XP-Pro - The list of servers for this workgroup are currently unavailable?

Hi Im new here, been a while since Ive had to join a forum to solve a problem but Im really stuck in how to solve it as Ive never set up any networks/file sharing before.

So to begin I'm on XP-Pro with service pack 3 installed, Im connected through a DLink router(DGL4300) and I simply want to share a few folders to another machine via smb. Ive just tried to share one folder to begin with, created accounts(username and password) and set read permissions for the folder ( "everyone" is in the list for now and also an account for the machine I want to share it to). The folder does show up under Computer Management/Shares as it should. Both machines can access the internet through the router and ftp between both machines(smart ftp) works too.

It didnt work needless to say, so I went to My Network Places and tried to browse the workgroup to see if my computer and the folder were there as they should be. The Message I got is as it says in the thread title:

"Workgroup is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator...

The list of servers for this workgroup are currently unavailable "


I've tried a few things already including:

Changing the workgroup name to MYNETWORK.
Enabled NetBIOS over TCP/IP.
IRPStack Size registry edit
Disabled my firewall whilest toubleshooting.
Used "sfc /scannow" to make sure nothing is corrupt or missing.
"sfc /sacnnow" incase there was anything missing.

One thing I did see mentioned that may or may not be necessary for the share Im trying to do is the "computer browser" service, its dependencies "workstation" and "server" have started and appear to be functioning... where as computer browser is set to auto.

When I tried to start this I got:

"Error 1060: The specified service does not exist as an installed service "

Thats what prompted me to do the " "sfc /sacnnow" but it still wont start, plus Ive read that regardless if that service is started or not you should still beable to network and share on a LAN.

Service that are disabled that caught my eye are Network DDE and Network DDE DSDM but Im not sure they are needed either.

Why is something that sounds so simple(just allow another machine/s to share folders) so difficult to acheive here?

Any help in getting my network running would be appreciated. Could it be I need to open some ports on my router even if FTP works fine?

 

Ok every service appears to have started except for Computer Browser which will not start at all... any ideas how I can fix that?

The error code is 1060 but svchost.exe does exist in the correct path.

 

Ok Ive ran Browmon and Browstat:

Browmon hangs and says the domain is not available.

Browstat reports the following:


Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : admin

Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :

Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown

IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 6:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810X Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-90-22-4B-89-C5

Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.xxx

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

What I did spot whilst reading though help threads and articles was a discussion about Nvidias Network Access Manager causing conflicts and Network sharing problems.

The trouble is I cant seem to uninstall it with the uninstaller, so it looks like I will have to do it manually deleting reg keys.

I dont know if this will work but it's worth a try.

 

Well thats funny I tried to remove Nvidia Network Access Manager manually, took off all the drivers, deleted any registry key I could find of the same name and also windows installer clean up to remove it from the add/remove programs list.

I thought I had it but it made no difference to the problem I was trying to solve, plus it tells me to uninstall the previous version when I checked if it was totally gone(so it appears not).

Im thinking about doing a fresh install, which I would do if that would solve the problem quicker than trying things at random. Anyone think it would be worth it?

 

No signs of it anywhere and I regularly check the services for things I dont need(like alot of Nvidia stuff that doesnt need to be running or loaded at startup).

Ah well it just occured to me before, I've already encountered problems with NAM, infact the ethernet port in general doesnt work and I already had an ethernet card which I've used for years... it was when I upgraded my graphics card(just for HD playback basically) I updated the Nforce drivers along with the latest drivers for the graphics card, forgetting all about it.

There used to be issues with other things such as raid and SATA controllers but it looks like for the most part everything but the network stuff is working as it should(why are Nvidia so bad at this?).

What I'd also forgot was I'd disabled the onboard LAN ages ago through the bios, this shouldn't affect my settings at all then if I'm right(so it probably wasn't an issue with the built in firewall mucking things up).

I dont know what to try next, every time I think I've nearly cracked it I get the same result.

 

Hmmm I removed windows firewall a while back as it was a nuisance, maybe because I had no sharing set before I removed it, some settings have stuck in the registry and browser cant start as a result?

 

Success , it was indeed all to do with the "file and print sharing" exception in windows firewall, if you remove it(I used a guide to remove it) with this unchecked the setting still sticks and prevents Computer Browser from loading.

The service started automatically and My Network Places - Workgroups are browsable.

Thanks for your help TonyT.

Hope this proves helpful to others that encounter this problem.

I had to re-install the windows firewall to get to the control panel:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/920074

Then add the file and print sharing exception to the windows firewall properties:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318030/

Now the question is can I remove the windows firewall again or should I leave it disabled?

 

Thanks I've disabled both the firewall and the security centre monitor from the services tool.

I just want to point out I didnt need to change the settings before disabling the Firewall, unchecking the exceptions like the file and print sharing stops the computer browser service from starting(thats what caused my initial problem), best to leave the settings where you'd have them if it were enabled.

I think I already have the hotfix(seems to be running fine too), it was one of the things I'd tried to get it running before finding the source of the problem if its the service pack 2 related hotfix.

 

Oh I see, well on my setup I already had everything unchecked when I disabled, reinstalled the windows firewall simply to tell it to ignore(exceptions tab) file and print sharing and the computer browser started immediately, so I wont change anything further(as they say: if it aint broke...).

I've had to email them for the hotfix too, you get a password in the email right? I had to do it for browstat too IIRC, I cant see why though.