Laptop cannot ping desktop over wireless network

[theoldwolf]

Hi guys.

This is my first post so please forgive any faux pas that I make.

I am having a problem with my home wireless network. My desktop computer can see and ping my laptop. I can even transfer files to the laptop from the desktop. However, my laptop cannot ping my desktop computer or see it on the network. I can ping the router (a Netgear WPN824) just fine from the laptop, the laptop can ping itself, and the laptop can connect to the internet no problem. It just can't ping the desktop!

I have disabled Windows firewall on both computers to no avail. I have also turned off and uninstalled Norton firewall on both computers and that didn't help either. Both computers are running Windows XP with SP2.

This has been driving me nuts for a couple of days now - any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[noreneol]

Hi guys.

This is my first post so please forgive any faux pas that I make.

I am having a problem with my home wireless network. My desktop computer can see and ping my laptop. I can even transfer files to the laptop from the desktop. However, my laptop cannot ping my desktop computer or see it on the network. I can ping the router (a Netgear WPN824) just fine from the laptop, the laptop can ping itself, and the laptop can connect to the internet no problem. It just can't ping the desktop!

I have disabled Windows firewall on both computers to no avail. I have also turned off and uninstalled Norton firewall on both computers and that didn't help either. Both computers are running Windows XP with SP2.

This has been driving me nuts for a couple of days now - any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Here's a few tips...
Go into Windows Explorer on the desktop & right-click the folders you want to share.Click Sharing and Security.Then click the little box where is says Share As..it will automatically save it with a name.
Run ipconfig.exe & make sure you have the right IP addy.
Then,make sure it's the right addy.
You could run Network setup but if everything is properly configured you won't have to.
It's all about permissions. Go into Control Panel and under Network Settings,make sure you have all the proper files there (Tcp/IP,Microsoft File And Print Sharing,ect).Then make sure your computer is in the right workgroup & has a unique name. <You can check that by right-clicking My Computer\Properties\Computer name. And run Ipconfig /release, then ipconfig /renew.
That should do it.
Let me know if it helped.
N.

[tjohnston]

I am bumping this old thread because I have the same problem and hours of Google searches have not helped at all. Anyone?

noreneol, permissions don't mean jack in this situation because you cannot even ping the computer that's having the problems. One machine is rejecting outside connections completely even within its own network while IT can access any of the other machines.

Someone please help ... I've turned off all firewalls and tried tweaking every setting ... why won't crap just work the way it's meant to?

[Pettos]

I had the same problem with my laptop.

It turned out to be the firewall... Speaking of which, have you turned off the Windows firewall? If not, do so...

(Start >>> CP >>>> Windows firewall)

Presuming you use XP:

Try this -

1. Go Start >> CP
2. Security Center
3. click Internet Options
4. click the connections tab
5. click LAN Settings
6. click Automatically Detect Settings
7. click OK, OK, and try it again... (if necessary reboot)

See if that works.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Try a TCP/Winsock repair utility..rebuilds it. Sometimes malware can hose it up. Or if you had some 3rd party software firewall.

http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/Win...sockxpfix.html

Ensure the XP firewall on the wireless adapter has file and print sharing allowed in the exceptions.

Also try the Speedguide TCP Optimizer...sometimes malware or various other things can really screw up the values of TCP....using the Optimizer can being them back to where they should be.

With wireless...make sure you're connected to your own wireless network. So many people leave their wireless LANs on default SSIDs..such as "Linksys" or "Netgear". They end up connecting to a neighbors wireless LAN if the neighbor has the same brand AP. I see this sooooooooo much.

And the last common problem...people end up purchasing a wireless router..and adding it to an existing router. So one of the many issues that scan screw with things from being double NAT'd...is having a frustrating time trying to network devices through NAT..on diff subnets. So...don't add a wireless router...to an existing router. Either flip the first gateway appliance to pure bridged mode..and just use your single wireless router...or add an access point instead of a wireless router.

[tjohnston]

Okay, let me give you all background on the specifics of my situation so that we can get past the tier-1 tech support mode. Sorry ... but I feel like I'm being babied here.

