Problem networking ME to XPProSP3

Steve Winograd [MVP] schrieb:
In article , Dominik George
wrote:

Here's the breakdown.

1 computer running ME. Wired to a Dlink Wireless hub(wireless is for my
laptop).
1 computer running XPPro. Wired to the Dlink hub.
Dlink hub running DHCP

Hubs don't run DHCP, but routers do. You apparently have a D-Link router
with a built in switch (not hub).


XP and Norton firewall turned OFF.

XP sees the ME computer in Network Places/View workgroup computers, however,
XP cannot ping the ME computer.

ME CAN ping the XP computer but cannot see it in Network places.
I have even gone so far as to switchout the Dlink for a plain hub and
hard-code the IP addresses into each computer. NO GO

I have exhausted my personal knowledge base.

Your help is MOST appreciated.

As old as this message is (hey! Dominik! Why'd you set me onto this one?),
maybe you have already sorted it out?

All that I can think of is to make sure that nothing is configured for
using WINS resolution. I once some somebody with a computer on the LAN
configured for WINS resolution; but there was no WINS service on the LAN,
so that computer couldn't find out what other computers were on the LAN. If
the Windows XP computer is on more often than the Windows ME computer,
maybe you need to turn off the Browse Master setting in the Windows ME
computer; let the Windows XP computer act as the Browse Master.

WINS resolution should NOT be switched of, it rather should be
configured to use DHCP for WINS resolution. Otherwise, on a new client
connect, a WINS server is named by voting for the computer with the
highest OS level. In your case, that would be either the router (if it
does WINS resolution), or, which is more likely, the XP machine.


I think that you're confusing WINS and "browse master". That's easy
to do, because they're both pretty confusing in their own right.

A network with computers running only Windows Me and XP uses NetBIOS
broadcasts, not a WINS server, for name resolution. One of the
computers is elected to be the "browse master". That computer listens
to NetBIOS broadcasts from all of the computers, maintains the list of
computers and shared resources, and provides that list to other
computers to display in My Network Places.

"Use DHCP for WINS resolution" doesn't mean that the DHCP server acts
as a WINS server. It means that the client computer asks the DHCP
server to give it the address of a WINS server on the network. A
network consisting of just Windows Me and XP doesn't have a WINS
server, so the DHCP server can't provide such an address.

To have a WINS server, a network needs a computer with a server
operating system: Windows NT Server, Windows 2000 Server, Windows
Server 2003, a Unix variant running Samba, etc.

I don't think I am confusing something, but I think YOU try to confuse ME.

I know the difference between WINS and LMB quite well, so here's what I
have to say about your message:

Of course, DHCP doesn't do WINS resolution. But there are routers which
do provide WINS support. This will, of course, cause the DHCP server to
set DHCP option 44 /NETBIOS Name Server) to whatever IP address the
router has assigned. Disabling WINS support in Windows WILL cause
Windows, at least Windows ME, to increase the OS level (oh yes, it
does!) and therefore probably cause interference with the router.

At last, Windows XP and ME of course use NetBIOS broadcast, but if
there's a WINS server on the LAN and it is reported by DHCP, Windows ME
and XP WILL use WINS in first stage.

You should really try to see my messages as a whole, each point
corresponding to another. I must admit that each mentioned point alone
doesn't make things, but if you put it all together, it does.

Noel Paton schrieb:
"Dominik George" wrote in message
...

N. Miller schrieb:

On Tue, 19 Jul 2005 18:18:07 +0200, Dominik George wrote:



BulldawgKenny schrieb:


Here's the breakdown.

1 computer running ME. Wired to a Dlink Wireless hub(wireless is for my
laptop).
1 computer running XPPro. Wired to the Dlink hub.
Dlink hub running DHCP

XP and Norton firewall turned OFF.

XP sees the ME computer in Network Places/View workgroup computers,
however, XP cannot ping the ME computer.

ME CAN ping the XP computer but cannot see it in Network places.
I have even gone so far as to switchout the Dlink for a plain hub and
hard-code the IP addresses into each computer. NO GO

I have exhausted my personal knowledge base.

