Vista Frustrations - Lan Connection

[bdenner]

I've posted this on other forums but not getting very far, here's the problem:-

2nd day into Vista, the first just trying to get a 'Dial Up Connection' don't know what I did but it just appeared after hours of trying.

Still in the stone age I use a hardwired ethernet network through a hub. The OS has no issues with my Gigabite Controller or any other hardware as the machine is quite new. I have reset the workgroup to MSHOME to match the rest of the machines and had a play with IP addresses. The network is visible but keeps coming back with "Unidentified User"

What am I missing? I thought Vista was supposed to be easy!

PS. I dual boot with XP where I have no problems!

Thanks

[Veazer]

This is from a winhlp.com page - HERE. His WinXP network problem solver is quite good, check that out here. Some of the issues still apply to Vista as well.

There are a few fundamental points you want to look at when you have problems networking a Windows Vista computer with other computers running Windows XP.

1. Try to open another computer's shares by clicking on [start], Run... and entering two backslashes (\\), directly followed by the other computer's name. This allows you to connect to a computer quickly, even before it shows up in your network environment.

You can also enter the same computer address, i.e. two backslashes, followed by the computer's name, into the address field at the top of Windows Explorer. If this does not work, please read on.

2. Make sure the target computer has at least one share or shared printer.

3. Make sure that each computer has a user account with a logon password that is not blank. It is easier, but normally not required, to have the same user account with the same password on both (or more) computers and to be logged on to that account when trying to connect. (You can have several accounts on each computer.) Of course the account you use must have sufficient access rights to the resources (folders, files, printers) on the server you want to access across the network.

4. Download and install the Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) Responder (KB922120) for Windows XP with Service Pack 2. (SP2 must be installed first.)

The relevant Microsoft Knowledge Base article is: Network Map in Windows Vista does not display computers that are running Windows XP

5. In the System Properties make sure the workgroup names are the same on all your computers. The default workgroup name on Windows XP was "MSHome", while in Vista the default has been changed to "workgroup".

6. In the Network and Sharing Center set the following. (For more details, check the article "File and Printer Sharing in Windows Vista" below.)

1. Network Discovery: On (to see the other computers)

2. Network Location Type: Private (Public is for open hot spots, etc.)

3. File Sharing: On

4. Public Folder Sharing: On (the folder is called Public Folder in Vista and Shared Docs in XP.)

5. Password Protected: (Set to your liking. If you have accounts with identical username and password on all sharing computers, you can enable this without any inconvenience; otherwise you'll be asked to log on.)

7. If it still doesn't work, run the Network File and Printer Sharing Wizard on all Windows XP computers.

8. If it still doesn't work, ask yourself whether you have any third-party firewall or similar network security software installed and check and correct its settings. Examples would be anything named Norton, Symantec, ZoneAlarm, Kerio, and there are many others. Third-party VPN software (for example from Cisco) has also been known to cause problems.