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Windows Network Problem Solver
Copyright © 2004-2008 Hans-Georg Michna
Discuss this page | winhlp.com home
Windows Network Problem Solver
Copyright © 2004-2008 Hans-Georg Michna
About this page
This web page is a new experiment using interactive Dynamic HTML, trying to make network troubleshooting easier. Its further development depends a lot on your co-operation. The intention and hope is that it will help to solve the majority of small network problems.
If you find any errors, inaccuracies, or oversights, or if you think that some new information should be included, please add comments here (click on Add new comment).
Also, if you solved your problem, I'd be grateful for a brief comment stating what did it. If you can, please include information on how to recognize this particular problem, for example a precise error message or other easily recognizable symptoms.
If you want to go a step further and describe a problem along with a solution in a way suitable for full integration into this page, I will gladly incorporate it, along with the following, if you like.
Please add your solution as a comment (click on Add new comment). If you're not sure whether your topic would fit here, just add a comment anyway. I may reject articles.
Web browser error—no
DHTML/JavaScript/CSS: This page is based on Dynamic HTML and requires Internet
Explorer 6 or higher with JavaScript enabled. Filling in the form may not have any effect.
You can still read the entire document, but the chapters will not be opened or closed.
If you are using Internet Explorer, try to enable scripting and check whether this
paragraph disappears.
I apologize for this inconvenience. I would love to reprogram
this page for other browsers, but I simply don't have the time.
This is your automatic expert right on your computer. Define your problem by filling in the form below. Then scroll down to see the solution. Troubleshooting has never been easier. Requires Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher and Internet Explorer 6 or higher with scripting enabled. Partly adapted to Windows Vista.
Disclaimer: You are carrying the entire responsibility for everything you do after reading this web page. For example, if you do something that has been recommended here and then your hard disk is erased or your computer explodes, nobody will refund you.
If this page has helped you and you would like to contribute to this web site, please donate. Small amounts like $5 are helpful and will be gratefully accepted. You can also donate with your credit card by quickly and easily creating a free PayPal account.
Step 1 – Fill in the form
You have to fill in the form, because otherwise this page is hardly useful. Make a decision and plan 5 minutes. The reward will be a very high likelihood of getting your particular problem perfectly solved. If you do not fill in the form, you will probably not find the solution.
Please go through the form and click on the checkbox or radio button on the left side next to each best choice. The questionnaire expects you to answer as if you were sitting at the computer on which the problem shows up. Take a little time and try to be precise. It's worth it.
After each change you make, different chapters in the results section below the form are opened (shown with full text) or closed (only the heading is shown). Scroll down to see them all.
Once this page is loaded, there is no further Internet data exchange. All processing is done only on your computer.
Select
your computer's symptoms below.
Step 2 – See the results
In front of each headline in the results below you see a number that indicates relevance. 3 indicates strong relevance, 0 or any negative number indicates probable irrelevance. Normally only the chapters with positive relevance are opened, i.e. shown with their full text. If you like, you can also:
If this chapter is open and bears a relevance number greater than 0, then the form above has not been filled completely. The results below are incomplete or incorrect.
This page will yield some results even if the form is only partially filled, but you may miss the important point that solves your problem. Hence the recommendation to read the entire form carefully and check all points that apply.
Without filling in the form at all (and using Internet Explorer or a fully compatible browser), this page is of little use. You will hardly find your particular solution in 40 pages of text. If you don't invest the required 5 minutes to work through the entire form, you will waste much more time trying to solve your problem. It is better to scroll back up and fill in the form first, carefully, all of it.
If you did fill in the form completely, still get this warning and do not see the relevance numbers and open-close icons in front of each chapter heading, then your browser may be incompatible. (The required browser is at least Internet Explorer version 6.) If so, then your only, and smaller, chance to find the relevant chapter is to peruse the entire text below or search for certain words, using the search function of your browser.
Important: Before you read on, read this General advice first. Begin with the chapter, General problem solving advice and read on to the end.
This chapter here only contains general advice that is not specific to your problem. Please read it anyway.
Please do not send email with support requests to me. Such questions should always go into a comment (click on Add new comment) or into the newsgroup microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web, where others and I will gladly try to answer them.
This document doesn't teach networking. It only intends to locate and solve particular problems.
For simple networking guides turn to the help system first. Try Start, Help & Support.
For a step by step guide to Windows XP Home Edition networking you can read a series of Microsoft Knowledge Base articles beginning with this one:
How to Set Up a Small Network with Windows XP Home Edition (PART 1)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/813936/
For a 60 page tutorial that covers networking with several Windows versions go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=87c0a6db-aef8-4bef-925e-7ac9be791028 and download the Word document FileSharing.doc. Some more links:
Making the Wireless Home Network Connection in Windows XP Without a Router
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/bowman_02april08.mspx
Several step-by-step tutorials: www.practicallynetworked.com
Also check the links at the end of this document.
The rest of this document below should help you to solve most of the common network problems.
This chapter only contains general advice that applies to all installations.
The following chapters below have been opened or closed according to your selections in the step 1 form above. They also bear a relevance number, usually from 0 (irrelevant) to 3 (strongly relevant).
You may get the error message: The IP address XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX you have entered for this network adapter is already assigned to another adapter ...
Please check the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles first.
Device Manager Does Not Display Devices That Are Not Connected to the Windows
XP-Based Computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315539/
Error Message When You Try to Set an IP Address on a Network Adapter
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/269155/
If it does not solve the problem, proceed as follows.
Possible symptoms:
Despite these issues, networking continues to function correctly, and the ipconfig command still shows all connection and all adapter information.
In any of these cases please read the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article.
How to troubleshoot missing network connections icons in Windows Server 2003
and in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825826/
If you receive the balloon help error message, "LAN Connection – A network cable is unplugged", even if you only see it sporadically, then you most likely have a hardware defect.
The defect can be in the cable, but it can also be in the network adapter inside the computer or in the device at the other end of the cable. Try to swap components to identify the source of the problem.
Connecting two computers by crossover cable, rather than through two patch cables and one switch, does not always work. Not all network adapters can handle crossover cabling. Buy a switch and straight (not crossover) cables—they are very cheap and allow you to connect more computers later.