Your help is MOST appreciated.

Try removin IPX and installing TCP/IP and NetBEUI,.


Where, in all of that, does the poster assert that he is using IPX/SPX?
Or
anything other than the default protocol (TCP/IP)?


It was just a suggestion because Norton will in some cases switch to IPX
for security reasons. The point is to have TCP/IP and NetBEUI installed,
that's more important than removing IPX. NetBEUI is used by older Norton
versions to verify CIFS access.


Even Norton doesn't have the absolute gall to change these settings, AFAIK -
if they've been changed, then it's by user-intervention.


Is it always user intervention? Isn't it sometimes Windows itself which
does? Didn't Microsoft build Windows to make the user use the settings
that Microsoft wants him to use? Isn't it the Win2k and WinXP network
assistent which will change the IP address to 192.168.0.1, espacially
when installing ICS? Isn't it the Windows network assistent which causes
the network not to work if this IP address and other options are
changed, and they are changed all over the network?

In article , Dominik George
wrote:
Here's the breakdown.

1 computer running ME. Wired to a Dlink Wireless hub(wireless is for my
laptop).
1 computer running XPPro. Wired to the Dlink hub.
Dlink hub running DHCP

Hubs don't run DHCP, but routers do. You apparently have a D-Link router
with a built in switch (not hub).

XP and Norton firewall turned OFF.

XP sees the ME computer in Network Places/View workgroup computers, however,
XP cannot ping the ME computer.

ME CAN ping the XP computer but cannot see it in Network places.
I have even gone so far as to switchout the Dlink for a plain hub and
hard-code the IP addresses into each computer. NO GO

I have exhausted my personal knowledge base.

Your help is MOST appreciated.

As old as this message is (hey! Dominik! Why'd you set me onto this one?),
maybe you have already sorted it out?

All that I can think of is to make sure that nothing is configured for
using WINS resolution. I once some somebody with a computer on the LAN
configured for WINS resolution; but there was no WINS service on the LAN,
so that computer couldn't find out what other computers were on the LAN. If
the Windows XP computer is on more often than the Windows ME computer,
maybe you need to turn off the Browse Master setting in the Windows ME
computer; let the Windows XP computer act as the Browse Master.

WINS resolution should NOT be switched of, it rather should be
configured to use DHCP for WINS resolution. Otherwise, on a new client
connect, a WINS server is named by voting for the computer with the
highest OS level. In your case, that would be either the router (if it
does WINS resolution), or, which is more likely, the XP machine.


I think that you're confusing WINS and "browse master". That's easy
to do, because they're both pretty confusing in their own right.

A network with computers running only Windows Me and XP uses NetBIOS
broadcasts, not a WINS server, for name resolution. One of the
computers is elected to be the "browse master". That computer listens
to NetBIOS broadcasts from all of the computers, maintains the list of
computers and shared resources, and provides that list to other
computers to display in My Network Places.

"Use DHCP for WINS resolution" doesn't mean that the DHCP server acts
as a WINS server. It means that the client computer asks the DHCP
server to give it the address of a WINS server on the network. A
network consisting of just Windows Me and XP doesn't have a WINS
server, so the DHCP server can't provide such an address.

To have a WINS server, a network needs a computer with a server
operating system: Windows NT Server, Windows 2000 Server, Windows
Server 2003, a Unix variant running Samba, etc.

I don't think I am confusing something, but I think YOU try to confuse ME.

I know the difference between WINS and LMB quite well, so here's what I
have to say about your message:

Of course, DHCP doesn't do WINS resolution. But there are routers which
do provide WINS support. This will, of course, cause the DHCP server to
set DHCP option 44 /NETBIOS Name Server) to whatever IP address the
router has assigned. Disabling WINS support in Windows WILL cause
Windows, at least Windows ME, to increase the OS level (oh yes, it
does!) and therefore probably cause interference with the router.

At last, Windows XP and ME of course use NetBIOS broadcast, but if
there's a WINS server on the LAN and it is reported by DHCP, Windows ME
and XP WILL use WINS in first stage.

