Network related Issue

Q: Can ping IP but not computer name
I have two machines, one running win2k and one running win98,.These machines are already happily sharing an  internet connection through a Netgear RP614 Cable/DSL router. I can ping each machine from the other. When I'm on one machine, I can't see the other in Network Neighborhood. How do I troubleshoot this?
A: If you use net view \\computer and get System error 53, you have name resolution problem. Try to be able access the computer by using net use H: \\IP\sharename . If you get error 5 and access is denied. You may have permission issue and can't access the computer using net use \\IP|sharename.
Now, if it is name resolution problem and, you may need to 1) check enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP in the network settings;  2) make sure browse service is enabled. If it is permission issue, you may want to make sure 1) enable file and printer sharing in the accessed computer; 2) setup the same workgroup, logon the same user account; 3) you may try to enable guest account if it is W2K or XP; 4) enable simple file sharing if it is XP.
Q: I can ping, connect to other pc shared folders using UNC, but not browse the  PC
I have a mixed workgroup network. I can ping, connect to other pc shared folders using UNC format. But I can not browse the other PC... The error is...\\Computer name is not accessible. you might not have permission to use this network resources.
A: In a Win9x, WinME, NT, 2000 and XP mixed-mode workgroup network, you can access shares using UNC (\\computername\sharename), but can't browse the computers in My Network Places or Network Neighborhood. This most common problems in a mixed-mode network are due to TCP/NetBEUI/IPX mismatches and Master Browser election problems. Resolution: 1) Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP on 2000/XP.   2) Disable the Computer Browser service on the XP machine. 3) make sure no firewall running.
How to restrict a user or group to logon-time

 To restrict a user to only logging on between 8AM-5PM, Monday through Friday, open a command prompt and type: net user <UserName> /times:M,8AM-5PM;T,8AM-5PM;W,8AM-5PM;Th,8AM-5PM;F,8AM-5PM. To remove the restriction, net user <UserName> /times:all.

Common NetBIOS name problem
NetBIOS names must be between 1 and 15 characters long (the names are up to 16 characters, but the last character is reserved as a special characters). For that reason, you should not give a computer name longer than 15 characters