You also get the message, "LAN Connection – A network cable is unplugged", if there is no Ethernet adapter driver installed on the other computer.
Please read the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article.
How to troubleshoot the following message in Windows XP: "A network cable
is unplugged"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/910389/
If you see a "Limited or no connectivity" warning and a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager, this only means that the computer's network port is set to automatically obtain an IP address through DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), but a DHCP server could not be found. Windows then generates an APIPA address in the 169.254.x.y range (see chapter APIPA Addresses in Private IP Addresses). This means that all computers in the LAN (Local Area Network) can communicate with each other, if the others also gave themselves APIPA addresses.
It does not necessarily mean that there is anything wrong, but if you don't want to see this message any more, right-click on the LAN connection, select Properties, and remove the check mark for "Notify me when this connection has limited or no connectivity".
Whether you can have Internet access depends on the kind of Internet connection. If you use a dial-out connection (including PPPoE and similar), this computer can have Internet access.
If you swapped your network adapter and have a DHCP server in some other device like a cable modem or router that worked before you installed Service Pack 2, switch its power of, wait 10 seconds, then switch it on again. Then reboot your computer. The background is that some cable modems or similar devices recognize the connected adapters (or their MAC addresses) only once when powering up.
If, however, you have a working DHCP server (for example, Internet Connections Sharing enabled on another computer) and still get this warning message, then your computer's DHCP client does not work or DHCP is not enabled. One solution is to remove the IP address and related settings and set them to automatic. Another is to run the Network Setup Wizard.
Go to the web site of the manufacturer of your wireless hardware and dowload the latest driver. Several manufacturers have updated their drivers particularly after Windows XP Service Pack 2, i.e. around 2004-09.
If you just installed Service Pack 2 or a later service pack and have the problem since then, try also to uninstall the network adapter driver, reboot, then let Windows (PnP) redetect and reinstall the driver even if there is no newer one. Then check and, if necessary, set up the connection.
Update the firmware on your wireless router to the latest version, particularly if your current version is older than 2004-09. Quite a few older firmware versions are incompatible with Wireless Zero Configuration.
If the manufacturer of your wireless hardware installs wireless configuration software, this may interfere with Windows XP's own Wireless Zero Configuration function, may change settings, etc.
Uninstall the third party software. Reboot. If the software is still running, run msconfig, select Startup and uncheck any line that starts such software, then reboot again.
Please have a look at the following articles by Microsoft.
Troubleshooting Windows XP IEEE 802.11 Wireless Access
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/wifitrbl.mspx
Windows XP Wireless Deployment Technology and Component Overview
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/wificomp.mspx
Configuring Windows XP IEEE 802.11 Wireless Networks for the Home and Small
Business
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/wifisoho.mspx
Energy saving settings can get in the way, so you may want to test this by changing the setting. You can find it by right-clicking on My Computer, selecting Properties, Hardware, Device manager. Find your network adapter by clicking on the + signs to the left, double-click on it and select Energy options. Disable energy saving and click on OK. Test over a long period. If the problem is not solved, you can re-enable energy saving if you want it.
For wireless adapters using Wireless Zero Configuration proceed as follows.
Avoid running the wizard if you want to keep your network as it is and only want to integrate a new XP computer into it. Run it only if you accept that your network settings are restructured to conform to XP's ways.
If you have already run the wizard, just read on. This text will help you to undo the unwanted actions of the wizard.
If the wizard will not run, you can either try to repair the Windows installation or you can do without the wizard.
If you connect to the Internet through a cable modem or any other means that involves IP addresses that are not in the same subnet, please read Internet via Cable Modem first. Normally this does not apply to DSL (ADSL) or dial-up connections.
Of the three transport protocols NetBEUI, IPX (Netware, NWLink), and TCP/IP you need only one. Since the Internet uses TCP/IP, this article supposes that you have only this transport protocol installed. Having more than one transport protocol can cause various problems, such as slow browsing (please see the relevant chapter below), therefore it is not recommended, unless you have an overriding reason like IPX game playing or the abovementioned IPX connections between computers in different IP subnets due to unfavorable IP address allocation by cable Internet providers. Thus remove NetBEUI and IPX unless you are very sure that you need them.
Check your games first. Many also offer gaming over IP (for example using the UDP protocol), in which case only the TCP/IP transport protocol is needed. But some older games still require IPX. If you need IPX for local network game playing, remove all bindings to that protocol. You can do this as follows.
You could also use the IPX transport protocol for Windows networking and remove the checkbox from the TCP/IP protocol instead, but since everybody else uses TCP/IP, it is better to stick to that, in case you want to attach a guest's or friend's computer to your network and copy some files.
How to uninstall and reinstall TCP/IP
If TCP/IP is not working and the command "netsh interface ip reset resetlog.txt" fails to resolve the problem, you can try the following procedure in Windows XP or Windows 2003 Server, which basically enables the TCP/IP uninstall function that is normally not available in these operating systems.
In brief, you have to do the following:
Complete procedure
To check whether TCP/IP is installed and working properly, find the IP address of each of your computers and, if present, of your router, then ping each computer from at least one other computer. You can find the IP address of each computer by going to that computer and running ipconfig (on Windows XP, 2000, NT) or winipcfg (on Windows ME, 98). Then ping your local computer through the localhost address by entering one of the following commands into a command line window and pressing return:
ping localhost
ping 127.0.0.1
If this works, ping other computers by entering ping, followed by a space and the IP address of the target computer, then press return. Example:
ping w3.org
If the ping test fails, the low level connection between your computers (or, if ping localhost fails, even inside your computer) is not working, and there is no need to read on until this is repaired. The most radical method to repair it (short of reinstalling Windows) is to remove all networking components, including the network adapter driver, reboot, then add them again.
One action you can try first is to repair the connection. Right-click on the connection (in the network connections list) and select Repair.
There is also the command:
netsh interface ip reset logfilename
or abbreviated:
netsh int ip reset logfilename
where logfilename should be replaced with a text file path and name of your choice.