You should really try to see my messages as a whole, each point
corresponding to another. I must admit that each mentioned point alone
doesn't make things, but if you put it all together, it does.

I'm not trying to confuse anyone, and I'm sorry that you think I am.
I'm giving facts about Windows peer-to-peer (workgroup) networking as
clearly as I can. I'm replying to incorrect information about Windows
networking that could make it hard for someone to solve networking
problems.

You say that there are routers that provide WINS support. Chris's
original message (which is what we're all replying to) says that he
has a Linksys product. I'm not aware of any home broadband router
from Linksys that provides WINS support . Are you? I haven't seen
such a feature in any home broadband router from any manufacturer.
Have you? If so, please provide details.

I don't know what you mean when you say that something will cause
Windows ME to increase the OS level and cause interference with the
router. Are you saying that there are elections for a WINS server on
a network? If so, I say again that you're confusing WINS with browse
master. In a browse master election, the highest-ranking operating
system is supposed to win (but XP, not ME, would be highest-ranking on
Chris's network). In a network with a WINS server, the WINS server
address is assigned manually or provided by the server computer. It
isn't voted on by the client computers, and it doesn't matter what OS
the client computers run.

I agree that a Windows ME or XP computer can use a WINS server as the
first step in name resolution, provided that all of these are true:

1. There's actually a WINS server on the network. Chris's network
doesn't have a WINS server.

2. The WINS server address has been specified in the LAN connection's
TCP/IP properties, either manually or by a DHCP server.

3. The TCP/IP node type is either 2 (P-node, Point-to-Point) or 8
(H-node, Hybrid). Node type 1 (B-node, Broadcast) doesn't use WINS.
Node type 4 (M-node, Mixed) tries broadcast first, then WINS.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Windows Networking
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Steve Winograd's Networking FAQ
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm

Steve Winograd [MVP] schrieb:
In article , Dominik George
wrote:

Here's the breakdown.

1 computer running ME. Wired to a Dlink Wireless hub(wireless is for my
laptop).
1 computer running XPPro. Wired to the Dlink hub.
Dlink hub running DHCP

Hubs don't run DHCP, but routers do. You apparently have a D-Link router
with a built in switch (not hub).


XP and Norton firewall turned OFF.

XP sees the ME computer in Network Places/View workgroup computers, however,
XP cannot ping the ME computer.

ME CAN ping the XP computer but cannot see it in Network places.
I have even gone so far as to switchout the Dlink for a plain hub and
hard-code the IP addresses into each computer. NO GO

I have exhausted my personal knowledge base.

Your help is MOST appreciated.

As old as this message is (hey! Dominik! Why'd you set me onto this one?),
maybe you have already sorted it out?

All that I can think of is to make sure that nothing is configured for
using WINS resolution. I once some somebody with a computer on the LAN
configured for WINS resolution; but there was no WINS service on the LAN,
so that computer couldn't find out what other computers were on the LAN. If
the Windows XP computer is on more often than the Windows ME computer,
maybe you need to turn off the Browse Master setting in the Windows ME
computer; let the Windows XP computer act as the Browse Master.

WINS resolution should NOT be switched of, it rather should be
configured to use DHCP for WINS resolution. Otherwise, on a new client
connect, a WINS server is named by voting for the computer with the
highest OS level. In your case, that would be either the router (if it
does WINS resolution), or, which is more likely, the XP machine.


I think that you're confusing WINS and "browse master". That's easy
to do, because they're both pretty confusing in their own right.

A network with computers running only Windows Me and XP uses NetBIOS
broadcasts, not a WINS server, for name resolution. One of the
computers is elected to be the "browse master". That computer listens
to NetBIOS broadcasts from all of the computers, maintains the list of
computers and shared resources, and provides that list to other
computers to display in My Network Places.

"Use DHCP for WINS resolution" doesn't mean that the DHCP server acts
as a WINS server. It means that the client computer asks the DHCP
server to give it the address of a WINS server on the network. A
network consisting of just Windows Me and XP doesn't have a WINS
server, so the DHCP server can't provide such an address.

