Member Avatar for motech

What is the big problem with XP home seeing ANY other
M$ OS shares?

Server is Win2kpro, Laptop is XPhome.

Server is sharing a folder that's needed by Laptop, laptop
can't see 2kpro???

I'm basically here for info on possibly WHY this is happening and
maybe something simple that can be done.

Interesting to note that when laptop is plugged into home network
(running 98se) double clicking on network places caused me to see
a 'Flash' of all the shared drives on my main machine, before they
disappeared. (note that said machine does not show up as existing) Heck, they're on the same workgroup, all my linux
machines see it no problem, what's the big deal?

Yes.. if I tell winxp the ip of the machine it finds the folders no problem
but WHY (so stupid) WHY doesn't it show up?


Some kinda sick joke *sigh*

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Dani AI

Generated

Good catch, and good diagnosis so far — as suggested, this is almost certainly a name‑resolution / browsing-domain issue, and confirmed that adding a name→IP entry fixed it on the local LAN. That explains why mapping by IP works but the machine does not appear in Network Neighborhood: browse/name discovery and NetBIOS name resolution are two different mechanisms, and the browsing list is populated only by machines that can see the same NetBIOS broadcast domain and browser-master.

Why it broke when moved: a hub keeps every machine in a single broadcast domain, so NetBIOS broadcasts and the Computer Browser announcements can reach everyone. A router usually separates networks (NAT/subnets) and will not forward those broadcasts or SMB discovery traffic, so shares that are “discoverable” on the LAN vanish across the router. Also many routers/firewalls drop SMB ports or block NetBIOS, which prevents name browsing even when direct IP access still works locally.

Practical checklist to get reliable results:

  • Verify NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled on the XP NIC and that the Win2K “Server”/“Computer Browser” services are running so the machine can be discovered.
  • Keep workgroup names identical and use a static IP or DHCP reservation for the server if you rely on local name mappings (hosts/lmhosts); hosts entries are local only and must match the server IP at that network.
  • If you must access the remote server across a router/Internet, avoid opening SMB to the public Internet — use a VPN, SSH/SFTP, or RDP instead. If you need name resolution across subnets, set up a WINS or DNS entry that both ends consult.
  • If mapping by IP works but browsing still doesn’t, suspect either master-browser elections or router/firewall blocking; check for competing masters and check router firewall rules.

Security note: forwarding SMB ports across the Internet is unsafe. For portable laptops that leave and rejoin different networks, VPN + a fixed server address (or DNS) is the most robust and secure approach.

Member Avatar for freebie

Your Linux is using the WINS/lmhost style to query machines. Your XP is using the DNS to query machines. Probably none of your local PC/laptop have valid DNS names. Try putting the static IP/pcname in
c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\hosts and lmhosts

quickest way to put it in a file, type this at the cmd prompt.

echo winxpnam >> c:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc\lmhosts

Member Avatar for motech

Everyone else has only pointed me to
"You cannot disable simple file sharing under XP Home"
While that information is concise (though I'm still a firm
believer there's a fix for it short of upgrading to pro) it's
not exactly helpful info LOL.

2 points of interest though (being as this IS a winxpHome machine)

the 'echo' command is not found so I searched for the hosts file
manually and it resides in C:\I386

Adding the IP and compname to that file worked perfectly!
Everything shows up as it's supposed to :)

Thank you VERY much :)

Now I just need to find the IP of the server that's a couple
hundred miles away from the laptop and enter that one in. LOL
That way when they take it back up there, it'll work for them
as nicely as it does for me. :)
I'm Soooo glad I installed PCAnywhere on that thing LOL

Thanks again :)

Member Avatar for motech

There's got to be something else missing, as that
didn't work when it arrived up there....
The main differences in the network is the machine sharing
the folder is win2k and it's connected to the laptop
by hub instead of router.

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