Q. I have two workgroup machines that are both connected. But one machine cannot access the other system. Please solve my problem.
A. I would first check to make sure they are in the same workgroup by right clicking on My Computer, selecting Properties and then clicking on the Computer Name tab. Plus make sure you have something shared on the computer so the share will show up when you browser for it.
Next you should check the IP configuration by opening a command prompt and typing in ipconfig /all and compare the results for the IP addresses and subnet masks. The IP addresses should be similar except for the last group of numbers such as 192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.3. The subnet masks should be the same. Once you get both IP addresses you can ping one from the other. For example on the 192.168.0.2 computer type in ping 192.168.0.3 from the command prompt and see if you get a reply.
If you have any firewall software such as Norton Internet Security there is a good chance that it is blocking the connection. Check the settings or disable it to test it.
If everything checks out, do a search by computer name or IP address from Windows search. Go to Start, Search and pick For Files or Folders. Then pick Printers, Computers or People. Type in either the computer name or IP address and see if it comes up in a search.
Back to the Networking Questions
Index Back to the Main Answers Page
Back to the Computer Help Home Page