I am sharing a cable connection using a Linksys Wireless router with WPA/WPA2 encryption. One desktop and one laptop. The desktop used to be connected through a wired connection, but I recently got a wireless PCI card for it, and since then, nothing can access the desktop. No file sharing, no pinging, no nothing. All computers can connect to the internet fine, and the desktop can access others in the network fine, but nothing can see or access the desktop. If I go back to the wired connection, everything still works fine.

Speaking of which, have you turned off the Windows firewall? If not, do so...

Someone please help ... I've turned off all firewalls and tried tweaking every setting ... why won't crap just work the way it's meant to?

I think I made it pretty clear. (Sorry to be curt, but I'm frustrated right now.)

Ensure the XP firewall on the wireless adapter has file and print sharing allowed in the exceptions.

This shouldn't matter if it is turned off. My network is behind a router which has hardware firewalling and NAT, thus, I don't need to run any software firewalls on any of my machines. That is why this problem is so frustrating. There shouldn't be anything restricting anything INSIDE my network.

YeOldeStonecat, I also tried running the TCP/Winsock repair, and I crossed my fingers pretty hard, but it didn't do anything.

I'm beginning to think it's the wireless card ... but it shouldn't be. I can connect to the internet just fine, and even browse other computers in my network and grab shared files off of those. I've tried different driver versions, several uninstall/reinstalls, etc. etc. I'm pretty sure it's not the card. I'm not in the mood for an RMA right now (already have done several this month for other products ... and you know what a headache those can be), so I will exhaust all other possibilities first.

And the last common problem...people end up purchasing a wireless router..and adding it to an existing router. So one of the many issues that scan screw with things from being double NAT'd...is having a frustrating time trying to network devices through NAT..on diff subnets. So...don't add a wireless router...to an existing router. Either flip the first gateway appliance to pure bridged mode..and just use your single wireless router...or add an access point instead of a wireless router.

You know what's funny about this? My current setup is just one router, so we don't need to worry about this. But in the past, I have used a wireless router in conjunction with a wired one turning off DHCP and NAT so that it will perform like a switch, and everything worked fine with that setup. No file sharing problems or anything whatsoever. So I'm pretty sure the problem isn't a lack of networking knowledge on my side.

Basically, what I've come to conclude is that the newly installed wireless card hasn't configured itself correctly because everything still works through a wired connection ...

I could tear my hair out right now ...

[YeOldeStonecat]

When you try to access, or even ping the host PC....are you using the computers name? Or IP address? In other words...lets break it down to wether it's a name resolution issue...or something deeper in the TCP stack.

If you have any other network connections in your network properties....and you're using your wireless...for now, to rule them out..disable them. Your main onboard wired NIC will usually show up as Local Area Connection, right click it and disable it. If you have a firewire card..that will also show up...right click..and disable it. If you're done any "bridging" of the connections....undo it. I see people bridge that firewire connection often..they see "400 megs" ...and think they can make a poor mans giga-NIC connection. This can help what's called binding and provider orders....basically which service binds to which adapter in what order during bootup. If you go to your network properties windows...up under the Advanced dropdown menu, advanced settings menu.

Also for name resolution, without a domain controller running DNS (or WINS for the 9x clients), in an ideal world PCs on a peer to peer network are supposed to auto-figure out name resolution..electing a master browser and auto-configuring netbios over TCP/IP. Sometimes that "auto" thing doesn't work with netbios....so go into the properties of your wireless NIC..TCP properties..advanced button, WINS tab..and enabled netbios over TCP/IP.

So lets narrow down your issue..you say "can't access other PCs"...OK..can't access how? Computer netbios name? or via IP address? Can you ping other PCs by IP address and get replies? Can you ping the router by IP address and get replies? Can those other PCs ping this laptop by IP address and get replies? Double check to make sure your IPs that you're pinging are current...in case you're running on DHCP. Just because when you ran this drill 2 days ago the PC downstairs was 192.168.1.103 doesn't mean it's definitely still 103 today.

Don't get hungup on workgroups like some people do. Workgroups are irrelevant on P2P networks....wether PCs can access each other or not. PCs in different workgroups will always be able to access each other, it only is a visual layer in network places..as to what appears by itself in the first layer. You can always drill into other workgroups..or..the easiest thing to so is start==>Run \\netbios name -or- IP address\blahblah

It shouldn't be the network card..especially if you got a "wifi-certified" card. Wifi certified is a standard which usually means much better chance of compatibility with other wifi certified network hardware.