The following 3 command samples, each to be typed in one line, show how you can use different paths, but you should only use a path to which you have sufficient access rights. The different log file paths only determine where the log file is written. Otherwise these commands all do the same thing, reset the IP stack:
netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt
netsh int ip reset c:\windows\temp\resetlog.txt
netsh int ip reset "C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\resetlog.txt"
It is unclear whether this command does more, apart from the possible logging, than the Repair command described above, but if there is any difference, then the netsh int ip reset command is probably more thorough. Please add a short comment (click on Add new comment) if you ever find that the latter does or does not more than the former.
The appropriate Microsoft Knowledge Base article provides more details on this:
How to reset Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/299357/
How to reset "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" in Windows Server 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/317518/
Other known cause for such problems are the Cisco and Checkpoint VPN clients and the AT&T Global Network Client's Firewall.
First of all, disable and re-enable the connection. When you change the IP address from automatic to a fixed IP address while the adapter is not connected, you always get a 0.0.0.0 address at first when the adapter reconnects. If this doesn't solve the problem, read on.
Symptoms:
This problem can occur after uninstalling Norton AntiVirus, which sets the DHCP service as depending on itself. It can also occur when the computer name of the client computer is too long. Make sure that all computer names in your network are no longer than 15 characters.
First set a restore point, so you can undo your changes, should anything go wrong (Programs, Accessories, System programs, System restore).
After setting the restore point, to remove this dependency, do this:
See also the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article, which refers to computers with two or more Ethernet adapters:
The primary IP address is reset to 0.0.0.0 after you disconnect and reconnect
the network cable in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/896062/
If you see a "limited or no connectivity" warning and a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager, this only means that the computer's network port is set to automatically obtain an IP address through DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), but a DHCP server could not be found. Windows then generates an APIPA address in the range:
Class B: 169.254.0.0 - 169.254.255.255
(Subnet mask: 255.255.0.0)
Please see chapter APIPA Addresses in Private IP Addresses for more details. It will also show a warning about "Limited or no connectivity", unless this warning is disabled.
This means that all computers in the LAN (Local Area Network) can communicate with each other, if the others also gave themselves APIPA addresses.
It does not necessarily mean that there is anything wrong. If you want it that way, but don't want to keep seeing this message, right-click on the LAN connection, select Properties, and remove the check mark for "Notify me when this connection has limited or no connectivity".
Whether you can have Internet access depends on the kind of Internet connection. If you use a dial-out connection (including PPPoE and similar), this computer can have Internet access. Only if you use a router or ICS (Internet Connection Sharing), then an APIPA address will not do and you have to enable DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) in the router or assign an appropriate IP address manually.
If you swapped your network adapter and have a DHCP server in some other device like a cable modem or router that worked before you installed Service Pack 2, switch its power of, wait 10 seconds, then switch it on again. Then reboot your computer. The background is that some cable modems or similar devices recognize the connected adapters (or their MAC addresses) only once when powering up.
If you get the warning and the APIPA address although a DHCP server (usually in a router or ICS = Internet Connection Sharing host), then there is a communication problem between the computer in question and the DHCP server.
The first diagnostic test is to give your computer a manual IP address in the range that the DHCP server should provide, for example, 192.168.0.99 (replace the zero with the number the other computers have) with the subnet mask 255.255.255.0 and the standard gateway address set to the IP address of the router. If then everything works, you know that the problem is only in the communication between the problem computer and the DHCP server, and it should be repaired. If not, then you know that this is not a DHCP problem, but a more general one, and you have to look elsewhere for the solution. Go back to the form at the top of this page and correct the IP address setting, which can lead to new results.
Possible symptoms are:
Winsock corruption can be caused, among others, by:
Typical error messages are:
Check your computer for spyware and adware that found its way into your system. A good start is a newly updated SpyBot from www.spybot.info. If the program finds infections, use a second and a third, different spyware and adware scanner like Ad-Aware from www.lavasoft.de and HijackThis! from http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/. Unfortunately, one spyware scanner is not always enough.
For good measure, run a good, freshly updated virus scanner (for example, AVG from www.grisoft.com).
Other possible causes are the Cisco and Checkpoint VPN clients and the AT&T Global Network Client's Firewall. Not spyware, but nonetheless rather damaging pieces of software. In the case of the Cisco VPN client removing it is not enough, as it damages the IP stack severely and leaves the damage behind when uninstalled.
A possibly useful new command comes with Service Pack 2, which can repair winsock problems. It may help when otherwise unsolvable or connection problems or spurious disconnections occur. It removes all nonstandard LSP (Layered Service Provider) entries from the Winsock catalog, which are often the dreaded adware or spyware entries.
However, if you happened to have a legitimate LSP installed (for example, Palm HotSync Manager), it would also be removed and would have to be reinstalled. In that case you have to reinstall the affected software.
If you want to check the Winsock before repairing it, you can use the command:
winmsd
and select Components, Network, Protocol. The Layered Service Providers in the list should be of the MSAFD or RSVP service provider type. All others are often malevolent and should disappear after the reset command shown above. You can do this before and after resetting the catalog to find out whether any entries were in fact removed and which ones these were.
Unfortunately there is no guarantee that all of the MSAFD and RSVP LSPs are benevolent, so you may have to try the Winsock repair anyway.
Another way to get at the same information is the command:
netsh winsock show catalog | more
To be on the safe side, use System Restore to set a restore point before applying any repairs, so you can go back if the repair makes things worse.
The new command to repair the Winsock is:
netsh winsock reset
If this is not enough, you can reset the entire IP stack with the command:
netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt
where you can replace c:\resetlog.txt with a path and filename of your choice, to get a log file of the process. If the path contains a space, add double quotes. Example (write this all in one line):
netsh int ip reset "C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\resetlog.txt"
A third party product that can also solve this problem quickly is WinSockXPFix, available at http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html. Again, set a restore point before you apply the program, so you can undo the changes if they are not to your liking. However, there are cases in which this does not work, but the above mentioned repair procedure does.
Please let me know, by adding a short comment (click on Add new comment), which of these procedures worked for you.
If you don't have Service Pack 2 installed, you can repair your software installation as described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles.
