Can't browse WinXP computer on Home Network...(intermittent)

[BeBumbleBe]

I thought I'd seen each and every possible problem on windows machines over the past 8 years, but this one beats me ?!
It's fairly straghtforward:
1. It's intermittent
2. From my Win2k/Win98 machines I can see the WinXP computer in Network Neighbourhood
3. Most of the time, when clicking, I get "\\xxx is not accessible - The network path was not found." - sometimes (no pattern) it works though...
4. But mapping a drive on xxx using the IP addres works fine...
5. So why bother fixing this issue - well because it's a pain for a start but also because PocketPC networking doesn't seem to work with IP addresses :-(

So:
1. DNSolution problems? Probably not?

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Install NETBEUI on all the computers, I think you'll find salvation.

 

[BeBumbleBe]

I was going to try that as a last resort, but that option is not available on my PocketPC ;-)

 

[jbod]

Try unchecking the firewall setting on the XP machine, also look at bad wires.

 

[jbod]

Try unchecking the firewall setting on the XP machine, also look at bad wires.

 

[BeBumbleBe]

Yep, no firewall on the XP machine. It's 802.11b.
And mapping via the IP works ok, it's just that the PocketPC doesn't support that :-(

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

NETBEUI will solve the problem for everything but the PocketPC in any case. If the PocketPC doesn't use TCP/IP, what does it use?

 

[ZippyDan]

when you guys say NETBEUI is this the same thing as NETBIOS? if not, where do u install NETBEUI :/

~Zippy!

 

[BeBumbleBe]

PocketPC uses TCP/IP and is able to browse the files on my w2k laptop fine.
NetBEUI isn't availabe in WinXP it semms!!!!!

 

[gunrunnerjohn]

Of course NETBEUI is available for XP, even Microsoft acknowledges that it's sometimes useful. Installing NETBEUI for XP is a link to Microsoft's instructions.

 

[BeBumbleBe]

Ah ok, what I meant was that it wasn't available in the default "protocol" menu as it is in Win9x and Win2k. I'll look into that!