Network challenge - well it is for me...

[srobarts]

I finally got fed up with BT HomeHub3 and dug out my old Netgear Prosafe ADSL Router DGFV338 with a mix of wireless and cabled connections. All printers are working fine. I just cannot to connect to the two screenless pc's that I use remote desktop for, nor can I connect to their shared folders.
We have a mix of XP and Win7 Pcs on the network.
I'm puzzled.
Any clues gratefully accepted

[Saab Dastard]

Different router dishing out different IP addresses via DHCP?

SD

[srobarts]

SD, I thought of that and tried to connect directly to the IP address of one of the PCs to access the shared folders but to no avail.

[Mike-Bracknell]

It would help if we could have details of what OS the headless PCs are running?

Whether the remote control is RDP?

Whether the clients are solely the alternate OS to the headless PCs or whether there's some commonality there?

Without those 3 answers above, one can only speculate. However, the leading contenders are:

- Firewall blocking access from specific ports
- Different IP address ranges given out by the two different DHCP servers on the different devices (you really need to unify these ranges and DHCP provision for your sanity)
- ARP issues caused by 2 routers with the same IP address
- Windows 7 vs XP security issues (unlikely if RDP can't work either)

First subsequent question, since you're on the same LAN, is if you can PING one from the other.
Second subsequent question, can you provide an "IPCONFIG /ALL" output from a command prompt from both PCs?

[mixture]

Seriously, I go on holiday for a few days and the standards drop in this place .... :*

Mike-Bracknell's (or Saab's for that matter) very first question to you should have been ....

Have you tried to put a head on the headless machines ? What happened ? Do they have internet connectivity ?

Have they been powered-off/rebooted since the network reconfig ? If not, do it.

Can you also confirm the headless machines are wired and not wireless. If wireless, remove that aspect from the equation before proceeding further.

Can you also confirm you are only running one router or other DHCP server device on your network. If not, pick one and stick with it. Two DHCP servers on the same subnet is only for the gurus, and even then, its to be avoided where possible due to the sheer headaches it can cause if not properly configured.

Otherwise, Sir Mike is along the right lines .... :cool:


N.B. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that the headless machines are actually turned on and physically connected ok !

[Milo Minderbinder]

"Two DHCP servers on the same subnet is only for the gurus,"

had exactly that situation this morning on a small site which had just been upgraded from XP to Win7, involving new machines and servers
We couldn't twig why the internet kept collapsing, yet the web-based business software was OK
Several hours before someone twigged that the old server was still on the network and trying to route DHCP requests....

Doh! Serious Homer Simpson moment......

[jimtherev]

... to read of gurus being caught out - and being able to admit it!
Respeck. :ok:

[Saab Dastard]

Mixture, sometimes we experts assume that the bleeding obvious is so bleeding obvious that it's... bleeding obvious!:)

SD