How to determine and recover from Winsock2 corruption
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811259/
You receive an "An operation was attempted on something that is not a socket"
error message when you try to connect to a network
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/817571/
And if you want to understand more about how adware gets into your computer, please read:
The Anatomy of a "Drive-by-Download" by Eric L. Howes
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/dbd-anatomy.htm
A sample email from a happy reader:
Thank you so much for your helpful site.
I decided to swap my wired (white) and wireless (black) PC's, both running XP Home. When I removed the the Syntax 802.11b adapter from the black and installed it on the white, the white could no longer access the Internet. My symptom was that the white PC was not being assigned an IP address by the Belkin router. When I manually assigned one, I could ping the Internet (Google) by IP address but not by domain name. Over the next week I tried many things, including buying a new Netgear 802.11g adapter and a new Belkin g router.
The white had also started showing an error message on boot from Cisco VPN that "windows sockets initialization failed" but no one thought that was relevant and I would probably just have to reinstall VPN after getting the Internet connection back.
After 9 days and hours of effort, I was ready to reinstall Windows when I decided to type the Cisco error message into Google. It brought up your site as the number 2 hit. I used your link to obtain the WinSock XP Fix 1.2 from Spychecker. It fixed the problem in 5 minutes.
I am recommending your site to all who tried to help me. Thanks again!
[Translated from German:] I can only confirm the above: after
spending a whole day on finding out why the Winsock settings were destroyed
and being ready to flatten the hard disk, your page described the error exactly
and offered the matching solution. I was astounded when I could watch everything
work again.
Just for info: problems arose from the Cisco VPN Client as well as from Panda
Antivirus (very bad disease), and also from the Kaspersky Scanner (at least
the system works with it when real-time protection is disabled).
Go to the target computer that cannot be accessed and run the networking wizard on it.
Be careful with the choices. If you are not perfectly sure what they mean, use the help system to find out. One of the frequent misunderstandings is caused by the networking wizard calling a device "residential gateway" that is otherwise known as router, DSL router, WAN router, or broadband router.
This chapter is only relevant for the firewall built into Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or later. For older versions you should disable the firewall on the LAN (internal) connection and enable it on the connection leading to the Internet.
Since the firewall's main purpose is to block incoming unsolicited connection attemps, this chapter is mostly valid for the target computer, not necessarily the one you're using right now. For example, if you sit at computer A in your LAN and cannot ping another computer B, then the firewall on that other computer B is probably the cause. You probably have to move over and set up the firewall on computer B.
You can find more background information on the Windows XP SP2 firewall at: http://www.google.com/search?q="Windows+XP+SP2+Firewall"
Thanks to fellow MVP Kai Schätzl for his contribution of most of the information on the SP2 firewall and subsequent improvement of the text.
The firewall has two separate profiles. One is automatically activated when you're in a domain, the other when you're in a workgroup. Domain settings have no effect when you're in a workgroup and vice versa. So if you change between domain and workgroup, you have to set up your firewall twice.
There have been some reports of the firewall picking the wrong profile, but it seems as if this problem goes away on its own after you and connect a few times to the different environments.
The firewall blocks all incoming traffic, unless
The list of unblocked programs is shown on the second firewall tab (Exceptions). It is stored in the following registry key.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\SYSTEM
\CurrentControlSet
\Services
\SharedAccess
\Parameters
\FirewallPolicy
\StandardProfile
\AuthorizedApplications
\List
Further exceptions can be made either globally or for specific interfaces. All these settings, wherever they are, are exceptions to the default no-access rule.
The general exceptions apply to all interfaces (except that the scope-rules for the exception might in practice mean that there remains no access from some interfaces).
The settings for the individual interfaces can add exceptions for that interface only, but cannot close an exception opened by the general settings. In other words, as long as there is a general exception, any additional interface-specific exception for the same kind of traffic is unnecessary, but does not hurt either.
The new firewall blocks incoming file and printer sharing and pinging by default. To allow such access, walk over to the target computer that you cannot access over the network, because that is where the firewall needs to be opened.
Open the Windows Firewall settings in Control Panel. Use the Exceptions tab and check the File and Printer Sharing entry, which should now, by default, be set only for the local subnet, i.e. your LAN on the near side of any routers. This also reenables ping responses and allows the browser service to start. The service should start immediately, but you may still have to reboot both computers. Normally this is all you need for LAN functionality.
If you want only ping responses without file and printer sharing, click on the Advanced tab, then the ICMP Settings button. Check "Allow incoming echo request".
If, however, you need full and free communications for any type of connection, then use the third tab, Advanced, and remove the check mark from your LAN (Local Area Network) interface to allow full local connectivity for all types of traffic. This is obviously more risky and usually not necessary. Don't do it unless you are certain that all other local computers can never pose a danger. Consider that every laptop or guest computer brought into the LAN can bring a virus along.
The better alternative is to leave the firewall enabled even for the LAN interface, i.e. for your local area network, and open only the services that are actually needed, i.e. any server functions the computer may have. Here you also have the choice to open these server functions only for the local subnet. You can also allow the first ICMP function (echo, ping) or all of them.
A more precise description is, the firewall automatically blocks a program and asks the user if he wishes to unblock that program.
The Service Pack 2 firewall asks to unblock programs when a program tries to open a listening port, even though you already disabled the firewall on the currently active interface. This can happen, for example, when you use Frontpage for the first time with the service pack to upload a web site via ftp.
The reason is that this is a separate function of the firewall, which is independent of the interface used and of the associated settings. In other words, disabling the firewall in the Advanced settings for an interface does not override the exceptions. Unfortunately the firewall's dialogs do not indicate this at all, so the author of this article may not be the only one who first thought that the firewall is defective and switched it off.
Don't try to prevent these messages by disabling the firewall altogether. This would be overkill. It is not necessary and not recommended, because you really want this bit of security. Also, disabling the firewall would only postpone the questions until you need the firewall for a different interface. The advantage of this function is that it draws your attention to bad software that tries to communicate clandestinely from your computer.