Troubleshooting Basic Connectivity

Issue:  Access permissions and general issues Solution: Troubleshooting Basic Connectivity 1. Ensure that all computers have the same protocol installed. This should be TCP/IP normally. 2. The IP addresses on the same network adapter for each computer should be in the same range. 3. Verify that the ICF feature is not enabled on the adapters that you use to connect the computers to the LAN. If ICF is enabled on these adapters, you cannot connect to shared resources on other computers in the network. 4. Use the ping IP or computername to test connectivity between two computers on the network. If you can ping IP but not computername, this is name resolution issue. 5. if you can ping ip and computername, but you can't map any network drive, use net view \\remotecomputer to find out the problem. If you get error 5, this is permission issue. If you get error 51, make sure that you have enabled file and printer sharing and have some folders to be shared. If you get error 53, this is name resolution issue. 6. All network access to a W2K/XP computer in a workgroup can use the Guest account without creating a username for other computer logon. So, make sure that the Guest account is set up for network access. Can't connect to shared resources on one of  networking computers Symptoms: you keep receiving the following  message from My Network Places on one of three computers: "The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently available." when trying to access the shared folders. Also the shared drives shows red x. The internet access work fine. Resolutions: 1) The Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) should not be enabled on the adapters that you use to connect the computers to the home network. If ICF is enabled on these adapters, you cannot connect to shared resources on other computers in the network. Access permission issue. When W2K/XP doesn't  recognize the user who wants to access its shared disks or printers, you may see the below symptoms. 1. When win9x tries to access a w2k/xp computer shared folder, the IPC$ prompt. No password will be accepted. Resolution: you need to create the user account on w2k/xp for win98 logon. 2. When W2K tries to access a w2k/xp computer shared folder, Enter Network Password screen with Connect As and Password prompt. Resolution: type a username and password were created on the w2k/xp, you should be able to access the shared folders. Or create the user account on w2k/xp for remote computer logon. 3. When xp tries to access a w2k/xp computer shared folder, Connect to computername screen with Username and Password prompt. Resolution: type a username and password were created on the w2k/xp, you should be able to access the shared folders. Or create the user account on w2k/xp for remote computer logon. Any users can access to my shared folders even they don't have user accounts on my computer Symptom: If this is domain network and the shared folders are assigned permission to everyone, any one logon the domain can access to your computer, even you logon locally. However, if some one logon locally (no domain) on a remote computer, he/she should not be able to access to your shared folders. Resolution: remove everyone from the security of the folders and add user accounts you want to access to your computer. How to enable and disable the network connection To enable/disable the network connection to local computer, go to administrative tools>services, start/stop server service. To enable/disable the network connection to remote computers, start/stop workstation service. You may want to use task schedule to enable/disable it automatically. How to fix browsing problem in a mixed OS workgroup SYMPTOMS: in a peer-to-peer network environment with mixed Windows OS such as win9x, NT, ME, W2K and XP, you may experience one or more of the following behaviors: 1) You cannot access shared folders or files. 2) You cannot browse other computers in the workgroup. 3) You receive the following error message when you double-click the workgroup in My Network Places/Network Neighborhood: Workgroup Name is not accessible. You may not have permission to use this network resource. Resolution: 1) make sure that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is turned on. 2) make sure the Computer Browser service is running on each computer in the workgroup. Note: the Computer Browser service maintains an updated list of computers on the workgroup, and it supplies this list to computers that are designated as browsers. If this service is stopped, the computers may not be seen from My Network Place/Network Neighborhood. How to enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP in a peer-to-peer network To access pre-2000/XP computers from w9x, NT and ME on a peer-to-peer network, you may need to enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP on the win2000/XP. To do that, go to the properties of My Network Places>network connection>Properties of TCP/IP>Advanced >WINS, select "Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP". How to obtain the authentication when using cache credentials Symptom: For some reasons (such as using domain profile when logon locally and accessing to different workgroup/domain or logon different workgroup/domain while trying to establish a remote access connection), you may logon a W2K/XP computer using cache credentials and the computer may be unable to access the network resources. You may receive this error message: System Error: (1311) There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request when click the network resources. Resolution: to fix the problem 1) use net use \\computername\sharedfolder/users:username command, When prompting for a passwordm, type the password. 2) If you use XP, elect Connect using a different user name when mapping a network drive. To do that, go to My Computer>Map Network Drive,click Connect using a different user name. and enter the credentials in the universal naming convention (UNC) "Domain\Username" format and password. How to view a list of current active connections Q: Is there a way with Win2000 Server that I can view a list of current active connections (i.e. which users are logging onto the network and using which files)? A: 1. go to MMC>Shared Folders>Sessions. 2. Use cconnect.exe from resource Kits. How to disable autodisconnection Symptom: The mapped drive may be disconnected after inactivity for while. Resolution: you may need to do these two to disable autodisconnection. 1) You may want to disable autodisconnection by using "net server /disconnect:-1" on the server hosting the mapped drives. 2) If you are running W2K/XP client, you may also want to use non-persistent mappings to connect the drives. For example, you use "net use h: \\shared /persistent:no" instead of "net use h: \\shared".  Note: The persistent is default.