To have a WINS server, a network needs a computer with a server
operating system: Windows NT Server, Windows 2000 Server, Windows
Server 2003, a Unix variant running Samba, etc.

I don't think I am confusing something, but I think YOU try to confuse ME.

I know the difference between WINS and LMB quite well, so here's what I
have to say about your message:

Of course, DHCP doesn't do WINS resolution. But there are routers which
do provide WINS support. This will, of course, cause the DHCP server to
set DHCP option 44 /NETBIOS Name Server) to whatever IP address the
router has assigned. Disabling WINS support in Windows WILL cause
Windows, at least Windows ME, to increase the OS level (oh yes, it
does!) and therefore probably cause interference with the router.

At last, Windows XP and ME of course use NetBIOS broadcast, but if
there's a WINS server on the LAN and it is reported by DHCP, Windows ME
and XP WILL use WINS in first stage.

You should really try to see my messages as a whole, each point
corresponding to another. I must admit that each mentioned point alone
doesn't make things, but if you put it all together, it does.


I'm not trying to confuse anyone, and I'm sorry that you think I am.
I'm giving facts about Windows peer-to-peer (workgroup) networking as
clearly as I can. I'm replying to incorrect information about Windows
networking that could make it hard for someone to solve networking
problems.

You say that there are routers that provide WINS support. Chris's
original message (which is what we're all replying to) says that he
has a Linksys product. I'm not aware of any home broadband router
from Linksys that provides WINS support . Are you? I haven't seen
such a feature in any home broadband router from any manufacturer.
Have you? If so, please provide details.

I don't know what you mean when you say that something will cause
Windows ME to increase the OS level and cause interference with the
router. Are you saying that there are elections for a WINS server on
a network? If so, I say again that you're confusing WINS with browse
master. In a browse master election, the highest-ranking operating
system is supposed to win (but XP, not ME, would be highest-ranking on
Chris's network). In a network with a WINS server, the WINS server
address is assigned manually or provided by the server computer. It
isn't voted on by the client computers, and it doesn't matter what OS
the client computers run.

I agree that a Windows ME or XP computer can use a WINS server as the
first step in name resolution, provided that all of these are true:

1. There's actually a WINS server on the network. Chris's network
doesn't have a WINS server.

2. The WINS server address has been specified in the LAN connection's
TCP/IP properties, either manually or by a DHCP server.

3. The TCP/IP node type is either 2 (P-node, Point-to-Point) or 8
(H-node, Hybrid). Node type 1 (B-node, Broadcast) doesn't use WINS.
Node type 4 (M-node, Mixed) tries broadcast first, then WINS.

I don't know about details about routers providing WINS, but I know
there are. But at last, that's not the actual problem which is tu be
discussed here. Everything I say here is not always a matter of fact,
but a suggestion about what can be done IF certain situations are given.

When I told about WINS and interference, I was again NOT confusing WINS
and NetBIOS bc. I meant that IF you disable WINS resolution in Windows
ME, then ME will SURE increase its OS level, or in Microsoft words, I am
using Samba names, its ranking, so it becomes a LMB. If it now has a
firewall enabled and cannot process WINS requests or NetBIOS broadcasts
or whatever you think it will process, then NetBIOS name resolution will
NOT work on the entire network.

In article , Dominik George
wrote:
I don't know about details about routers providing WINS, but I know
there are. But at last, that's not the actual problem which is tu be
discussed here. Everything I say here is not always a matter of fact,
but a suggestion about what can be done IF certain situations are given.

Well, we seem to have different ideas about how to help people in news
groups.

I answer questions based on the problem description that someone
gives, using facts that I can prove if asked.

If I give a theoretical answer that might apply IF certain situations
are given, I clearly state what those situations are.

IMHO, doing otherwise can be confusing and unhelpful to people who are
looking for answers.

When I told about WINS and interference, I was again NOT confusing WINS
and NetBIOS bc. I meant that IF you disable WINS resolution in Windows
ME, then ME will SURE increase its OS level, or in Microsoft words, I am
using Samba names, its ranking, so it becomes a LMB. If it now has a
firewall enabled and cannot process WINS requests or NetBIOS broadcasts
or whatever you think it will process, then NetBIOS name resolution will
NOT work on the entire network.