You have to make a decision every time any program causes such a firewall message. If you know the program and deem it safe and worthy of listening and accepting incoming traffic, you can allow it to be unblocked. If, however, an unknown program causes an unblocking question, you should try to find out what program this is, what it does, and whether this is desired.
Fortunately the number of these requests is usually not high. The firewall asks only once for each program that tries to open a listening port.
Note that, unlike some more sophisticated software firewalls, the Windows XP SP2 firewall does not check the program for virus infection or replacement. The firewall only remembers the name and path of the program file and allows it to communicate freely, if you so decide. However, this still provides a fair first line of defense.
Note: The firewall does not ask to unblock when the program is a service. If you want a program unblocked that runs as a service, you have to identify the executable file path and enter it into the firewall settings by hand. You can try to use Task Manager to find the executable among the running processes, then search for it on the disk.
If you are sure you want to have the Windows XP firewall disabled permanently, for example because have a third party firewall running, disable it in the firewall settings first (Control Panel, Windows Firewall).
Never have the firewall disabled when you're directly connected to the Internet!
If the Security Center does not automatically recognize the third party firewall or if you don't want to run any firewall, because you have a very good border firewall in your network, then it will keep issuing warnings about the lack of firewall protection.
To disable those warnings, log on with administrator rights, go into Control Panel, Security Center and click on the firewall Recommendations button. Answer the question in the next dialog box to get rid of the warnings.
When you try to print to an LPR printer, the print job fails without any
further error message. The printer doesn't react at all, no lights flash.
The LPR protocol uses TCP Port 515, which is, by default, blocked by the firewall.
You can test where it is, in fact, the firewall by briefly disabling it, but
do this only if you have no direct, unprotected Internet connection.
Add an exception for TCP port 515 in the firewall. You can name it LPR. Enable
it only for the local subnet, unless the printer is outside.
[Thanks to John Faughnan.]
Known problems have occurred with the following products, but many others can cause problems just as well:
For example, Microsoft cites Kaspersky Labs Antiviral Toolkit Pro AVP in the Knowledge Base article:
You May Be Unable to Browse the Network
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294756/
Another frequent problem, particularly with wireless adapters, is configuration software that comes with these adapters. Uninstall it and let Windows manage the wireless adapter, using the Wireless Zero Configuration function, at least for a test. One possible symptom out of many is that settings appear to change on their own.
Third party firewalls may additionally have to have port 445 opened for TCP to allow Windows file sharing if the following conditions are true:
It may be better to enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP to obtain the full functionality of Windows networking. More details on the use of port 445 can be found at: http://www.ntsecurity.nu/papers/port445/
If that doesn't solve the problem, uninstall third party firewalls and other questionable software, particularly antivirus software (some of which scans network connections), entirely, until you have your network working properly. Some firewall software (like Zone Alarm and AtGuard) is known to inhibit the network even if disabled, at least certain versions of these. Disconnect from the Internet as long as you have no firewall active.
If you want to keep using Zone Alarm, you can still do so if you use a sufficiently new version and set it up properly, for example with medium Internet Zone security and low Trusted Zone security and making sure your LAN address range is within the Trusted Zone. You can achieve that easily by defining an IP address range that contains all your LAN addresses (including router, if any), giving it a name, and putting that into the Trusted Zone. But it's safest to uninstall it first for a test.
Do not use two software firewalls in the same computer at the same time.
This may be valid for other VPN clients as well, such as the Checkpoint VPN client.
Mike Williams wrote on 2004-12-06:
More searching turned up some similar problems, with systems that have Cisco VPN Client installed—which I have—and its "Deterministic Network Enhancer"—which my system has. Your guide mentioned this, with no further details. I don't know anything about network determinism, but none of the threads [in another discussion forum] had clear solutions, though, and I have now identified one.
There's an extra security feature in the Cisco application called "Stateful Firewall (Always On)" mainly for the benefit of wireless situations (it was turned on by default in the version I got from my company's tech support). The way this feature is set up is somewhat counter-intuitive, as it says "Always On" in its name, whether or not the feature is turned on. The on/off indicator is actually a checkmark next to the item.
Control of the feature can be accessed either through the client's Options menu or by right-clicking on the yellow padlock icon in the taskbar when the client's active. Simply clicking on the item toggles it on/off; a checkmark appears. There's virtually nothing on this in the Cisco literature. Disabling (unchecking) the feature cleared up the problem.
Chris in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA wrote on 2005-09-08:
More searching turned up some similar problems, with systems that have Cisco VPN Client installed—which I have—and its "Deterministic Network Enhancer"—which my system has. Your guide mentioned this, with no further details. I don't know anything about network determinism, but none of the threads [in another discussion forum] had clear solutions, though, and I have now identified one.
There's an extra security feature in the Cisco application called "Stateful Firewall (Always On)" mainly for the benefit of wireless situations (it was turned on by default in the version I got from my company's tech support). The way this feature is set up is somewhat counter-intuitive, as it says "Always On" in its name, whether or not the feature is turned on. The on/off indicator is actually a checkmark next to the item.
Control of the feature can be accessed either through the client's Options menu or by right-clicking on the yellow padlock icon in the taskbar when the client's active. Simply clicking on the item toggles it on/off; a checkmark appears. There's virtually nothing on this in the Cisco literature. Disabling (unchecking) the feature cleared up the problem.
More excerpts from selected emails:
Thank you for your good tool. Using your web page led me to
find out that it was the Cisco VPN client that was causing connection problems
on my service pack 2 equipped XP Pro computer.
I uninstalled the Cisco VPN client and the problem went away. This I did since
your web page showed "3" for the VPN client. I have spent numerous hours trying
to solve this problem but only 10 minutes after using your web.
This section saved me from true insanity: Cisco VPN client
– Mike Williams wrote ...
I spent nearly three hours trying to troubleshoot a networking problem between
my Windows XP Pro box and my Windows 2000 box. The 2000 box could see the XP
Pro box, but nothing I did seemed to get the XP Pro box to see the 2000 box.
I followed troubleshooting guides on the net. I read all kinds of technical
mumbo jumbo on microsoft's site that was way over my head and helped not at
all. I called my campus tech support. I called/posted to all my geek friends.
