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[gunrunnerjohn]

Well, the firewall on the router has no effect on local networking, so that's not the issue.

How many computers in this network?  Do all the others network properly?

[Ryder]

Just a small thought, but I would seriously consider disabling ALL firewalls and going forward from there. I know the firewalls are not *supposed* to interfere with anything on the same internal workgroup, BUT, I have seen stranger things than that mess with your internal group.

Also, make sure that none of yer PCs have master browser turned on, except the one with the most recent O/S. An XP PC and a Vista PC, both with master browser enabled can play serious havoc with your internal network!

Try that and see where it takes you, then report back and I'm sure someone will have a good idea once that is done, if it doesn't cure yer problems.

Good luck dude, I hope that will have some measure of success for you!

Ryder

[Highmaster2]

Disabled last firewall - other boxes have isdomainmaster set to no - plugged my son's Vista laptop into the network.  It'll map the 321 even though the workgroup is different.  Wife's XP box still sees the 321 just fine.  Only box that won't see it is the one I need to see it the most (as usual).

[Ryder]

One last question I can think of to ask you. Is there more than 1 PC on your network with DHCP turned on? And that includes the router, switch, 321 and any other gear that may have the ability to provide IPs. If so, turn all of them off except the PC that you use as the Master Browser, your Vista PC I believe? And post back to let this group know what happens then.

Your problem is unusual, as you well know. I'd really like to see this one get solved, I'm betting it's something very simple that all of us have overlooked!

Ryder

[gunrunnerjohn]

I have to believe this is some firewall component, nothing else makes much sense here.

[Ryder]

I have to believe this is some firewall component, nothing else makes much sense here.

I tend to agree with you GRJ, it's possible that one firewall says it's disabled, but really isn't. Add to that the fact that Vista has always had networking issues on *some PCs* and the plot really thickens. My thoughts also wander to the fact that the 321 DID show up once on this PC, but the network path couldn't be found, and then that same PC is no longer BrowseMaster, even when it is forced to be by the addition of "isdomainmaster=true & maintainserverlist=yes". Did that setting change to "false" and "no" when you found that your PC was no longer the BrowseMaster?

Now, just maybe, it has something to do with something I saw but have no expertise in, in the ipconfig query, "Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6 and *7". Would they have the ability to interfere with locating another device? Maybe someone with some knowledge about that could pipe in here and help this poor guy get his 321 working on his own PC.

I know it's not the 321, that's a given since the other PCs can see and map to it, it has to be the Vista PC (laptop?). But short of digging into the bowels of Vista Business, which no human should ever have to do, I'd say there is something seriously amiss with that PC. Especially since you can go in and configure the 321 with either of the other 2 PCs on that network. Either NetBIOS or one of the firewalls has gone A.W.O.L. and joined the dark side! Corrupt file, setting stuck in the registry, etc etc, but all too much to do through a forum.

My gut reaction is to say to reload the Vista PC from scratch and see if that clears up the problem? I know, easy to say, but probably impossible to do, as it is with 2 of my 4 PCs. I have 1 XP PC that got XP the day it was released, I have so much software on it that I'd never find all the discs again. But, it has also never given me a moment of grief, except when 1 of it's RAID 1 drives died. That PC was actually up and running for over 3 years without a reboot! HighMaster2, have I given you enough food for thought to consider dumping Vista and going "forward" to XP yet?    Just kidding of course, it's only my personal opinion that XP is probably the best O/S Bill G has ever put out, although 7 is showing some serious promise, even though it's built on the Vista codebase!

GRJ, Joe, D-Link, anyone care to comment on my shots in the dark? P.S. As a side note, I have been building custom PCs for people and fixing them, and networks, for over 20 years, and I've never come across something like this before. And it even moreso adds to my thoughts that Vista may replace Windows ME as Bill G's WORST IDEA EVER!!!     

Ryder

[gunrunnerjohn]

How about turning off IPv6, that will sometimes cause issues out of the blue in Vista.

Disable IPv6:

1. Hold the Windows key and type R, enter "ncpa.cpl" (without the quotes) and press Enter
2. Right click on each network connection and select "Properties"
3. Remove the checkmark from the box next to "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)
4. Click OK to exit the dialog

NOTE: You should do this for each network connection.