Who said anything about a firewall being enabled?

I'm sorry, but I don't know what "ME will SURE increase its OS level"
means. Can you explain it, please?

In any case ME won't win a browse master election when there's an XP
computer on the network, as Chris has.

Chris has a Windows-only, single-subnet, non-routed, workgroup
network. It's not a domain. It doesn't have a WINS server. It
doesn't have a Samba server. Disabling or enabling WINS resolution in
such a network has no effect at all.

Have you worked on multi-subnet, routed, domain networks with Samba
servers, WINS servers, LMBs, and DMBs? If so, that's great. I know
very little about them. However, many of the concepts that apply to
those networks don't apply to a network like Chris's.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Windows Networking
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Steve Winograd's Networking FAQ
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm

Steve Winograd [MVP] schrieb:
In article , Dominik George
wrote:

I don't know about details about routers providing WINS, but I know
there are. But at last, that's not the actual problem which is tu be
discussed here. Everything I say here is not always a matter of fact,
but a suggestion about what can be done IF certain situations are given.


Well, we seem to have different ideas about how to help people in news
groups.

I answer questions based on the problem description that someone
gives, using facts that I can prove if asked.

If I give a theoretical answer that might apply IF certain situations
are given, I clearly state what those situations are.

IMHO, doing otherwise can be confusing and unhelpful to people who are
looking for answers.


When I told about WINS and interference, I was again NOT confusing WINS
and NetBIOS bc. I meant that IF you disable WINS resolution in Windows
ME, then ME will SURE increase its OS level, or in Microsoft words, I am
using Samba names, its ranking, so it becomes a LMB. If it now has a
firewall enabled and cannot process WINS requests or NetBIOS broadcasts
or whatever you think it will process, then NetBIOS name resolution will
NOT work on the entire network.


Who said anything about a firewall being enabled?

I'm sorry, but I don't know what "ME will SURE increase its OS level"
means. Can you explain it, please?

In any case ME won't win a browse master election when there's an XP
computer on the network, as Chris has.

Chris has a Windows-only, single-subnet, non-routed, workgroup
network. It's not a domain. It doesn't have a WINS server. It
doesn't have a Samba server. Disabling or enabling WINS resolution in
such a network has no effect at all.

Have you worked on multi-subnet, routed, domain networks with Samba
servers, WINS servers, LMBs, and DMBs? If so, that's great. I know
very little about them. However, many of the concepts that apply to
those networks don't apply to a network like Chris's.

The fact is that noone did post any details about the router or the
computers installed software, and again, ***if*** there is a firewall
which blocks RPC (oh, i just place it here to confuse somebody, not to
sovlve any problem, i think that might be your point of view) on port
445 and NetBIOS on 137 and 139, there will be problems with NetBIOS bc
as well as WINS resolution.

Of course I've been, an I currently am, working with multi-subnet
networks, and I'm maintaining a network with NT and 2k clients using
either WINS resolution with Samba on Linux or NetBIOS broadcast, if the
server is down. In few cases, this appeared to be used randomly, as
nearly anything in Windows does. But I must tell you again, that I'm an
experienced network administrator and I know the difference between WINS
and NetBIOS quite well, I and I do NOT AT ALL confuse them.

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 10:05:49 +0200, Dominik George wrote:

It was just a suggestion because Norton will in some cases switch to IPX
for security reasons. The point is to have TCP/IP and NetBEUI installed,
that's more important than removing IPX. NetBEUI is used by older
Norton versions to verify CIFS access.

I have never seen Norton do anything like switch a protocol; but I don't
use, nor did the O.P. state that he uses, the corporate version of Norton
AV.

I don't have NetBEUI installed. I don't see why it is needed in a typical
LAN behind a SOHO router. It confuses the situation beyond any reasonable
need. The description given was a pretty simple LAN behind a SOHO router.
TCP/IP alone is sufficient for such a network; at least that is good enough
for two LANs I worked on with a mix of Windows ME and Windows XP computers.