Network Analysis and common errors

Issue:  common network errors and problems Solution: Resolution for IPC$, Incorrect password or unknown username problem 1.        Mixed Workgroups' Network Lab Analysis 2.        Mixed Domains & Workgroups' Network Lab Analysis 3.        How to fix "There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request" problem Workgroup Network Lab Analysis Environment: there are four computers in the lab. Computer A is Win2000 in a domain named ntdomain/ntdomain.com, and both local and domain logon names are lab and the password test; B is WinXP in a workgroup named groupB, logon name is lab with the same password, test; C is also WinXP in a workgroup named groupC, logon name is lab that logs on automatically without the password; D is Win98 in the same domain, ntdomain / ntdomain.com, logon domain account is lab with the same password. All four machines are in the same subnet and can ping each other. All computers are setup file and printer sharing. A and B's  guest accounts are disabled; C' guest account is enabled. Results and Analysis: All A, B and C can see \\D without any problems (because D is Win98 - not real secure authorization model). A can see \\C (because of the guest account enabled), but not B with error: \\B is not accessible. Logon failure: account currently disable (because when logging on A with ntdomain/ntdomain.com, you type lab but it logs on as lab@ntdomain.con or ntdomain\lab (UPN) so that lab@ntdomain.con or ntdomain\lab does not match B's local account lab. In the other words, if logging on A with local computer, no domain, A can see \\B. Also, if you disable or remove lab local account from A, only D, Win98 with domain logon, can see \\A). B can see all \\A and \\C (because of using same logon). C can see both \\A  and \\B  (When clicking  \\A or \\B, the logon screen come out and type lab as logon name with the same password, test).  D can see all \\A, \\B and \\C (because of the same logon in all workgroups and domain). If you disable the C guest account, a logon screen will show with \\C\guest logon when clicking the \\C from B (WinXP) (Enter Network Password screen will show when clicking the \\C from A, Win2000). No matter what logon account and password (even administrator) you will use, you cannot get into it. Note: by default, WinXP guest account is disabled. After you share a folder or drive, guest account enable automatically. In conclusion, If all networking computers are in the same workgroup or domain, using the same protocol, enabling file and printer sharing, and logging on the same username and password, they should be able to access each other. If they are in the different workgroups or domain, you MAY need to enable a guest account on the accessed computers (or enable simple file sharing if it is WinXP) for other machines to see them. Mixed Domains and Workgroups' Network Lab Analysis Environment: there are four NT 4 servers, ten W2K servers, three workgroups and over three hundreds Win9x, Win2K and a few WinXP in this mixed domain/workgroup network lab. The domain has AD, DNS and WINS setup correctly and all clients in the domain work fine without major problems. Test and analysis: some laptops with workgroup network settings and some desktops logging on local computers may not be able to access some Win2K servers depending on the logon IDs (no problems with NT 4). For example, my WinXP laptop is setup for a workgroup and I could access most network resources if I logon the workgroup using the domain user account (it is the same local user account and password). However, I might need to enter the same user account and password again (the screen may show "Connecting to servername, User name: Password:" "Incorrect password or username" or "IPC$" depending on the OS) when accessing some Win2K servers. I would be able to access the server after entering the same username and password until restarting the computer. Also, I don't have this problem if I logon as administrator. To figure out the problem, I did spend a lot time to study the situation. I found that most time I had the problem with the new installed servers even I had created the same user account and password on the local computer. My first thought was the server had not cached my id and password. So, I logged on the server locally and then my laptop. I was able to access the server without prompting for the username and password. To make sure it really works. I rebooted the server and the laptop, and re-logged on the server using administrator id and logged on laptop using my regular domain id. Bingo! It works! I would also like to mention another case that is not only confirming the above solution but also brings us a troubleshooting tip. After above testing, I still had the problem to access one old Win2K server and I had logged on it myself one year ago. My first try is logon the sever locally by using my logon id. I could not. That is great! I could not access to this server because my local account's password in this server was my old password and different from my current domain id's password. It works after changing the password to match the existing domain id's password. Conclusion: You get "Connecting to servername, User name: Password:" "Incorrect password or username" or "IPC$" screen for asking username and  password in a mixed domains/workgroups network because one or more of the following possible reasons: the client is in the mixed domains/workgroups networks environment. The user name and password you are using to log on are not contained in the local user accounts database of the Win2K/XP computers. The remote computers haven't cached credential (the local user account and password). The Win98-based client is configured with user-level authentication to an NT domain. The resolution is easy and just makes sure you are using the same logon ID and password and/or the remote computers have the logon ID and password cached. To cache the account and password on the remote computer, you need, at least one time,  to logon the same username and password on the computer locally. How to fix "There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request" problem "There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request", is most popular and difficult troubleshooting problem in MS networks. The following analysis and troubleshooting are based on past years experiences and MS articles such as Q13941, Q297278 and Q310339. Symptom: 1) When you logon a local computer using cached credentials and attempt to map the network drives, the operation may be unsuccessful, and you may receive "System error 1311 has occurred. There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request". 2) The server Event Viewer shows Event Source: NETLOGON, Event ID: 5719, Description: No Windows NT or Windows 2000 Domain Controller is available for domain . The following error occurred: There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request. 3) Mostly, it happens on the slower network, WAN network and remote access such as VPN, dial up. When trying to logon, it may prevent logon scripts and group policies from running, as well as access to their roaming profile and home folder. 4) The Win9x/NT and W2K/XP mixed networks have more chances to get this error message. 5) According to MS, this problem can occur if the client is configured to use p-nodeor m-node for NetBIOS name resolution. The WINS database does not have the proper domain registrations for pass- through authentication. The p-node or m-node causes a timing issue that prevents the RAS client from finding a logon server. 6) In many situations, it jus happens randomly. After getting this error and rebooting the computer, you may not have any problems to logon. 7) Also in many cases, you may be able to ping other computers and use net use to map the shared folders with domain username and password. Resolutions: 1) Check the DNS settings on both servers and clients, and correct any errors. 2) It is better to load on protocol, TCP/IP only. 3) If you have mixed network, setup WINS server or install NetBIOS over TCP/IP on W2K/XP instead of loading NetBEUI. 4) Also make sure that Domain Controllers register their DOMAIN<1C> NetBIOS names with the WINS Server. 5) The fix is to use hybrid node instead of p-node or m-node. 6)  If the network is configured to use  forNetBIOS name resolution but the client hasn't been set manually, it could be set through a DHCP release option 46.  7) Apply service pack.