I even stooped to calling an ex-boyfriend-geek.
NOTHING WORKED. My frustration drove me to madness.
I did one last google search and came upon your troubleshooting page at http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm,
filled out the form.. and voila.
[Technical details see above]
- - - - - - -
And so I am writing to thank you, thank Mike Williams, thank your mother for
having you, and thank whoever else should be thanked, because seriously, this
problem was driving me nuts and no one else was able to help.
Thanks mate, here's one girl out in the world who had a better evening because
of your hard work.
Best wishes,
Chris in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
If you get one of these symptoms or error messages or a similar one:
Perform the following procedures, which could perhaps cause this problem, and read also the chapter, "Network path not found". Retest after each procedure. Reboot after making nontrivial changes.
Two of these points are also explained in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article.
You cannot access shared files and folders or browse computers in the workgroup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318030/
And, most importantly, if you find that one of these points or any other procedure solved your problem, please add a short comment (click on Add new comment) to let me know!
Ted Hamilton found that the following solved the problem of a missing computer name.
If the computer description of the invisible computer (the server) is longer than 48 characters, make it shorter. Details can be found in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
Computer Name Missing in the Browsing List When Server Comment More Than
48 Characters
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/231312/
Some excerpts from the many mails I have received
You are a GENIUS!!! I have been working
on this all day, since 9.00 am, and I tried EVERYTHING. I was about to give
up, when I tried your worksheet, but keeping information very much focussed
to the nub of the problem - Access Denied. Changing the RestrictAnonymous
value to zero did the trick first time, although I was so tired by this
stage that I just wasn't expecting it.
Many thanks.
Many Thanks after 4 days the solution.
Thanks for your dedicated support! I wouldn’t have been able to solve this without you and I was starting to get a bit frustrated!
You are a genius for creating this
web site. i searched 2.5 days trying to find a solution to this problem
and it wasn't until i googled "net view" "Error 5: You do not" that i come
across your site. i see many people asking about the circumstances concerning
this specific problem but no one seems to have had the answer to this registry
setting. Your site was the only place that i found the solution.
Thank you very very very extremely much, ...
Cheers mate, worked a treat :-)
Thank you very much :-)
Again, a big Thank You for your very informative web page.
Thank you very much for the help. the problem is solved
I know I don’t have to write anything, but Thanks anyway! Solved a long running problem for me, just by changing 1 to 0!
Thank you very much for providing
this info. I've been searching for this info for almost a month. [...]
Again, thank you very much for this precious information.
Thank you, Thankyou, Thankyou, after trying many so called fixes without any luck, changing a 1 to a Zero fixed it.
Amazing, I have just wasted $180 on a technician with no resolution.
thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you
damn windows to hell!
THANK YOUUUUUUU I LOVE U MAN!!! YOU JUST SAVED MY LIFE!!! I'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THIS NETWORKD FOR ABOUT 72 HRS WITHOUT ANY SLEEP AND NOW IT'S FINALLY WORKING... THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After googling for over 3 days I
finally found a link to your site. I got down to this thing to do with the
registry, and after changing the value from 1 to 0 it works. Thanks so very
much for this site. You are a genius.
In future I will be coming here for more help
You are a network god!!
You are awesome, dude!
Perfect, thank you!
Whoaa!!!
Don't know how you got to this, but it surely ROCKS! [...]
I ran accross your resource, after searching for ENDLESS hours, and VOILA!!!
It just worked like a charm. UNBELIEVABLE that we have to so deep and down
to get such a miserable problem resolved. Thank's God you were around.
Keep up the good work!!!
Legend!
Problem solved thanks to your very good interactive form!
Thank you so much!
Your resource pages are the best I've ever come across, this solved all
my networking headaches, once again thank you!
After I had reinstalled Windows XP, people could no longer access my computer. I was totally stumped and on and off over the past few months I would have another go at it. Then I happened to stumble across your page, and lo and begold, changing a simple 1 to a 0 fixed my problem! Thank you so much for creating this in depth troubleshooting page, it's any networker's bible.
Fabulous - changed registry value and problem gone on re-boot.
Thanks. 2 MCSE’s at work were vexed by this issue [...]
Absolutely FANTASTIC...
I almost got crazy trying several workarounds.
My last resort would be to reinstall the whole stuff, but you have saved
me the day!!!
Thanks, man!
BTW I spent over an hour with Microsoft
Support last night, and they didn't have a clue ;)
Thank you very much for maintaining a site like this.
Thank you and your awesome page. The registry value was driving me nuts.
May I just say before I get into
any detail that I now think you are a god below is the reason why.
[...] I could no longer assess the shared files [...] nothing worked.
Finally I came across your site and entered the problems I was having and
it narrowed my problem down to about two possible issues, [...]
Now everything works and I can start sleeping at nights again so thank you
again for a fantastic web site.
Really Excellent solution, I formatted my windows drive and reinstalled windows for 2 times because I met this problem and found no solution with Microsoft or whatever; they told me something about security policy but it did not work. you've saved me from reistalling windows. I really appreciate that tooooooo much. Thank You.
Was having a problem with my network.
could not access one of the computers. after about 4 days of constant searching
and trying finally found your website. followed the leads and boom, that
was it. [...]
thanks a million!
YOU SOLVED MY NETWORK PROBLEM and
I cannot thankyou enough!
It was "The RestrictAnonymous registry value" that was the problem.
I was getting an "Access is denied" error message until I tried your fix.
I have never edited the registry before so I was a bit nervous but thankyou
SO MUCH for sharing your knowledge on the net. I spent days and days trying
to work out what was wrong, hardly sleeping, buying books on networking,
scouring the internet for help....
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. I hope Microsoft reward you handsomely.
[...] Thanks for your help. Your site is amazing. Without it, I would still be scratching my head and cursing Microsoft.
Thanks much. I worked this problem, on and off, for several weeks. I tried the network troubleshooter in WinXP. I tried several other (at least 4) web sites including Microsoft, followed their recommendations and procedures without success. I questioned two network professionals, all without success. Your site solved the problem in about 10 minutes.