--
Norman
~Win dain a lotica, En vai tu ri, Si lo ta
~Fin dein a loluca, En dragu a sei lain
~Vi fa-ru les shutai am, En riga-lint

In article , Dominik George
wrote:
I don't know about details about routers providing WINS, but I know
there are. But at last, that's not the actual problem which is tu be
discussed here. Everything I say here is not always a matter of fact,
but a suggestion about what can be done IF certain situations are given.

Well, we seem to have different ideas about how to help people in news
groups.

I answer questions based on the problem description that someone
gives, using facts that I can prove if asked.

If I give a theoretical answer that might apply IF certain situations
are given, I clearly state what those situations are.

IMHO, doing otherwise can be confusing and unhelpful to people who are
looking for answers.

When I told about WINS and interference, I was again NOT confusing WINS
and NetBIOS bc. I meant that IF you disable WINS resolution in Windows
ME, then ME will SURE increase its OS level, or in Microsoft words, I am
using Samba names, its ranking, so it becomes a LMB. If it now has a
firewall enabled and cannot process WINS requests or NetBIOS broadcasts
or whatever you think it will process, then NetBIOS name resolution will
NOT work on the entire network.

Who said anything about a firewall being enabled?

I'm sorry, but I don't know what "ME will SURE increase its OS level"
means. Can you explain it, please?

In any case ME won't win a browse master election when there's an XP
computer on the network, as Chris has.

Chris has a Windows-only, single-subnet, non-routed, workgroup
network. It's not a domain. It doesn't have a WINS server. It
doesn't have a Samba server. Disabling or enabling WINS resolution in
such a network has no effect at all.

Have you worked on multi-subnet, routed, domain networks with Samba
servers, WINS servers, LMBs, and DMBs? If so, that's great. I know
very little about them. However, many of the concepts that apply to
those networks don't apply to a network like Chris's.

The fact is that noone did post any details about the router or the
computers installed software, and again, ***if*** there is a firewall
which blocks RPC (oh, i just place it here to confuse somebody, not to
sovlve any problem, i think that might be your point of view) on port
445 and NetBIOS on 137 and 139, there will be problems with NetBIOS bc
as well as WINS resolution.

Of course I've been, an I currently am, working with multi-subnet
networks, and I'm maintaining a network with NT and 2k clients using
either WINS resolution with Samba on Linux or NetBIOS broadcast, if the
server is down. In few cases, this appeared to be used randomly, as
nearly anything in Windows does. But I must tell you again, that I'm an
experienced network administrator and I know the difference between WINS
and NetBIOS quite well, I and I do NOT AT ALL confuse them.

OK. Here's my final word on this subject.

You said that there are home broadband routers that have WINS support,
but you're unable to list any. I know of home broadband routers from
Linksys, Netgear, and US Robotics that let you specify the address of
a WINS server for assignment by the router's DHCP servers, but I'm not
aware of any home broadband routers that include WINS server
functionality.

You haven't answered my question about what you mean by "ME will SURE
increase its OS level".

This quote, from your message dated Wed, 27 Jul 2005 10:09:12 +0200,
indicates a confusion between "browse master" (NetBIOS name
resolution) and WINS. The voting process that you describe applies to
"browse master", not to WINS:

WINS resolution should NOT be switched of, it rather should be
configured to use DHCP for WINS resolution. Otherwise, on a new client
connect, a WINS server is named by voting for the computer with the
highest OS level. In your case, that would be either the router (if it
does WINS resolution), or, which is more likely, the XP machine.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Windows Networking
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Steve Winograd's Networking FAQ
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm

inline


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm

http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Dominik George" wrote in message
...

Is it always user intervention?

almost

Isn't it sometimes Windows itself which
does?
almost never

Didn't Microsoft build Windows to make the user use the settings
that Microsoft wants him to use?
No

Isn't it the Win2k and WinXP network
assistent which will change the IP address to 192.168.0.1, espacially when
installing ICS?
Yes - but that's the whole point of the ICS wizard

Isn't it the Windows network assistent which causes
the network not to work if this IP address and other options are changed,
and they are changed all over the network?
If they're changed all over the network then it's DEFION|TELY a
user-intervention problem!