Using ipconfig /all or winipcfg
When troubleshooting a TCP/IP networking problem, you can use the ipconfig command to get host computer configuration information, including the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway. If it is running Win9x, ME, use winipcfg instead.
How can I find a NIC MAC address?
Use ipconfig /all
How to enable IP routing
To enable IP routing on W2K/XP, go to the properties of the connection>TCP/IP>Advanced>Options>IP Filtering, check Enable IP Filtering.
How to find my public IP
Doesn't matter you are using public IP or private IP, you can open http://www.whatismyip.com to find your public ip.

How to fix corrupted IP Configuration

To fix a corrupted IP Configuration, 
1) for Win9x, NT, ME and W2K, you may want to remove and re-install TCP/IP. 
2) If it is win9x, you may try to run c:\windows\ws2bakup\ws2bakup.bat to restore the original settings. 
3) If you get "DHCP server unreachable" while using ipconfig /renew, you may want to update the network card drive or go to NIC configuration to change the media type matching the speed.
4) For XP, you can't uninstall TCP/IP (Uninstall is grayed out). You will use the Windows XP command line utility netsh.exe to reset all IP-related Registry settings to their default values. To do that, enter the command: netsh int ip reset filename, for example, netsh int ip reset ipreset.t.xt

How to setup two static IPs on a computer
Q: I have a laptop at the office and home using static IP. How can I configure tcp/ip for the office and home.
A: You may have two options. 1) Setup a static IP on the properties of TCP/IP, and then click Advanced to add more if it is w2k. If it is wxp, select Alternative Configuration. 2) Or run netsh.exe (from w2k Resource kits).

IP address conflicts

SYMPTOMS: when trying to set the IP address on a NIC,  you may receive the following error message: "The IP address XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX you have entered for this network adapter is already assigned to another adapter Name of adapter. Name of adapter is hidden from the network and Dial-up Connections folder because it is not physically in the computer or is a legacy adapter that is not working. If the same address is assigned to both adapters and they become active, only one of them will use this address. This may result in incorrect system configuration. Do you want to enter a different IP address for this adapter in the list of IP addresses in the advanced dialog box? "

RESOLUTION: 
1. If you click Yes, you see the TCP/IP properties where you can change the IP address. Then assign the different IP.
2.  If you click No, the IP address is assigned to the network adapter. To resolve this problem, uninstall the ghosted network adapter from the registry: At command prompt, type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1, and then press ENTER. Type Start DEVMGMT.MSC, and then press ENTER. Click View, and then clickShow Hidden Devices. Expand the Network Adapters tree and right-click the dimmed network adapter, and then click Uninstall.

