please send me an email and let me know!
Computers, shares, or printers unreachable
Long server description

Ted Hamilton found that the following solved the problem of a missing
computer name.

If the computer description of the invisible computer (the server) is longer
than 48 characters, make it shorter. Details can be found in the following
Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Computer Name Missing in the Browsing List When Server Comment More Than 48
Characters
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/231312/
The RestrictAnonymous registry value

Some excerpts from the many mails I have received

You are a GENIUS!!! I have been working on this all day, since 9.00 am, and
I tried EVERYTHING. I was about to give up, when I tried your worksheet, but
keeping information very much focussed to the nub of the problem - Access
Denied. Changing the RestrictAnonymous value to zero did the trick first
time, although I was so tired by this stage that I just wasn't expecting it.
Many thanks.

Many Thanks after 4 days the solution.

Thanks for your dedicated support! I wouldn’t have been able to solve this
without you and I was starting to get a bit frustrated!

You are a genius for creating this web site. i searched 2.5 days trying to
find a solution to this problem and it wasn't until i googled "net view"
"Error 5: You do not" that i come across your site. i see many people asking
about the circumstances concerning this specific problem but no one seems to
have had the answer to this registry setting. Your site was the only place
that i found the solution.
Thank you very very very extremely much, ...

Cheers mate, worked a treat :-)
Thank you very much :-)

Again, a big Thank You for your very informative web page.

thank you very much for the help. the problem is solved

I know I don’t have to write anything, but Thanks anyway! Solved a long
running problem for me, just by changing 1 to 0!

Thank you very much for providing this info. I've been searching for this
info for almost a month. [...]
Again, thank you very much for this precious information.

Thank you, Thankyou, Thankyou, after trying many so called fixes without any
luck, changing a 1 to a Zero fixed it.

Amazing, I have just wasted $180 on a technician with no resolution.

thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you
damn windows to hell!

THANK YOUUUUUUU I LOVE U MAN!!! YOU JUST SAVED MY LIFE!!! I'VE BEEN DEALING
WITH THIS NETWORKD FOR ABOUT 72 HRS WITHOUT ANY SLEEP AND NOW IT'S FINALLY
WORKING... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After googling for over 3 days I finally found a link to your site. I got
down to this thing to do with the registry, and after changing the value from
1 to 0 it works. Thanks so very much for this site. You are a genius.
In future I will be coming here for more help

You are a network god!!

You are awesome, dude!

perfect, thank you!

Whoaa!!!
Don't know how you got to this, but it surely ROCKS! [...]
I ran accross your resource, after searching for ENDLESS hours, and VOILA!!!
It just worked like a charm. UNBELIEVABLE that we have to so deep and down to
get such a miserable problem resolved. Thank's God you were around.
Keep up the good work!!!

Legend!

Problem solved thanks to your very good interactive form!

Thank you so much!
Your resource pages are the best I've ever come across, this solved all my
networking headaches, once again thank you!

After I had reinstalled Windows XP, people could no longer access my
computer. I was totally stumped and on and off over the past few months I
would have another go at it. Then I happened to stumble across your page, and
lo and begold, changing a simple 1 to a 0 fixed my problem! Thank you so much
for creating this in depth troubleshooting page, it's any networker's bible.

Fabulous - changed registry value and problem gone on re-boot.

Thanks. 2 MCSE’s at work were vexed by this issue [...]

Absolutely FANTASTIC...
I almost got crazy trying several workarounds.
My last resort would be to reinstall the whole stuff, but you have saved me
the day!!!
Thanks, man!

BTW I spent over an hour with Microsoft Support last night, and they didn't
have a clue
Thank you very much for maintaining a site like this.

Thank you and your awesome page. The registry value was driving me nuts.

May I just say before I get into any detail that I now think you are a god
below is the reason why.
[...] I could no longer assess the shared files [...] nothing worked.
Finally I came across your site and entered the problems I was having and it
narrowed my problem down to about two possible issues, [...]
Now everything works and I can start sleeping at nights again so thank you
again for a fantastic web site.

Really Excellent solution, I formatted my windows drive and reinstalled
windows for 2 times because I met this problem and found no solution with
Microsoft or whatever; they told me something about security policy but it
did not work. you've saved me from reistalling windows. I really appreciate
that tooooooo much. Thank You.

was having a problem with my network. could not access one of the computers.
after about 4 days of constant searching and trying finally found your
website. followed the leads and boom, that was it. [...]
thanks a million!

