help me mystical web admin

[Stain]

I reformated one of my computers which used to have full access (no problems) to everything on my network but now I can't get connected to one of my machines.

Network layout:
Router
-Cable Modem
-Printer
-WinMe Comp
-WinXP Comp A (untouched)
-WinXP Comp B (reformated)

I haven't been able to test if Comp A is still fine and can connect to Comp B. Comp B can connect fine to everything but Comp A. On Comp B I can see Comp A in my Workgroup but when I try to connect I get denied, no permissions contact admin. I cannot ping Comp A from B nor can I access any files on it.

On a totally seperate note my WinME Comp pops up with a password box when I try to access either XP comp... I don't know/have the password. *sob*

 

[jlanka]

forget about workgroup stuff for the time being. Not being able to ping is your most basic problem. It sounds like the firewall is enabled. Check for that.

AFA the WinME password box, set a password on the XP box for one of your accounts, then use that one.

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

 

[Stain]

The router firewall is enabled but it was before the reformat too and everything worked then!? I don't the firewall applies to anything except the internet, does it?

I'm not running any software firewalls.

 

[jlanka]

I guessed at that, because not reponding to pings can sometimes be caused by that. Too bad you don't have a sniffer to watch whats happening to those ICMP packets.

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

 

[Stain]

The weird thing is that Comp A shows up in Comp B's network neighborhood so that leads me to believe that it's not a problem with my router/firewall but that Comp A is blocking Comp B out for some reason?!

 

[Stain]

Argh, all I had to do was share a folder and all my problems disapeared. Seems weird that I couldn't even ping without sharing and it even more weird that just having the WinXP default shares (SharedDocs, Printers and Faxes, Scheduled Tasks) wouldn't work.

Oh well, thanks for the help.