XP client unable to obtain IP addresses from the DHCP server

RESOLUTION: To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP.

Why the ipconfig shows 0.0.0.0 ip even you have assigned a static ip
Question: I have assigned a static ip, subnet to the computer, but the ipconfig shows IP address is 0.0.0.0 and subnet mask 0.0.0.0.. Why?
Answer: An existing IP address on the network has the same IP address. You may use tracert ip, WINS and DNS records to find out another computer using the same IP.
If your laptop users frequently disconnect from one network segment and reconnect to another network segment, they may not be able to access the second network. Resolution will be run ipconfig /registerdns.

Domain FAQ's

Issue:  domain errors and issues Solution: Cannot logon after removing the domain I have a windows 2000 professional laptop workstation. I used to belong to a domain on my network, but I recently changed by network settings to belong to a workgroup. Once I restarted my machine, it won't let me log into windows 2000 at all!  The error says wrong user name or domain.  For some reason, I think it's trying to access the domain - even though I don't belong to it anymore. Even when I'm not connected to the network, I cannot log into windows 2000 at all.  How can I get into windows 2000?  How can I change this?! A: After changing the domain to a workgroup, only the member of local administrators can logon the computer. the resolutions: 1. logon the local administrator to local computer and add the users. 2. If you don't have the administrator password, you may need your network administrator to help you. Can't remove a computer from a domain Symptom: When trying to move the computer off of the domain and into a workgroup the following error message is displayed, "The computer could not be removed from the domain <domain name>.  The revision level is unknown." Resolution: the problem is you may logon local administrator instead of domain administrator. Re-logon domain administrator. Cannot find the WINS server. SYMPTOMS: After you install the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) component, you may not be able to gain access to the WINS database on the local WINS server. When you try to gain access to the WINS database, you may receive the following error message: "Cannot find the WINS server", "The WINS server you specified cannot be located", "The WINS server might be down, there might be network problems, or the WINS service might not be installed", and "The network path was not found". RESOLUTION: When WINS Manager starts, it tries to contact the File Server service on the WINS server. Specifically, WINS Manager checks for NetBIOS suffix 20 on the WINS server. If File and Printer Sharing is disabled, it disables the File Server service and NetBIOS suffix. You must have File and Printer Sharing enabled to use WINS. Cannot Add Windows 2000 Computer to Domain: The Network Path Was Not Found SYMPTOMS: When trying to join a Win2K/XP computer to a domain, you receive the following error message: The following error occurred when attempting to join "domain name". The network path was not found. RESOLUTION: 1) make sure you are using an correct IP for the DNS. 2) make sure you have correct DNS and WINS server on your network. 3) try to enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP on Win2K/XP if this is NT domain controller. How to access different domain without changing the network settings  To use a laptop to access to different domain without changing the domain settings, logon local machine (instead of domain) using your domain logon ID that also are created on your local computer. If it is possible, you may create the same logon id and password on all domain so that you always are able to access the domain you are connecting to. Also you may want to create one batch file like logon.bat with domain logon ID and password to map network drives. How to change the network information for a Domain Controller When you try to change the network information to a domain comptroller, you find the Network ID and Properties buttons will not be available. The way to change the network information on a domain controller would be to demote the controller to a member server, change the necessary information, and then promote the server back to a domain controller. How to check who is logging on a particular computer If you would like to check who is  logging on a particular PC in the (same subnet) network, you can use command nbtstat -a computername. That will show NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table such as username, <03>, type and status. How to map a network drive without logon the domain If you have a laptop used at home and sometimes used in the office, you would  like to map a network drive without logon the domain, you can create a batch file like that  “net use h:\\ervername\sharename password /user:domainname\username". How to synchronize the time on all the computers in a network To synchronize the time on all the computers in a network, create a logon script and use net time command, for example, net time \\computername /set /yes. How to switch network settings without reboot As a network consultant, I work on different network every day and need to switch network settings such as IP and DNS accordingly. Fortunately, W2K/XP comes with a useful tool, netsh.exe, that can switch network settings quickly.  