YOU SOLVED MY NETWORK PROBLEM and I cannot thankyou enough!
It was "The RestrictAnonymous registry value" that was the problem.
I was getting an "Access is denied" error message until I tried your fix. I
have never edited the registry before so I was a bit nervous but thankyou SO
MUCH for sharing your knowledge on the net. I spent days and days trying to
work out what was wrong, hardly sleeping, buying books on networking,
scouring the internet for help....
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. I hope Microsoft reward you handsomely.

[...] Thanks for your help. Your site is amazing. Without it, I would still
be scratching my head and cursing Microsoft.

Thanks much. I worked this problem, on and off, for several weeks. I tried
the network troubleshooter in WinXP. I tried several other (at least 4) web
sites including Microsoft, followed their recommendations and procedures
without success. I questioned two network professionals, all without success.
Your site solved the problem in about 10 minutes.

You have both the following symptoms:

* You can ping the computer by IP and by name.
* When you type on another computer, replacing computername with the
name of the inaccessible computer:

net view \\computername

you get one of the various "Error 5" error messages, like "System error
5 has occurred. Access is denied" or "Error 5: You do not currently have
access to this file. ..." (However, other commands, like

net use Z: \\computername\sharename

or typing the full network path into Windows Explorer may work.)

This can be caused by a registry setting named RestrictAnonymous. Go to the
computer which you cannot access, start a registry editor and change the
following registry value.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\SYSTEM
\CurrentControlSet
\Control
\Lsa
Value name: RestrictAnonymous
Value type: DWORD

If the value is 1 or even 2, change it to 0, reboot and retest. If the
problem is solved, leave the value at zero. If not, you can change it back if
you like.

Check immediately afterwards and again after a reboot, whether the value
changes back to non-zero on its own. If that happens, then you have to find
the culprit, which can be spyware, a worm, or a badly designed security
program. In this case this procedure most likely solved your problem, but
then the bad software stepped back in and recreated the problem.

In this case you can try to disable running programs and services and retry
until you find out which one is responsible. Or you could try to download and
run RegMon from www.sysinternals.com. In RegMon set a filter for the registry
value in question (or wade through all the registry accesses), set the
problem value to zero, then observe which program accesses it and changes it
back to 1. Locate that program and uninstall it. And please don't forget to
report the bad program here, so we can get a list of offending programs.

Two known Trojans that change this value (and also some network access
policies) call themselves mcafee32.exe and msconfg.exe, trying to pose as the
antivirus program of that name or as a Microsoft configuration program module.

2005-05-17 – Peter Kavanagh wrote: Offending malware was either Gaobot.EDJ
variant or Wupd spware in file sdasd.exe, both of which had to be removed.

2005-11-18 – Justin T wrote: I found that System Mechanics Pro 6 changes
these settings to 2 as it thinks it is a security flaw.

Apart from this advice, this web page cannot help you any further, so you
can stop reading at this point. You have to remove the bad software first.

Background: RestrictAnonymous controls whether null sessions, sessions that
work without any authentication and use the permissions of the groups
Everyone and NETWORK, are allowed (value 0) or disallowed (value 1). The
value 2 is obsolete for Windows XP.

Don't mistake this for the value named restrictanonymoussam, which controls
null session SAM account name listings.

For some time I asked for the results of this procedure and recorded an 80%
success rate in 2005.
Background information

It is still unclear why the above solution is needed in some installations,
while others work just fine with RestrictAnonymous = 1. One possible
explanation was taken from a newsgroup message concerning Windows Update
problems and is reproduced here.

Solution for error: 0x80248011

Try checking to make sure you haven’t inadvertently removed a System
account from your volume.

I found that if you modify the NTFS permissions on a volume in Windows,
the System account might be inadvertently removed from the partition. If this
occurs, the System account cannot manage some system functions - such as
updates.

By default, the Everyone group has Full Control permissions on an NTFS
volume and the Everyone group includes the System account. If this permission
or group was removed (for instance to provide additional security) without
adding the System account as an individual account renders the updates
unusable. Even though individual accounts, such as the Administrator account,
may have been added.

This worked in my situation when none of the other solution did.

Any further information is welcome. Please send an email if you have some.

