One PC on network cannot access other PC's on network! HELP!

A shorter question to ask (and this is just my hunch): Is there a way I could totally purge all references to any LAN connection in the registry? Basically so the machine will act like it's the first time it's ever joined a network, and will ask for credentials again as it connects to resources?

It seems to be acting like that portion of Windows is corrupted over time...

Try these couple of things first, 1. remove all passwords and see if it works. 2. Reboot router by unplugging from power source, AC outlet, for 2 minutes then plug it back in and let it boot up. 3. reset the router to factory defaults.

Restoring a Netgear Router to Factory Default Settings

By "remove all passwords", do you mean the requirement in file sharing that lets you share public folders with everyone? Just wanted to be clear before I plunge in.

The router was rebooted countess times, though I was going to try the factory defaults on the NetGear to see how it behaves when I get home later.

The problem now, though, is on Computer A, network resources aren't accessible on EITHER router...

I welcome some more ideas,. And I'll try these out and update everyone once I do.

OKAY... I'm back with an update. I factory reset the Netgear router, and let it auto-config itself first (before I tweaked some things slightly, like the gateway IP). In case it had cached old internal IP addresses, I used a totally different number scheme from before. I then added the rest of the network back one machine at a time, and restarted the router each time.

Now the entire network is back up and running, the internet works on ALL machines. But the problem with network access on "Computer A" STILL PERSISTS. Is seems that something in Windows is preventing it from accessing anything in "Network".

Hopefully a visual explains better what is going on:





COOLERMASTER is the problem PC. SHRIMPY is the media center PC. SHRIMPY is able to see COOLERMASTER and access all of its shared drives perfectly.

On COOLERMASTER, however, I get as far as the screen above, but when I click on ANY network resource (even COOLERMASTER itself), I get the "not accessible" error instantly. Normally, this is where it would ask for network credentials, I would provide them, and be on my way.

A tutorial online suggested that you can and should delete cached credentials to solve this, however even when I clear them (below), it still brings up the "not accessible" on everything.





As for file sharing settings, I very carefully went through and they are now IDENTICAL:

Turn ON Network Discovery
Turn ON File And Printer Sharing
Turn ON Sharing So Anyone With Network.........
Media Streaming is OFF
Turn OFF Password Protected Sharing
Use User Accounts and Passwords to Connect To Other Computers

With all things being equal, SHRIMPY can see/access network shares, while COOLERMASTER cannot.

Where should I look to next to fix this? Thanks again....

Oh, one more thing... I discovered if re-enable "Password Protected Sharing", then I can dial into the LAN with my PHONE (Android), and access the shares on both COOLERMASTER and SHRIMPY. So this is definitely isolated to something on COOLERMASTER not allowing access to network resources, only in that direction. If I can get help with that one thing, I should be up and running again...

Last and final update, but I decided to post this in case someone else has this issue. I'm a bit embarrassed.

THE SOLUTION: I had to re-install the protocol "Client for Microsoft Networks". This is under Network and Sharing Center, click on "Local Area Connection" beside where it says "Connections:" > Properties > Install > Client > Client for Microsoft Networks.

Somehow it managed to get deleted, I'm thinking perhaps it has to do with the router change making a new network connection that didn't include it automatically. Apparently without it, network connections are a one-way street.

Anyway, hopefully this information winds up useful to someone at some point. Take care.

^^^^^^THIS WORKS!

I had this exact same problem and this fixed it instantly! THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU ARE AWESOME! Been messing with this for about 4 hours now, and this fixed it within an install of the client and a quick restart. If you dont restart though, it wont work.

homerpez said:

Last and final update, but I decided to post this in case someone else has this issue. I'm a bit embarrassed.

THE SOLUTION: I had to re-install the protocol "Client for Microsoft Networks". This is under Network and Sharing Center, click on "Local Area Connection" beside where it says "Connections:" > Properties > Install > Client > Client for Microsoft Networks.

Somehow it managed to get deleted, I'm thinking perhaps it has to do with the router change making a new network connection that didn't include it automatically. Apparently without it, network connections are a one-way street.

Anyway, hopefully this information winds up useful to someone at some point. Take care.

thank you very much. you just saved my A..

With years of experience as a network administrator I couldn't get my home network to work properly. It turned out "Client for Microsoft Networks" was uninstalled for some reason.