To copy abc.com network settings, type command netsh -c interface dump >c:\abc.txt. The abc.com network settings will be saved at the root of the C drive. You can create as many network settings as I like. When you work at abc.com next time,  you will load the settings by typing netsh -f abc.txt command and the abc.com network settings will take effect immediately. How to verify if you are logged on to the domain and  which server you are logging on To verify if you are logging on to the domain and  which server you are logging on, at a command prompt, type set, and then press ENTER. Look for the LOGONSERVER entry. If it is set to the name of your computer, you were logged on using cached domain credentials. If you are logging on the domain, the LOGONSERVER entry is set to one of the domain controllers. How can I synchronize all computers' time in the network? A: You as an Administrators can configure an internal time server as authoritative by using the net time command. You can also configure the Time Service on the AD to recognize an external Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) time server as authoritative. Use the following net time command: net time /setsntp:server_list. Note: 1) The United States Naval Observatory runs several SNTP time servers that are satisfactory for this function, for example, ntp2.usno.navy.mil (at 192.5.41.209) and tock.usno.navy.mil (at 192.5.41.41). 2) that SNTP uses User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port 123. If this port is not open to the Internet, you cannot synchronize your server to Internet SNTP servers. After you set the SNTP time server as authoritative, run the following command on computers other than the domain controller to reset the local computer's time against the authoritative time server: net time \\servername /set /yes. How do I un-synchronize time on my domain network? Q:  I have an isolated Windows 2000/NT domain for I/O testing. I want to change TIME on one of my W2K server; however after approx. 30min. the TIME of this server was reset back to my domain time.  A:  You can disable the 'Windows Time' service on the computer you don't want to update. Mapping problem - persistent connection After you changed net use I: \\serverA\shared  to \\serverB\shared in your logon script, some windows 2000 machines are still mapping to \\serverA\shared. The reason is that net use /persistent:yes is default settings for NT and win2000/XP.   You can disconnect the old mapping and re-logon. That will map to \\cbgntB\shared.  Also you may want to use NET USE I: \\servername\folder /persistent:no so that next time when we change the mapping, it will automatically map to the new settings. Problem with License Manager  I have followed the instructions in Q153140 and Q194065 on how to reset License Manager information.  Two days later, I am getting warnings in my Event Logs that my Windows Server is out of licenses.  Its finding ghost users that have been deleted from my system for 3-4 years  How do I  really delete their licenses and  make them stop coming back? A: Many  people have reported the same problem. You may want to disable the License Manager and manage the licenses manually. Slow Network Performance Occurs while copying file to W2K Domain Control A: Symptom: when copying files from a client computer to W2K domain controller, network performance is slower. You may notice this problem occurs only if you copy many small files but not copy a few large files. Resolution: 1) apply SP3 on the W2K domain controller; 2) edit the TcpDelAckTicks registry value to adjust the TCP delayed ACK timer (refer to MS Q321098). Unable to logon domain or experience an extremely slow logon -  Event ID: 1054 Symptoms: 1) clients cannot obtain the domain controller name for your computer network. (The specified domain either does not exist or could not be contacted). 2) Group Policy processing aborted. 3) The clients  may also experience an extremely slow logon. Resolution: 1) Check you DHCP, WINS and DNS server settings and make sure they are working.  2) ipconfig /all on clients shows correct DNS and WINS.  3) If you do not use DHCP, you need to add DNS in the properties of TCP/IP. 4) if you have more than one NICs and one of them does not plug, disable it. "The network path was not found" error When attempting to join "domain name", you get this error "The network path was not found". This behavior can occur if you are using an incorrect Internet Protocol (IP) address for the Domain Name Service (DNS) server or have incorrected WINS settings. To resolve this behavior, make sure that the IP addresses of the DNS and WINS servers on your network are specified correctly in your TCP/IP settings. Why W2K/XP clients logon so slower 1) Slow logon from W2K/XP to a win2000 domain usually indicates a DNS and WINS configuration issue. If DNS/WINS is configured uncorrected, XP will take longer time to search DNS/WINS and will be time out if it can't find the DNS/WINS. 2) Servers and clients have more than one protocols such as TCP/IP, NetBEUI and IPX. 3) If you have one unplugged and enable network adapter on the computer, you should disable it