"LOVE" wrote:

>
>
> "HHatcher" wrote:
>
> > Had the same problem. Resolved by going to the router control address
> > (198.162.1.1 on my PC) on the host PC. Go to the configuration tab, and
> > configure the Private LAN. Private LAN must be set to Enable. For me,
> > disabling the Private LAN DHCP Server setting works best.
> >
> > Good luck. HH
> >
> > Socrates wrote:
> > > network path not found:
> > >
> > > see http://www.amw1.com/faq/error-messages/faqs.htm
> > >
> > >
> > > "Malke" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> > >
> > >>biggieG wrote:
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>>I have tried setting up a wireless network, I only get internet
> > >>>connection,
> > >>>no file sharing. I get message that says MS home not
> > >>>accessible...contact system administrator..network path not found.
> > >>>
> > >>>what am I doing wrong. or what id blocking file sharing?
> > >>
> > >>This is most commonly caused by a misconfigured firewall. Run the
> > >>Network Setup Wizard on both computers, making sure to enable File &
> > >>Printer Sharing, and reboot. The only "gotcha" is that this will turn
> > >>on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party
> > >>firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like
> > >>Norton 2005/06) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. If you have
> > >>third-party firewall software, configure it to allow the Local Area
> > >>Network traffic as trusted. I usually do this with my firewalls with an
> > >>IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would
> > >>substitute your correct subnet.
> > >>
> > >>Then create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
> > >>home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
> > >>folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
> > >>Shared Documents folder.
> > >>
> > >>If that doesn't work for you, here is an excellent network
> > >>troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna. Take the time to go through it
> > >>and it will usually pinpoint the problem area(s) -
> > >>http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm
> > >>
> > >>Malke
> > >>--
> > >>Elephant Boy Computers
> > >>www.elephantboycomputers.com
> > >>"Don't Panic!"
> > >>MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
> > >
> > >
> >
> Workgroup is not accessible
> General
>
> If you get one of these symptoms or error messages or a similar one:
>
> * You cannot access shares on other computers.
> * You cannot locate other computers in the workgroup.
> * When you double-click the workgroup in Network Neighborhood or My
> Network Places, you get the error message: Workgroup is not accessible. You
> may not have permission to use this network resource.
> * Workgroup is not accessible. The list of servers for this workgroup is
> not currently available.
>
> Perform the following procedures, which could perhaps cause this problem,
> and read also the chapter, "Network path not found". Retest after each
> procedure. Reboot after making nontrivial changes.
>
> 1. If you have Service Pack 2 or higher installed, make sure the File and
> Printer Sharing exception is enabled in the firewall. Reboot to allow the
> browser service to start or start it manually (see below).
> 2. Check the IP addresses of the two computers that cannot connect to
> each other. They should be in the same subnet, i.e. the first three (or two
> or one, depending on the subnet mask) numbers should be identical. A
> particular cause can be Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), because enabling
> this changes the IP address to 192.168.0.1. All other computers should be set
> to obtain their IP addresses automatically (through DHCP) and may have to be
> rebooted.
> 3. Check whether NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled. It should be for almost
> all small and home networks. You can find this setting in the properties of
> the LAN connection. Double-click on the Internet protocol (TCP/IP), click on
> the Advanced button in the lower right, click on the WINS tab and activate
> Netbios over TCP/IP. You can later test whether the Standard setting is
> sufficient and use that if it works. A more detailed description can be found
> in the chapter "Netbios over TCP/IP".
> 4. Also make sure that the TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service is running and
> has the proper start type. Select Administrative tools, Services, and change
> the Start setting for the TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service to Automatic. Without
> this service NetBIOS over TCP/IP will not function. Again a more detailed
> description can be found in the chapter "Netbios over TCP/IP".
> 5. Have you really checked the NetBIOS node type as described in the form
> at the top?
> 6. Make sure the computer browser service is running (see the special
> chapter below).
> 7. If you notice that computers running older operating systems than
> Windows XP disturb the computer browser system, you can try to disable the
> browser service on those computers by stopping the service and setting its
> start type to Disabled. Note, however, that you always need at least one
> computer that can become a browser, otherwise Network Neighborhood or My
> Network Places will not work. See also the special chapter on the computer
> browser service below.
> 8. Make sure you have only one transport protocol installed, namely
> TCP/IP. Remove, disable, or at least unbind (remove all bindings from) other
> transport protocols like IPX (NWLink) and NetBEUI.
> 9. Uninstall third party client software that can interfere with the
> networking settings. Such software could have come with network adapters or
> with a router.
> 10. If you had other networking clients installed, like certain Netware
> clients, you may be in for a long, bumpy ride. Some do damage that is almost
> impossible to repair. You may want to try a repair installation of Windows
> XP, followed by applying Service Pack 2 again, or, better, a repair
> installation with a slipstream version of Windows XP with Service Pack 2
> already integrated. See the very first chapter above for details.
> 11. Rid the computer of adware and spyware. For example, run Spybot Search
> & Destroy. Please see the chapter "Winsock corruption" for details.
> 12. Repair the Winsock with the command: netsh winsock reset (This removes
> all third party Layered Service Providers—LSPs. Please see the chapter
> "Winsock corruption" for details.)
> 13. Repair the IP stack with the Repair command or with the command:
> "netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt" without the quotes. Please see the
> chapter "Winsock corruption" for details.
> 14. If the loopback feature is enabled in a connected router, disable it.
> You may even need a firmware upgrade.
> 15. Change the workgroup name in all computers to a new, simple, short,
> perhaps even all upper case one, to make sure there aren't any problems
> there. You can later change it back.
> 16. Check all NetBIOS names for possible duplicates. For example, if the
> workgroup name coincides with a user or computer name, this could cause the
> problem. Try opening a command line window and issuing the command: net view
