Desktop can ping laptop but laptop can't ping desktop

This one is driving me crazy. I have two computers (a desktop and a laptop)
which share a cable modem connection via a Linksys router. The router is
connected to the cable modem with ethernet cable. The desktop is connected
to the router with ethernet cable, and the laptop is connected to the router
with 802.11b Wi-Fi. The router is configured on the LAN side as
192.168.1.1, and gets the WAN IP address from the cable system. The router
runs DHCP to assign LAN IP addresses to each computer. The desktop is
192.168.1.100, and the laptop is 192.168.1.101. Both computers can access
the Internet flawlessly. The problem is, I can't get the computers to share
data with each other. Both computers are WinXP Home, and are in the same
workgroup. I don't think the problem is NetBIOS, I think there's some sort
of route table involved. Here's why: I can ping the router from the
desktop; I can ping the laptop from the desktop; I can ping the router from
the laptop; but I CAN NOT ping the desktop from the laptop.

 

Hi
Routing table would seem strange, because dhcp gives address and subnet
and default gateway. Could it be the desktop has the WinXP Internet
firewall activated?

Gabrie

 

Hi

I just double checked, I don't have the WinXP firewall activated. With the
router and with ZoneAlarm on both the desktop and the laptop, I think I'm
safe to run without it.

Al

 

So try shutting off ZoneAlarm long enough to prove it's not the reason you're
ping requests are being ignored....

 

So try shutting off ZoneAlarm long enough to prove it's not the reason
you're

Daytripper,

I shut off ZA on the desktop machine and was able to ping the desktop from
the laptop. I guess I have to define the laptop to ZA as a trusted
computer. I'm not quite sure how to do that. I guess I have some research
to do.

 

Yup. I'd help but I've never used ZA...

/daytripper

 

Tis easy.

Open the ZA panel, Select <Firewall>, then <zones>,click on < ADD>,
(You can then use either the host/site name, or select the IP of the
laptop.)

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair?)
www.rogerhalstead.com
Return address modified due to dumb virus checkers

 

Thanks. All is working fine now. In fact the laptop is configured as
a mirror image of the desktop in ZA, which explains why I could go the
other way. I don't remember doing that; I guess my memory is going...