[...] After many hours I was about to reformat the hard drive and carry out a clean install of Windows XP, when I came across your web site using Google search and managed to resolve the problem [...]
As others said, you are a G-E-N-I-U-S
!!!! My desktop folders could not be shared by my two laptops connected
on the wireless network. Only you could come up with this "restrictanonymous"
registry value to be changed from 1 to 0 !!!
Thanks again and congratulations for your automatic problem solver !!
YOU ARE THE MAN!!
Tried for days to network 2 home PC's with no luck. Kept getting, "Access
Denied ...", etc, etc.
Tried other web site's work arounds, but nothing worked.
Was about to put both PC's in the garden and set fire to them ... when I
tried the registry value from 2 to 0, as mentioned in your advice. Worked
straight away!!
You're a genius. Excellent site!!!
PS Have an idea System Mechanic 6 might have been the culprit. Have re-installed
afterwards, but disabled the security check/repair function. Now works well!
Many Thanks!!!!
I spent 2 weeks on and off trying to solve this problem. Came across your page via Google ... It's great! RestrictAnonymous setting was 1, after changing it to 0 everything worked perfectly. Thaaaaaaaaaanks!!!
You have both the following symptoms:
net view \\computername
you get one of the various "Error 5" error messages, like "System error 5 has occurred. Access is denied" or "Error 5: You do not currently have access to this file. ..." (However, other commands, like
net use Z: \\computername\sharename
or typing the full network path into Windows Explorer may work.)
This can be caused by a registry setting named RestrictAnonymous. Go to the computer which you cannot access, start a registry editor and change the following registry value.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\SYSTEM
\CurrentControlSet
\Control
\Lsa
Value name: RestrictAnonymous
Value type: DWORD
If the value is 1 or even 2, change it to 0, reboot and retest. If the problem is solved, leave the value at zero. If not, you can change it back if you like.
Check immediately afterwards and again after a reboot, whether the value changes back to non-zero on its own. If that happens, then you have to find the culprit, which can be spyware, a worm, or a badly designed security program. In this case this procedure most likely solved your problem, but then the bad software stepped back in and recreated the problem.
In this case you can try to disable running programs and services and retry until you find out which one is responsible. Or you could try to download and run RegMon from www.sysinternals.com. In RegMon set a filter for the registry value in question (or wade through all the registry accesses), set the problem value to zero, then observe which program accesses it and changes it back to 1. Locate that program and uninstall it. And please don't forget to report the bad program here, so we can get a list of offending programs.
Two known Trojans that change this value (and also some network access policies) call themselves mcafee32.exe and msconfg.exe, trying to pose as the antivirus program of that name or as a Microsoft configuration program module.
2005-05-17 – Peter Kavanagh wrote: Offending malware was either Gaobot.EDJ variant or Wupd spware in file sdasd.exe, both of which had to be removed.
2005-11-18 – Justin T wrote: I found that System Mechanics Pro 6 changes these settings to 2 as it thinks it is a security flaw.
2006-08-26 – Bob Gray wrote: I found the problem to be edexter which changed the value from 0 back to 1. Removing edexter from the startupfolder sorted my problems.
2006-08-30 – Clayton Nummer wrote: There was a process terminals.exe, apparently put on my computer through an AIM virus, and I removed it using AIMFix. I changed the RestrictAnonymous value to 0, restarted after removing the virus, and the value stayed at 0.
2006-12-29 – Iddan Brown reported that mysvcc.exe in the system32 folder
was the problem. That is a worm, known as Worm.Rbot.FWO (Virusbuster),
Backdoor.Win32.SdBot.awk or Backdoor.Win32.Rbot.aeu (AVP), WORM_RBOT.GEN (Trend).
Apart from this advice, this web page cannot help you any further, so you can stop reading at this point. You have to remove the bad software first.
Background: RestrictAnonymous controls whether null sessions, sessions that work without any authentication and use the permissions of the groups Everyone and NETWORK, are allowed (value 0) or disallowed (value 1). The value 2 is obsolete for Windows XP.
Don't mistake this for the value named restrictanonymoussam, which controls null session SAM account name listings.
For some time I asked for the results of this procedure and recorded an 80% success rate in 2005.
It is still unclear why the above solution is needed in some installations, while others work just fine with RestrictAnonymous = 1. One possible explanation was taken from a newsgroup message concerning Windows Update problems and is reproduced here.
Solution for error: 0x80248011
Try checking to make sure you haven’t inadvertently removed a System account from your volume.
I found that if you modify the NTFS permissions on a volume in Windows, the System account might be inadvertently removed from the partition. If this occurs, the System account cannot manage some system functions - such as updates.
By default, the Everyone group has Full Control permissions on an NTFS volume and the Everyone group includes the System account. If this permission or group was removed (for instance to provide additional security) without adding the System account as an individual account renders the updates unusable. Even though individual accounts, such as the Administrator account, may have been added.This worked in my situation when none of the other solution did.
Please add a short comment (click on Add new comment) if you have any further information.
Alain Nicalek from France wrote (slightly abridged and edited):
With Service Pack 2 installed, if you disable the firewall service (not just say no to the firewall, but actually disable it as a service), then the computer will still be able to access the network for file and printer sharing, but won't be able to be the master browser on the LAN. This means that if this computer is the first to start, you will not be able to access the workgroup or other computers in Windows Explorer. (However, you will be able to access shared folders and drives with a shortcut or typing their full address.) Disabling the firewall service makes the browser service stop after a long timeout, and then the computer won't act correctly as master browser.
That was weird to diagnose because if the affected computer is the first turned on, then LAN browsing does not work. But if you turn on another computer first (with firewall service running) all computers, even the one affected, will be able to browse the network.
I never thought the firewall service was related so directly to the browser service.