> 17. Issue the command: net view \\computername, where computername should
> be replaced with one of the names displayed with the simple net view command.
> Check all names for possible duplication.
> 18. Check your router's diagnostic and information pages for NAT
> information, like which computer has which IP address. Any duplication here
> could point to the problem.
> 19. Disable, better uninstall or upgrade, all antivirus software and third
> party firewalls.
> 20. If all this doesn't help, remove all networking components, reboot,
> then set them up again and work through this checklist once more.
>
> Two of these points are also explained in the following Microsoft Knowledge
> Base article.
>
> You cannot access shared files and folders or browse computers in the
> workgroup
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318030/
>
> And, most importantly, if you find that one of these points or any other
> procedure solved your problem, please send me an email and let me know!
> Computers, shares, or printers unreachable
> Long server description
>
> Ted Hamilton found that the following solved the problem of a missing
> computer name.
>
> If the computer description of the invisible computer (the server) is longer
> than 48 characters, make it shorter. Details can be found in the following
> Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
>
> Computer Name Missing in the Browsing List When Server Comment More Than 48
> Characters
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/231312/
> The RestrictAnonymous registry value
>
> Some excerpts from the many mails I have received
>
> You are a GENIUS!!! I have been working on this all day, since 9.00 am, and
> I tried EVERYTHING. I was about to give up, when I tried your worksheet, but
> keeping information very much focussed to the nub of the problem - Access
> Denied. Changing the RestrictAnonymous value to zero did the trick first
> time, although I was so tired by this stage that I just wasn't expecting it.
> Many thanks.
>
> Many Thanks after 4 days the solution.
>
> Thanks for your dedicated support! I wouldn’t have been able to solve this
> without you and I was starting to get a bit frustrated!
>
> You are a genius for creating this web site. i searched 2.5 days trying to
> find a solution to this problem and it wasn't until i googled "net view"
> "Error 5: You do not" that i come across your site. i see many people asking
> about the circumstances concerning this specific problem but no one seems to
> have had the answer to this registry setting. Your site was the only place
> that i found the solution.
> Thank you very very very extremely much, ...
>
> Cheers mate, worked a treat :-)
> Thank you very much :-)
>
> Again, a big Thank You for your very informative web page.
>
> thank you very much for the help. the problem is solved
>
> I know I don’t have to write anything, but Thanks anyway! Solved a long
> running problem for me, just by changing 1 to 0!
>
> Thank you very much for providing this info. I've been searching for this
> info for almost a month. [...]
> Again, thank you very much for this precious information.
>
> Thank you, Thankyou, Thankyou, after trying many so called fixes without any
> luck, changing a 1 to a Zero fixed it.
>
> Amazing, I have just wasted $180 on a technician with no resolution.
>
> thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you
> damn windows to hell!
>
> THANK YOUUUUUUU I LOVE U MAN!!! YOU JUST SAVED MY LIFE!!! I'VE BEEN DEALING
> WITH THIS NETWORKD FOR ABOUT 72 HRS WITHOUT ANY SLEEP AND NOW IT'S FINALLY
> WORKING... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> After googling for over 3 days I finally found a link to your site. I got
> down to this thing to do with the registry, and after changing the value from
> 1 to 0 it works. Thanks so very much for this site. You are a genius.
> In future I will be coming here for more help
>
> You are a network god!!
>
> You are awesome, dude!
>
> perfect, thank you!
>
> Whoaa!!!
> Don't know how you got to this, but it surely ROCKS! [...]
> I ran accross your resource, after searching for ENDLESS hours, and VOILA!!!
> It just worked like a charm. UNBELIEVABLE that we have to so deep and down to
> get such a miserable problem resolved. Thank's God you were around.
> Keep up the good work!!!
>
> Legend!
>
> Problem solved thanks to your very good interactive form!
>
> Thank you so much!
> Your resource pages are the best I've ever come across, this solved all my
> networking headaches, once again thank you!
>
> After I had reinstalled Windows XP, people could no longer access my
> computer. I was totally stumped and on and off over the past few months I
> would have another go at it. Then I happened to stumble across your page, and
> lo and begold, changing a simple 1 to a 0 fixed my problem! Thank you so much
> for creating this in depth troubleshooting page, it's any networker's bible.
>
> Fabulous - changed registry value and problem gone on re-boot.
>
> Thanks. 2 MCSE’s at work were vexed by this issue [...]
>
> Absolutely FANTASTIC...
> I almost got crazy trying several workarounds.
> My last resort would be to reinstall the whole stuff, but you have saved me
> the day!!!
> Thanks, man!
>
> BTW I spent over an hour with Microsoft Support last night, and they didn't
> have a clue
> Thank you very much for maintaining a site like this.
>
> Thank you and your awesome page. The registry value was driving me nuts.
>
> May I just say before I get into any detail that I now think you are a god
> below is the reason why.
> [...] I could no longer assess the shared files [...] nothing worked.
> Finally I came across your site and entered the problems I was having and it
> narrowed my problem down to about two possible issues, [...]
> Now everything works and I can start sleeping at nights again so thank you
> again for a fantastic web site.
>
> Really Excellent solution, I formatted my windows drive and reinstalled
> windows for 2 times because I met this problem and found no solution with
> Microsoft or whatever; they told me something about security policy but it
> did not work. you've saved me from reistalling windows. I really appreciate
> that tooooooo much. Thank You.
>
> was having a problem with my network. could not access one of the computers.
> after about 4 days of constant searching and trying finally found your
> website. followed the leads and boom, that was it. [...]
> thanks a million!
>
> YOU SOLVED MY NETWORK PROBLEM and I cannot thankyou enough!
> It was "The RestrictAnonymous registry value" that was the problem.
> I was getting an "Access is denied" error message until I tried your fix. I
> have never edited the registry before so I was a bit nervous but thankyou SO
> MUCH for sharing your knowledge on the net. I spent days and days trying to
> work out what was wrong, hardly sleeping, buying books on networking,
> scouring the internet for help....
> Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. I hope Microsoft reward you handsomely.
>
> [...] Thanks for your help. Your site is amazing. Without it, I would still
> be scratching my head and cursing Microsoft.
>
> Thanks much. I worked this problem, on and off, for several weeks. I tried
> the network troubleshooter in WinXP. I tried several other (at least 4) web

