Finding network devices

[Ghery]

Here's a puzzler...

I just bought an Intel SS4000-E network storage device, populated it with 4 250 GByte drives and hooked it up to my network for backup. Configured as RAID 5, so I've nominally got around 750 GBytes (if you believe the drive manufacturers, actual numbers are less as usual) of storage to back up several computers automatically.

Here's the fun part. My Gateway laptop and my wife's HP desktop machine have no problem finding the unit, connecting to it and backing up their files. My HP desktop machine (1 GHz Pentium III, Windows XP Home Edition) can't find it. At least the console program that came with the storage device can't find it, nor can the backup program. All three machines are running XP HE. All can access the printers hanging off my desktop computer and all access my cable modem through the switch and router with no difficulty.

Any ideas? Is their some obscure network setting in Windows XP that I might need to re-set? Oh, and when I loaded the software and it updated stuff from Microsoft the two desktop machines now insist that I log on when I reboot. Never needed that in the past. How do I disable that unwanted "feature"?

 

[mikea]

Check the Workgroup the one that doesn't work is in. Make it the same as the others "WORKGROUP" or "HOME" typically.

Control Panel -> Network - > Ethernet device -> Properties...

 

[jesse]

Check the Workgroup the one that doesn't work is in. Make it the same as the others "WORKGROUP" or "HOME" typically.

Control Panel -> Network - > Ethernet device -> Properties...

You must be a mac user. The setting is actually at:

Control Panel -> System -> Computer Name -> Change

 

[mikea]

You must be a mac user. The setting is actually at:

Control Panel -> System -> Computer Name -> Change

I was using Windows on the Mac but didn't look it up. Close enough, huh?

I was remembering where it is on Windows 2000 before Microsoft "improved" things on XP. I still waste a lot of clicks trying to find stuf fliek that.

When you want the network connect status I alsways wander in to where offers to sign you up for an MSN account.

 

[mikea]

You must be a mac user. The setting is actually at:

Control Panel -> System -> Computer Name -> Change

I was using Windows on the Mac but didn't look it up. Close enough, huh?

I was remembering where it is on Windows 2000 before Microsoft "improved" things on XP. I still waste a lot of clicks trying to find stuff like that.

When you want the network connect status I always wander in to where offers to sign you up for an MSN account.

 

[Ghery]

I've already fixed that problem. Every other computer (and the storage device) was in one group and this computer was in its own. Fixing that didn't help. Oh, and the troubleshooting guide with the product doesn't help, either.

Next?

 

[iflyatiger]

I just trouble shot a similar problem today..
Check the windows firewall settings. You might need to enable an exception for file and printer sharing. It should be found at
Start, control panel, firewall, the exceptions tab. If this doesn't help try turning off the windows firewall as a test, if you can live without it leave it off. One last thing to try is to turn off the windows firewall service in the SERVICES section of control panel, Administrative tools, services.

Good luck and let me know if it works..

Jon

 

[SCCutler]

Also (and don't throw anything at me), make sure that you have not accidently (hell, purposely) set a fixed IP address which is in a different IP range.

 

[Ghery]

I just trouble shot a similar problem today..
Check the windows firewall settings. You might need to enable an exception for file and printer sharing. It should be found at
Start, control panel, firewall, the exceptions tab. If this doesn't help try turning off the windows firewall as a test, if you can live without it leave it off. One last thing to try is to turn off the windows firewall service in the SERVICES section of control panel, Administrative tools, services.

Good luck and let me know if it works..

Jon

Killing the firewall has no impact. Tried that yesterday. As I said, this one is interesting as 2 out of three computers are having no trouble at all (just the one I most want to back up).

 

[Ghery]

Also (and don't throw anything at me), make sure that you have not accidently (hell, purposely) set a fixed IP address which is in a different IP range.

DHCP all the way on this network. Gotta love that router.

 

[Greebo]

From the command prompt:
ipconfig /flushdns

Then try again?

 

[Ghery]

From the command prompt:
ipconfig /flushdns

Then try again?

Will that do something that re-booting the computer won't? For other reasons it has been re-booted a number of times and that hasn't helped. I can give it a try when I get home tonight.

 

[Ghery]

From the command prompt:
ipconfig /flushdns

Then try again?

Tried it. No joy. Sure wish the product came with a person to contact. Microsoft's BBS isn't exactly alive with suggestions, either.

 

[Ghery]

Well, we've got this one sort of resolved. Intel customer service didn't totally give up and made a suggestion that allowed my son and me to "fix" the problem. Guy asked if we could ping the storage unit from the computer in question. Checked and we couldn't. Couldn't ping anything on the network except the router. So we gave the computer a fixed IP address and all works as advertised. Why? We haven't the slightest idea. But for now we'll just give that computer a fixed IP address on the network and carry on. Now I've got it's drives (both of them) backed up.

As goes the great line in "The Right Stuff", "What's next, Ridley?"

 

[mikea]

Well, we've got this one sort of resolved. Intel customer service didn't totally give up and made a suggestion that allowed my son and me to "fix" the problem. Guy asked if we could ping the storage unit from the computer in question. Checked and we couldn't. Couldn't ping anything on the network except the router. So we gave the computer a fixed IP address and all works as advertised. Why? We haven't the slightest idea. But for now we'll just give that computer a fixed IP address on the network and carry on. Now I've got it's drives (both of them) backed up.

As goes the great line in "The Right Stuff", "What's next, Ridley?"

I'll bet it was getting the netmask or default gateway wrong. It that happened it wouldn't know which was its local network and wouldn't know how to reach anything.