IE Can't find server

Last night I added a new wireless computer to my peer-to-peer network.
The wireless network shows up and last night I accessed the internet, no problem. I also got it to work on the network and print from another computer. Today, when I turned it on, it won't access the internet nor will it print on another computer on the network. EI says it can't find the server.
I also can't see the other computers on the network anymore, when I could see them last night. This is an xp pro. I use an existing network controlled by a win2000 desktop. What happened between last night and tonight?
I'm really stumped. I have another xp laptop (not pro) and it has a network bridge enabled ... but I did not have the network bridge enabled on the new computer when it worked last night. Any ideas? Please help. This is so frustrating.

Thanks

 

ok ... i just kept examing settings and i found what it was. the tcp/ip was set to a permanent address. I checked the box that finds it automaticallyand the network was restored. What I don't know is how it got changed. zap zap zing ... little bugs flying around.

Might as well ask another question. With this new computer, when i set up the network, it told me that windows doesn't like to have each computer access the internet independently. ... wants me to set it up so they all go through the host computer. Do you all agree with this? It would mean reconfiguring everything on my network. What do you all think? By these questions you can probably infer that i am a jerryrigged network.

thanks

 

I am assuming you are using a wireless router and probably have another computer or two hooked up to it also, but if things work the way you have them I would not change them. Setting up the computers to go through a host computer would only be needed if you didn't have a router.

Eric

 

Try deleting the Network Bridge and see if that fixes it. Open the Network Connections folder, right-click and choose Disable. Right-click it again, and then choose Delete.

 

The network bridge wasn't on the computer with the problem. Should I not have a network bridge on a peer-to-peer network? Not quite sure which problem you are referring to. Do I need the network bridge? If I delete it I'm not sure I know how to get it back.

Thanks

 

Delete the Network Bridge. You don't need it. Then try accessing the network again. The Network Bridge is useful for combining two network connections into one logical network.

 

ok ... i deleted it. My latest problem is that I added another xp pro desktop to the network. I now have 3 desktops and 1 wired laptop and 2 wireless laptops. (all these are only used by two people, so no overload problem). When hooking up the xp pro desktop, I connected it to the router so I could access the internet, but didn't add it to the network or disconnect the firewall. What I found out was that on a peer to peer network, the windows firewall on xp pro stops the computers from talking to each other. It thinks that it is being attacked from the internet. So I had to disable the firewall and join my network and now everything works again. Is there anyway or any piece of equipment that would set the firewall before the router instead of on each computer? Also, should I be using a hub and a firewall? I find the microsoft firewall hard to access and configure. Which firewall do you suggest works well with XP Pro so I won't shut down my network every time it's on? This networking thing is a monster to get the hang of. I keep getting messages to contact my network administrator. I wish I could. There's only me. Oh, well.

Thanks again. I love this board.

 

Yes, it is a good idea to use a software firewall either the Windows Firewall or a third party firewall on every computer regardless if you are using a hub or router.

The Windows XP firewall in SP2 is pretty easy to configure. If any of the computers have the Windows Firewall enabled, make sure it is properly configured for file and printer sharing. With Windows Firewall enabled, go to the Exception tab, and click to check the File and Printer Sharing checkbox.

 

thanks

 

New Problem

I did not enable the firewall on the xp professional desktop because one of the other desktops is not able to access the internet while the xp pro wired desktop computer is plugged into the router. Problem disappears when I unplug the desktop and replace it with an older connection that is disconnected from its computer. (Hope you are following this). My question is, on a peer-to-peer network, what has to be configured in xp pro so that it will allow other computers to pass the signal through it. I don't want to set up a domain. Right now, I almost have everything working and xp seems to be the problem.

Thanks again.

 

just thought i would tell you what a stupid thing I did. Instead of plugging my desktop into one of the regular ports of the router, I plugged it into the (add-on) expansion port. no wonder it wouldn't work.

One thing I found out after a weekend of stress. XP computers don't like to access a network printer through a win98 computer. almost all win98 printer drivers won't talk to xp. Programs won't either. Lotus on xp wouldn't do anything but hang since it needs to access a printer to form it's script. I was on the phone first to Microsoft in India for three hours where they took much off my registry (i put it back later) without solving the problem. Then I spent two days with great guys at Lotus who finally discovered that my HP laserjet 1000 doesn't like xp. I had my wireless xp's trying to access a laserjet attached to a win98 computer. After all this, I would advise getting all win98 computers off of a peer to peer home network. keep all the computers in the same network neighborhood, so to speak. I'm still using the xp, but nothing is being accessed through it. It is only a client. I have two other desktops that are wired to printers and they are running the show. XPs really won't take orders from win98. i learned the hard way. Thought I'd pass it along.