You cannot access shared files and folders or browse computers in the
workgroup
View products that this article applies to.
Article ID : 318030
Last Review : June 23, 2005
Revision : 3.2
This article was previously published under Q318030
On This Page
SYMPTOMS SYMPTOMS
CAUSE CAUSE
RESOLUTION RESOLUTION
Step 1: Turn on NetBIOS over TCP/IP Step 1: Turn on NetBIOS over TCP/IP
Step 2: Start the Computer Browser service Step 2: Start the Computer
Browser service
MORE INFORMATION MORE INFORMATION
APPLIES TO APPLIES TO
SYMPTOMS
On Windows XP-based computers that are configured as members of a workgroup
in a peer-to-peer network environment, you may experience one or more of the
following behaviors:
• You cannot access shared folders or files.
• You cannot locate other computers in the workgroup.
• You receive the following error message when you double-click the
workgroup in My Network Places:
Workgroup Name is not accessible. You may not have permission to use this
network resource.
Back to the top Back to the top
CAUSE
This behavior may occur if both the following conditions are true:
• NetBIOS over TCP/IP is not turned on (enabled) on one or more computers in
the workgroup.
• The Computer Browser service is not started or is turned off on one or
more computers in the workgroup.
Back to the top Back to the top
RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, make sure that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is turned on and
the Computer Browser service is running on each computer in the workgroup. To
do this, follow these steps.
Back to the top Back to the top
Step 1: Turn on NetBIOS over TCP/IP
1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Network and Internet
Connections.
2. Click Network Connections.
3. Right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.
4. Click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and then click Properties.
5. Click the General tab, and then click Advanced.
6. Click the WINS tab.
7. Under NetBIOS setting, click Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP, and then click
OK two times.
8. Click Close to close the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box.
9. Close the Network Connections window.
Back to the top Back to the top
Step 2: Start the Computer Browser service
1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
2. Double-click Services and Applications.
3. Double-click Services.
4. In the right pane, right-click Computer Browser, and then click Start.
5. Close the Computer Management window.