Steve Winograd [MVP] schrieb:
In article , Dominik George
wrote:

I don't know about details about routers providing WINS, but I know
there are. But at last, that's not the actual problem which is tu be
discussed here. Everything I say here is not always a matter of fact,
but a suggestion about what can be done IF certain situations are given.

Well, we seem to have different ideas about how to help people in news
groups.

I answer questions based on the problem description that someone
gives, using facts that I can prove if asked.

If I give a theoretical answer that might apply IF certain situations
are given, I clearly state what those situations are.

IMHO, doing otherwise can be confusing and unhelpful to people who are
looking for answers.


When I told about WINS and interference, I was again NOT confusing WINS
and NetBIOS bc. I meant that IF you disable WINS resolution in Windows
ME, then ME will SURE increase its OS level, or in Microsoft words, I am
using Samba names, its ranking, so it becomes a LMB. If it now has a
firewall enabled and cannot process WINS requests or NetBIOS broadcasts
or whatever you think it will process, then NetBIOS name resolution will
NOT work on the entire network.

Who said anything about a firewall being enabled?

I'm sorry, but I don't know what "ME will SURE increase its OS level"
means. Can you explain it, please?

In any case ME won't win a browse master election when there's an XP
computer on the network, as Chris has.

Chris has a Windows-only, single-subnet, non-routed, workgroup
network. It's not a domain. It doesn't have a WINS server. It
doesn't have a Samba server. Disabling or enabling WINS resolution in
such a network has no effect at all.

Have you worked on multi-subnet, routed, domain networks with Samba
servers, WINS servers, LMBs, and DMBs? If so, that's great. I know
very little about them. However, many of the concepts that apply to
those networks don't apply to a network like Chris's.

The fact is that noone did post any details about the router or the
computers installed software, and again, ***if*** there is a firewall
which blocks RPC (oh, i just place it here to confuse somebody, not to
sovlve any problem, i think that might be your point of view) on port
445 and NetBIOS on 137 and 139, there will be problems with NetBIOS bc
as well as WINS resolution.

Of course I've been, an I currently am, working with multi-subnet
networks, and I'm maintaining a network with NT and 2k clients using
either WINS resolution with Samba on Linux or NetBIOS broadcast, if the
server is down. In few cases, this appeared to be used randomly, as
nearly anything in Windows does. But I must tell you again, that I'm an
experienced network administrator and I know the difference between WINS
and NetBIOS quite well, I and I do NOT AT ALL confuse them.


OK. Here's my final word on this subject.

You said that there are home broadband routers that have WINS support,
but you're unable to list any. I know of home broadband routers from
Linksys, Netgear, and US Robotics that let you specify the address of
a WINS server for assignment by the router's DHCP servers, but I'm not
aware of any home broadband routers that include WINS server
functionality.

You haven't answered my question about what you mean by "ME will SURE
increase its OS level".

This quote, from your message dated Wed, 27 Jul 2005 10:09:12 +0200,
indicates a confusion between "browse master" (NetBIOS name
resolution) and WINS. The voting process that you describe applies to
"browse master", not to WINS:


WINS resolution should NOT be switched of, it rather should be
configured to use DHCP for WINS resolution. Otherwise, on a new client
connect, a WINS server is named by voting for the computer with the
highest OS level. In your case, that would be either the router (if it
does WINS resolution), or, which is more likely, the XP machine.

Dear Mr. Winograd,

my goal has never been to argue with you about this problem, but again,
I DO NOT confuse WINS resolution and the NetBIOS browse master election
mechanism.

What I mean by os level is the value which tells other clients on the
network that they should vote for the system, and they will vote for the
system with the highest os level.

This may disturb WINS support, if WINS is used.

Now put everything together and you will hopefully see the sense behind
my suggestions. If you don't, I will post an example configuration and a
description what happens here, this would sure help other users.