Mixing and matching wireless NICs usually doesn't give issues...my laptop here....I'm on a very old XP install, in my laptop case I have probably 1/2 dozne different PCMCIA cards that I use all the time, Cisco, Belkin, couple of Linksys, 3COM, Netgear. Not so much the old B ones anymore, but I still grab whatever G one is in reach, and use it.

I have had similar behavior occur in my laptop before...where various networking services start having issues. But I know that's because I've installed and uninstalled various IPSec VPN clients, due to supporting the networks of various clients of mine. IPSec VPN clients don't co-exist very well with each other..so when I need to connect to someone...I'll uninstall the other brand..and install the one they use..to connect to them. After a few times of this in a row...I'll notice things can get wonky with any of my many PPTP VPN connections, and other network utilities and remote access programs that I use. So that's when I run the Winsock repair utility..then I run the SG TCP Optimizer to bring settings back to where they should be. Things start working fine again. So...have you tried the SG Optimizer yet?

[tjohnston]

When you try to access, or even ping the host PC....are you using the computers name? Or IP address?

IP Address. Pinging the problematic machine directly by IP returns no response.

If you have any other network connections in your network properties....and you're using your wireless...for now, to rule them out..disable them.

Already did.

Sometimes that "auto" thing doesn't work with netbios....so go into the properties of your wireless NIC..TCP properties..advanced button, WINS tab..and enabled netbios over TCP/IP.

Tried that before.

So lets narrow down your issue..you say "can't access other PCs"...OK..can't access how? Computer netbios name? or via IP address? Can you ping other PCs by IP address and get replies? Can you ping the router by IP address and get replies? Can those other PCs ping this laptop by IP address and get replies? Double check to make sure your IPs that you're pinging are current...in case you're running on DHCP. Just because when you ran this drill 2 days ago the PC downstairs was 192.168.1.103 doesn't mean it's definitely still 103 today.

Sorry to be so curt above ... but as you can see, I've tried just about everything.

I think there's still some ambiguity about my issue here. Let's just assign static IPs to everything right now. Eventually, I would like to just use DHCP and not have to worry about it, but for purposes of being specific, we'll use static. So the problematic desktop will be assigned to 192.168.1.50, and the laptop to 192.168.1.51.

Both computers access the internet fine. But when opening up "My Network Places," neither show each others' shared folders (which I used to just be able to do with the wired setup). Now, what I mean by "access" is that I can go to the desktop and "Run \\192.168.1.51" and the laptop's shared folders will appear. But when I'm at the laptop, I cannot even ping the desktop (192.168.1.50) and get a reply.

Does that make it more clear?

NetBios shouldn't even be an issue if I'm going directly through IP addresses, but as I said above, I've already force enabled it ...

Do we have any other options here? I hate random, anomalistic problems like these ...

[Pettos]

My laptop does the same thing... Both access the internet, but the laptop cant see my computer on the network, nor can it see anything else but the internet. But all the other computers can. It doesn't really bother me that much, i've shared just about every folder on the laptop, so if i need to transfer anything, i just put it into My Documents, and copy it to my PC, via the PC.

[kim sutton]

Wireless Networking: I lost the ability to see the desktop from the laptop and vice versa and couldn’t print from laptop to desktop printer. I found an web site http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=55163&page=2 that discussed how TCP/IP things work or fail. I found that using the NBTSTAT –A 198.162.1.101 (the laptop) was the broadcast host. I disabled the Computer Broadcast Service (Control Panel,Performance and Mtce. Admin Tools, Services) on the laptop then I turn off the wireless switch on the laptop, turn it back on, connect to the network and the desktop network places appear and can be accessed.

[bobolito]

Sorry to bring this thread back again, but I am experiencing the same issue. I wonder if tjohnston was able to resolve his problem.

Just as stated above, I have tried pinging by IP address. Since we're all using IP addresses directly, NBTSTAT, NetBIOS, etc. have nothing to do here.