[Highmaster2]

I'll try to reply in order...

Ryder:  All boxes set to Obtain IP Address Automatically - they get IP (assigned) IP addresses from the DIR-655.  At this time, ipconfig does not show master browser on this box, yet registry keys are still intact.  I have no idea where the Tunnel Adapter info comes from.  (I just love breaking new ground in the field of Vista research... and in response to your suggestion, I would rather have multiple root canals w/o painkillers than reload this box.  However, that may be my only choice if I can't figure out something on this problem.

GRJ:  I disabled the IP6 entries in both Vista boxes some time ago.

I looked at the Windows Features list to see if, like XP, there was an option to remove Networking so I could remove and re-install it.  Don't see such an option.  However, I did notice that IIS, Simple TCPIP Services and SMNP were all not checked/active.  Would any of these make a difference?

[Ryder]

HighMaster2: Breaking "new ground" is ok, but when the ground is already "broken", well....

But, I do have yet another possible thing to try for you. I don't know if Vista Business has this "feature", but my version does. So, when you go to the Control Panel, then to Network and Sharing Center, are all your "shares" turned on, except the Password Protected Sharing? That would be Network Discovery, File Sharing, Public Folder Sharing, Printer Sharing and Media Sharing? If not, turn them all on, even 1 by 1, until you possibly find the problem. And if they are already all on, well then I guess it's back to the think tank!

As far as your discoveries go, I can't speak to all of them. But since you can get on the internet, send email, surf, etc, I would suspect that none are affecting this 321 matter. Although I am wondering why Simple TCPIP Services is not enabled? But then again, your PC is set to be a MasterBrowser and it's not, so I'm really not sure what settings are working on your PC and which ones are just lying to you? 

Ryder

[gunrunnerjohn]

The way to "remove" networking and reinstall it is to uninstall all the network hardware devices, than discovering them again after a reboot will rebuild networking.

Of course, for some of the network settings, you can also reset the stack and winsock.


TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Vista or Windows 7.

Start, All Programs\Accessories and right click on Command Prompt, select "Run as Administrator" to open a command prompt.

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands, each followed by the Enter key:

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: netsh winsock reset catalog

Reset IPv4 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults.  netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log

Reset IPv6 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults.  netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log

Reboot the machine.

[Highmaster2]

Ryder:  Tried the settings in Network/Sharing - no change

GRJ:  Did the stack repair commands you provided - no change.

Uninstalled the network adapter, rebooted - it installed a driver from 2007 (as opposed to the more recent I had been running) - everything works perfectly.  Yep - I click on Network and everything in the house shows up, including the DNS-321.  Mapped a drive to it and another dimension opened before my very eyes.

Why didn't you guys suggest that first???   (just kidding)   I sincerely appreciate all your patience and assistance.  Hopefully I can use your teachings to help someone else in the future.

Thanks!

[gunrunnerjohn]

Well, going to an old driver isn't normally my first move!

I will make a bet however.  I'll bet if you reinstall the new drivers, the problem doesn't come back.

[Ryder]

Well, going to an old driver isn't normally my first move!

I will make a bet however.  I'll bet if you reinstall the new drivers, the problem doesn't come back.

But see, a fresh install would have put the old driver back and cured the problem, so technically I did suggest that! ROFL!!! Really though, glad ya got the problem solved, no matter how it happened. I'll remember to keep that "fix" in mind for the next time I run into something like this again, that's for sure! 

And btw, don't take that bet, because I'm guessing GRJ could be about 99.999% right on that! 

[Highmaster2]

Agreed - a new install would probably have cured everything (except my disposition which had almost reached the point not of ROFL, but ROFS (screaming)).  I also speculated that it was not the newer driver, just something that got corrupted.  In fact, as soon as I get a chance I'll find the latest driver and see what happens.

[Ryder]

Agreed - a new install would probably have cured everything (except my disposition which had almost reached the point not of ROFL, but ROFS (screaming)).  I also speculated that it was not the newer driver, just something that got corrupted.  In fact, as soon as I get a chance I'll find the latest driver and see what happens.

Awesome! And please update your post so we'll all get a chance to see what happens.