2005-07-30 – Hillel Aftel from New York wrote the following interesting information:
Just wanted to let you know that the issue with stopping the Firewall/ICS service causing Computer Browser service to stop is actually a bug that has a fix. There's no reason stopping the Firewall/ICS service should cause the Computer Browser service to stop, and there's a hotfix in the works for this which will eventually be part of Windows XP SP3, but the problem is not widely advertised, and generally only those who tweak their systems for minimal services are noticing the issue. The only way to currently obtain the fix is to call Microsoft technical support, which they say will be free of charge. Here's the MS Knowledge Base article on the issue:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889320/
Hope this helps :)
The browser service is notoriously unreliable, and you may not always get it to work properly. In that case just forget about it and type the network address directly into Windows Explorer. Example: \\server\share
Alternatively you can map a network drive, so it gets a drive letter.
But if you want to have a go at fixing it, please read on.
If the computer browser service does not run on a computer, other computers may get the error message, "The network path was not found", when trying to connect to that computer.
Since Service Pack 2 the computer browser service will not start unless you have, in the firewall, enabled the exception for File and Printer Sharing (read on, see below).
Make sure all required services are running. Check particularly that the Internet Connection Firewall and Internet Connection Sharing (ICF/ICS) service and the computer browser service are running. For example, to have the computer browser start automatically, select Administrative tools, Services, and change the Start setting for Computer Browsing to Automatic. You can then reboot the computer or start the service manually by clicking on the Start button, but you may have to reboot anyway to make it work.
If this doesn't get the browser service to start, check all of its dependencies and make sure that all services on which the browser service depends are also running. For more details see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article.
You cannot access shared files and folders or browse computers in the workgroup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318030/
If the Browser service will not run, the most likely cause is that the firewall is enabled (good), but it is blocking the File and Printer Sharing, which blocks the browser NetBIOS ports, so the browser service does not start (bad).
To solve this problem, open the firewall (Start, Control panel, Firewall), enable the File and Printer Sharing exception. The computer browser service should now immediately start. More details are in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article.
The computer browser service does not start and event ID 7024 is logged when
you restart your Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875362/
To find out the browser situation in your LAN, you can use the BROWSTAT.EXE program. This little (40 KB) tool from Microsoft can show which computers are browsers. More information is here:
Troubleshooting the Microsoft computer browser Service
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/188305/
You can download Browstat from
http://www.dynawell.com/reskit/microsoft/win2000/browstat.zip
or
http://rescomp.stanford.edu/staff/manual/rcc/tools/browstat.zip
Unzip it and copy BROWSTAT.EXE to a suitable folder, preferably one in the path. If you aren't sure about this, you can copy it into the main Windows folder.
To use it, open a command line window and first type
browstat
This yields a short explanation of the command. Then, to find out the transports, type:
browstat dn
dn stands for DUMPNET. This will show you the available transport protocols on your computer. Memorize the number of the transport for your LAN. In the following command the number 1 is assumed, but it can be a different number, like 2 or 3, if you have more than one transport.
browstat vw 1
vw stands for VIEW. The number selects the transport protocol. This command lists the computers in the workgroup and their functions. The most important codes are:
Ideally there should be exactly one MBR and one BBR, the others should be PBR only. If you reboot a computer that is MBR or BBR, another computer, which is currently PBR, should take over the role.
Yet another useful command is:
browstat status
This command yields information about the computer you are sitting at.
In one reported case a corrupted share caused a network-wide browser failure where some computers were invisible on some other computers. In that case the error could be repaired by checking the firewall status from the link in the sharing dialog box of the share and setting the firewall off. It was off when seen from any other place, like the security center.
Probably an even better way might have been to remove the problem share altogether and then recreate it. Note that the firewall does not have to be switched off to allow file and printer sharing. It is sufficient and recommended to have the firewall enabled and enable the exception for File and Printer Sharing in the firewall.
To force a Windows XP, 2000, or NT computer to be a browser, set the following registry value:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\SYSTEM
\CurrentControlSet
\Services
\Browser
\Parameters
REG_SZ value: MaintainServerList
Content: Yes
The default setting is: Auto
To prevent a Windows computer from becoming a browser, set the same key on Windows XP, 2000, or NT to: No
To force a computer always to be the domain Master Browser, set:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\SYSTEM
\CurrentControlSet
\Services
\Browser
\Parameters
REG_SZ value: IsDomainMaster
Content: TRUE
In Windows 9x or ME goto Control Panel, Network, File And Print Sharing..., Advanced, select BrowseMaster from the Property list box and, while it is selected, set Value from the combo box on its right to Disabled. Or alternatively set the following registry value:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\SYSTEM
\CurrentControlSet
\Services
\VxD
\VNETSUP
REG_SZ value: MaintainServerList
Content: No
Of course, if you do this, you should make sure that at least one Windows XP, 2000, or NT computer is present in the local network to provide the browser service, otherwise two or more computers with Windows 9x or ME would not see the workgroup.
Consider that in a simple local network it can take up to 15 minutes until all computers show up in Explorer, Network Neighborhood, or My Network Places. In a complex, routed network it can take up to 75 minutes. So be patient or connect a network drive using the Tools command in Windows Explorer.
Slow browsing of Windows ME, 98 or earlier versions from an XP computer can be caused by inappropriate network passwords. Use Control Panel, User Accounts, click on your own account and select "Manage my network passwords". If you have any user name preceded with the computer name of an ME or 9x computer, change it to contain the XP computer name and the account name you use on the XP machine, but add the share password you have set on the ME or 9x computer, if any.
If there are no passwords set on any ME or 9x shares or printers, then you may be able to make it work by deleting such entries in the "Manage my network passwords" list altogether. Go to Manage Passwords and delete any computer names or passwords for pre-XP computers. The next time you try to log on, you will get a password dialog box. Enter the correct password for the share if there is any.
For more information on managing stored credentials see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article.
HOW TO: Manage Stored User Names and Passwords on a Computer That Is Not
in a Domain in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306541/
First of all, don't click on the network folder in the left Windows explorer pane, but instead click on the plus symbol to the left of it. It may even be necessary to close and reopen Windows Explorer first or to open a second instance of Windows Explorer.
Sometimes it may be necessary to press the F5 key, then try again.
Could you please confirm or deny that this helps? Please add a short comment (click on Add new comment) to let me know.
2005-09-18 Greg Eaton emailed that you have to set Windows Explorer to use common tasks and folders. Thanks, Greg! Here's his procedure:
If all of the above method