The only difference in my case is that both my laptop and my desktop are wireless. I have always been able access my desktop from my laptop and viceversa. But I lost the ability to access my desktop in ANY WAY (no pinging reply, no response from \\COMPUTERNAME, etc.) a couple of days ago. I am not sure if it has to do with my running Tune Up 2007 which cleans up the registry, but that's about the only thing I've done in the last few days. But the strange thing is that I've also ran Tune Up 2007 in my laptop and did the same cleaning procedures and my laptop is still accessible.

I have tried using a third and fourth computer. The third computer connected wirelessly, the fourth connected through Ethernet cable to my wireless router. Neither the third or the fourth computer can ping the desktop computer.

The desktop computer hosts a printer, so this problem means I can no longer print from any of the computers in my home network.

Needless to say, the desktop can access all other computers on the network and the internet just fine.

All firewalls are disabled. I checked everything that has been stated in this thread already, "Simple File Sharing" is unchecked, have tried rebooting, disabling/enabling the wireless adapter, rebooting my router, etc. renewing IP addresses, etc. I even checked that all computers are connecting to my wireless router (just in case it had jumped to my neighbor's open router), and also wireless signal strength is excellent on all wireless computers, so like stated previously, we can move up from tier-1 support mode.

To put it another way, my desktop computer is in "one way mode" where it can connect to all other computers, but all other computers in my local LAN cannot connect to it. This means I cannot connect to any shared folders on my desktop from any other computer and also I cannot ping my desktop from any of the other computers.

I am thinking that somehow the TCP/IP stack is messed up on Windows and might require a Windows complete re-install. However, we all know how that sucks and will be my last resort if I cannot figure this out. I need to be able to print from the other computers like I used to before. This is very frustrating

By the way, the desktop CAN ping itself. In other words, my desktop's IP is 192.168.2.11 and from my desktop I ping that address and it replies. However, from any other computer I cannot ping that address.

Here are my IP addresses:


Desktop = 192.168.2.11 (wireless)
Laptop 1 = 192.168.2.13 (wireless)
Laptop 2 = 192.168.2.12 (wireless)
Computer 1 = 192.168.2.10 (wired)

[prosenfe]

OH MY GAAAWWWDD!! StoneCat you fixed my problem!! I was having this exact same issue and going nuts combing the discussion boards for an answer. I ran the Winsock fix and it WORKS!! I'll name all my children after you. And pray for you every night. And light candles in your honor...

[bobolito]

Glad it worked for you. For me, it did not work. The only thing that worked was to reinstall Windows.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Reinstall of Windows shouldn't be needed...that utility rebuilds the TCP stack/winsock from scratch.

I notice a common issue..peoples wireless computers sometimes can't connections to wired computers. I'd wager a few pints of Guinness...that their wireless SSID is default, wide open..and their neighbor has a wireless network of the same default SSID..and they connected to their neighbors LAN by accident. I've personally gone onsite and found this to be the situation many..MANY times.

Hence one of my wireless tips is "Always make your SSID unique".

[bobolito]

yeah, my SSID is unique. I don't even get any neighbor's WiFi.

[tri3]

I fixed my local network connection by turning off the Windows Firewall.
Can I turn it back on and not kill the connections?

[KesinX]

Well, hate to revive dead posts but I've been looking everywhere for an answer to this problem and still can't find one.

One thing I noticed that nobody else has mentioned is that I can see the computer when I view the network map and it even shows it's IP address!

That said, I can't ping the IP it shows or see it when I try to view all the computers on the network.

From that computer though I can see, ping, and access files on the other one.

One thing I tried was to set my media sharing to on and access it from the invisible computer. The other computer showed up briefly as an unknown device and nothing I tried could detect it as anything else.

I'm pulling my hair out over here trying to figure this out.

[akbron]

If you are using Cisco VPN-Client. Click on Options -> Uncheck, Stateful Firewall Always On.

[bluehalk]

Hi,

Sorry to bring this back on but.

Has any one tried changing the Network locations?

If you joined the internet for the first time it asks for Network locations such as Home, Public or Work.

If you have Work or public change it back to Home and this should fix it.
right click Network icon in systems tray > Open Network and sharing center > Underneath your network there should be a Network Location (Home, Public, Work) click to change it to Home.

Let me know if this works.

[Adam12]

Sadly, this solution does not work for my laptop.
Any suggestions?







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