Computers on network don't communicate

I have two computers that are networked via a router. I know the network
cards and the router all work, because the router connects to my cable modem
and both computers can access the internet with no problem. The problem,
which occurred suddenly, is that the two computers won't communicate with
each other properly.

Computer A does not show Computer B in its Network Neighborhood, however if
you search for Computer B, it gets found and its files can be accessed by
Computer A.

Computer B does show Computer A in its Network Neighborhood, however if you
try to view Computer A, you get an error "The computer or sharename could not
be found. Make sure you typed it correctly, and try again."

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the network connection on both
computers, with no change. The computers are correctly set up in the same
named workgroup. No domain is set up. These computers have worked together
for 3 years this way, then recently this problem occurred.

Does anyone have any idea what might cause this, and which computer is the
one with the problem?

Trish
It's probably the protocol, however instead of wasting hours trying to
find he problem, you may want to review Carey Holzman's FIX ALL
WINDOWS NETWORKING PROBLEMS. Suggest you visit his site and review the
write-up on network problems.
http://www.careyholzman.com/

Hope this helps

"Trish" wrote in message
...
I have two computers that are networked via a router. I know the
network
cards and the router all work, because the router connects to my
cable modem
and both computers can access the internet with no problem. The
problem,
which occurred suddenly, is that the two computers won't communicate
with
each other properly.

Computer A does not show Computer B in its Network Neighborhood,
however if
you search for Computer B, it gets found and its files can be
accessed by
Computer A.

Computer B does show Computer A in its Network Neighborhood, however
if you
try to view Computer A, you get an error "The computer or sharename
could not
be found. Make sure you typed it correctly, and try again."

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the network connection on
both
computers, with no change. The computers are correctly set up in the
same
named workgroup. No domain is set up. These computers have worked
together
for 3 years this way, then recently this problem occurred.

Does anyone have any idea what might cause this, and which computer
is the
one with the problem?

I reviewed his instructions for fixing networking problems, and they appear
to be aimed at users of Win ME, not Win 98. Some of the steps given don't
apply to Win 98.

"Dapper Dan" wrote:

Trish
It's probably the protocol, however instead of wasting hours trying to
find he problem, you may want to review Carey Holzman's FIX ALL
WINDOWS NETWORKING PROBLEMS. Suggest you visit his site and review the
write-up on network problems.
http://www.careyholzman.com/

Hope this helps

"Trish" wrote in message
...
I have two computers that are networked via a router. I know the
network
cards and the router all work, because the router connects to my
cable modem
and both computers can access the internet with no problem. The
problem,
which occurred suddenly, is that the two computers won't communicate
with
each other properly.

Computer A does not show Computer B in its Network Neighborhood,
however if
you search for Computer B, it gets found and its files can be
accessed by
Computer A.

Computer B does show Computer A in its Network Neighborhood, however
if you
try to view Computer A, you get an error "The computer or sharename
could not
be found. Make sure you typed it correctly, and try again."

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the network connection on
both
computers, with no change. The computers are correctly set up in the
same
named workgroup. No domain is set up. These computers have worked
together
for 3 years this way, then recently this problem occurred.

Does anyone have any idea what might cause this, and which computer
is the
one with the problem?

You have numerous steps to a solutions. Depends where you
want to start. For example, is hardware listed as OK in
SystemDevice Manager?

I assume these computers are setup using TCP/IP. Therefore
both have IP addresses. What are they (which I believe is
either winipconfig or ipconfig)? From command prompt (DOS
prompt), enter ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx where xxxs are the IP
address. Do they talk only at the IP level? If not, get NIC
diagnostics that come free from your computer manufacturer's
web site (if manufacturer is responsible).

NIC diagnostics do two things. First they test the NIC
internally. Then they (optionally) test that two cards talk
to one another. The last part is the most important test. It
verifies two cards are OK without the complication of
Windows. It tests cards in extreme mode. Some cards that
worked just fine on small data transfers become intermittent
with longer transfers. Only the diagnostic will detect
intermittents. Windows tends to be tolerant. You need that
when running Windows. You don't want tolerance when testing
the hardware. Only diagnostics will report the intermittent.

Important point - do not start fixing Windows (as posted in
that careyholzman.com until you have first verified hardware
integrity as demonstrated above. Alternative is that you will
end up exponentially complicating the problem. First verify
hardware without Windows. Only after hardware is found good,
then move on the software (Windows) suspects.

Enough for now. Report back with results so that 'fact
collecting' targets the problem rather than just fill
newsgroups.

Trish wrote:
I have two computers that are networked via a router. I know the
network cards and the router all work, because the router connects
to my cable modem and both computers can access the internet with
no problem. The problem, which occurred suddenly, is that the two
computers won't communicate with each other properly.

Computer A does not show Computer B in its Network Neighborhood,
however if you search for Computer B, it gets found and its files
can be accessed by Computer A.

Computer B does show Computer A in its Network Neighborhood,
however if you try to view Computer A, you get an error "The
computer or sharename could not be found. Make sure you typed it
correctly, and try again."

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the network connection
on both computers, with no change. The computers are correctly set
up in the same named workgroup. No domain is set up. These
computers have worked together for 3 years this way, then recently
this problem occurred.

Does anyone have any idea what might cause this, and which computer
is the one with the problem?