File & Print sharing disabled

[ebendl]

Good day,

I am sure this is an issue that has been posted before and solved, so somebody please point me to the right thread (tried searching - no avail).

Whenever I go online with my E220, I loose the ability to access Windows shared folders on other PCs. I've tried setting up direct routes to the other machines, forcing it through my LAN connection - no luck. As soon as I disconnect it works fine. I can ping the other machines through their IPs and if I set up a host in the Windows Host table, I can ping through the hostname as well (even when online over 3G). But file sharing continues to elude me...

Using Windows XP Pro, with a workgroup (not a domain).

Any suggestions?

 

[ginggs]

Whenever I go online with my E220, I loose the ability to access Windows shared folders on other PCs. I've tried setting up direct routes to the other machines, forcing it through my LAN connection - no luck. As soon as I disconnect it works fine. I can ping the other machines through their IPs and if I set up a host in the Windows Host table, I can ping through the hostname as well (even when online over 3G). But file sharing continues to elude me...

Tell us more about your LAN, how are you assigning IP addresses, what are typical IP addresses, network masks and gateways?

A temporary fix would be to add entries to the 'lmhosts' file as well, it's in the same location as 'hosts' file (%WINDIR%\system32\drivers\etc).
If you've never used 'lmhosts' before, copy the sample file 'lmhosts.sam' to 'lmhosts' before editing.
Windows Sockets programs use the 'hosts' file, but file & print sharing uses the 'lmhosts' file.

 

[ebendl]

Two machines, two printers on the network.
It is in an office building where we are provided with a subnet (range 172.28.201.192-2xx, mask 255.255.255.224). They installed a MikroTik router that acts as gateway and also DHCP server. Its IP is 172.28.201.193, DNS servers it supplies via DHCP is 196.28.14.67 and 68.

So my PC would be 172.28.201.218 (dynamically assigned, Netbios name ebendl) and the PC I am trying to access 172.28.201.219 (also dynamically assigned, Netbios name arieloffice ).

I didn't know about the lmhosts file, only the host files. The problem is, I should be able to access the shares via \\172.28.201.219 in Windows Explorer, right, even though the 3G connection is online? Neither \\arieloffice nor \\172.28.201.219 works. I can ping 172.28.201.219, as well as arieloffice (if I add it to the hosts file).

If I disconnect the 3G, I get immediate access to ArielOffice either through the hostname or the IP.

 

[ginggs]

Your IP addresses and subnet mask look OK to me.

They installed a MikroTik router that acts as gateway and also DHCP server.

A gateway to where? What's on the other side of the router?

I didn't know about the lmhosts file, only the host files. The problem is, I should be able to access the shares via \\172.28.201.219 in Windows Explorer, right, even though the 3G connection is online?

Depends how your computer normally resolves NetBIOS names to IP addresses.

Let us know when you've tried the lmhosts file.

Please post the output of ipconfig /all while you are connected with your E220.

 

[ebendl]

Fixed!

Fixed it - discovered in the end that it was a firewall profile that kicked in while I am on 3G and blocked file and printer sharing.

Simple enough.