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Windows 2003 Server Domain problems

MaxFaraday

n00b
Joined
Aug 15, 2004
Messages
19
I'm setting up a little network at my house between all my roommates PCs and a box running win2003 server. They are all currently on the domain and physically going through a switch and access the internet via my DSL through a hardware firewall (Which for now is currently configured to be wide open). I'm having a problem with the PCs seeing each other or shared drives on the server. All of the boxes can ping the internet, and ping the switch... but I can't directly ping one from the other. I know it isn't DNS since I'm pinging the actual IP not the host name. Anyone have any suggestions?
 
1st stupid thing to look at: Are there ANY firewall programs running on ANY of those machines, including the DC?

2003 Service Pack 1 I presume?
 
I know for sure that the windows firewall is turned off on all of the workstations, but I'm not sure about the server. And yes SP1
 
Have you done anything beyond setting it as the PDC default?
 
Its pretty much setup default right now. It was working properly for a few days ... but now the clients can't see shares and I can't figure out why.
 
Make a logon .bat to re-create the drives?

Here, an example from work:
Code:
rem This batch file manages the teachers' shared folders and computers' time
rem
net time \\PDC1 /set /y
rem
rem net use * /delete /y
rem
net use R: \\File1\Printing
net use S: \\File1\Grades
net use T: \\File1\Staff
rem
rem pause

where lines that start "rem" are ignored. It's a good idea to make sure that your drives maintain the same drive letter even if not all users get them. For instance, if a non-teacher staff member logs on, their .bat will not include S:\ as a grade drive but will not have a different share mapped to it instead. "Net use * /delete /y" will disconnect all the drives; this is handy in a large deplyoment to clear out all the drives in case there's a conflict, but if you only have five workstations you should probably just type that into their command lines manually once before you roll out a script and be done with it.
 
It isn't that the shared drives are dropping. I actually have no connectivity between server and client at the moment. If i type in the path in the run command ... or browse the network I don't see any shared folders or devices.
 
Yup ... all of them are getting internet access via the switch .. they just can't talk to each other.
 
Post IP info of server, and IPCONFIG info of a workstation.
XPxp2 firewall policy driven from policy on server...sure it's not grayed out on the clients?
Server running DHCP and not the router, right? Or static IP's on the clients?
 
As it sits now the server and the clients are all on DHCP auto dns so

Server1 : IP 192.168.111.5 ; 255.255.255.0 ; gateway and dns are 192.168.111.1
PC1 : IP 192.168.111.2 ; 255.255.255.0 ; gateway and dns are same
PC2 : IP 192.168.111.3 ; 255.255.255.0 ; "
PC3 : IP 192.168.111.4 ; 255.255.255.0 ; "

I'm sure the firewall on the clients isn't grayed out. It says Disabled in red letters along with "not recommended"
 
DragonNOA1 said:
you have dns set to your gateway? That's not right.


Correct. The right way to do it is all your workstations point to the AD DNS server. You set the ISP DNS server up on the FORWARDERS tab on the DNS server.
 
Also note the server should *NOT* be a DHCP client.

You should have the Server set with a static IP address, have the server do DHCP & DNS, and as others have pointed out, you would put the routers address in the DNS forwarders tab.
 
what are all the other operating systems of the client computers, xp home, xp pro?

I would think them not being able to see/ping each other would be a netbios issue. I'd almost put a few bucks on it :)

on the client computers go to network connections, right click on the lan connection and scroll down to tcp/ip settings under the general tab, click properties, then in the new box go to advanced and click the wins tab, click enable netbios (instead of default) see if that lets them be able to communicate with each other

network connections>network adapter>right click properties>general tab>tcp/ip settings>properties>advanced>wins tab>ENABLE netbios

Most likely your server is not providing the correct information to the clients for them to communicate.

keep us updated
 
dasoldier said:
what are all the other operating systems of the client computers, xp home, xp pro?

I would think them not being able to see/ping each other would be a netbios issue. I'd almost put a few bucks on it :)

on the client computers go to network connections, right click on the lan connection and scroll down to tcp/ip settings under the general tab, click properties, then in the new box go to advanced and click the wins tab, click enable netbios (instead of default) see if that lets them be able to communicate with each other

network connections>network adapter>right click properties>general tab>tcp/ip settings>properties>advanced>wins tab>ENABLE netbios

Most likely your server is not providing the correct information to the clients for them to communicate.

keep us updated


Ignore that whole post. netbios is only used in workgroups. The PC should be using DNS for name resolution.
 
OK going to work on forwarding out my DNS .. but should it really matter since I'm actually using the IP and not the name. There is no resolution here.
 
Make sure you can ping one workstation to another by IP address with firewalls off, if this basic test fails, then everything else isn't going to make a bit of difference.
 
That's what I'm saying ... removing the router from the equation ... just having it on a switch ... I still can't ping one from the other.
 
MaxFaraday said:
That's what I'm saying ... removing the router from the equation ... just having it on a switch ... I still can't ping one from the other.


then your switch is bad or your patch cables are bad. bad NICs, all PC on the same subnet with the correct subnet mask?
 
I can set the workstations to the same subnet and I can ping each other and the server. But even when I have the server static on that subnet I can ping out .. but the workstations now can't ping them. Im getting pretty pissed off at this thing for the moment so if anyone has any suggestions Id love to try them out. Right now the server is static to 192.168.1.5 but I can change it to whatever convention you all suggest, not that it matters. I have removed the firewall from the equation and am now working only with the switch. I'm wondering if I should use the DSL line for the uplink on the switch or since the server has two nics should I have it come into the server first then out to the switch. I'm about to hang myself, I've never had any problems with windows 2000 server.

As in a sample IPCONFIG /ALL on the server and a single workstation
 
When you had the router in the loop, was it giving out IP addys as well?
I would set the router back in the loop, but at a static IP like 192.168.100.2 and turn off its DHCP.
set the server to static IP 192.168.100.5 and have it assign Ip's using DHCP and in the DHCP set the router/gateway to be the static IP you gave the router itself and the DNS to be the servers static IP
if the workstations are DHCP they should get the IP, subnet, gateway and DNS from the server and should be able to get to the internet.
\
(going DSL to the switch would be a problem since you likely only get 1 IP from the DSL company, right?)
 
Here...read this article...please. It's short, with pics.
http://www.speedguide.net/read_articles.php?id=1660

With Windows 2000 and higher networks...DNS is very important. I know you think it's not a DNS issue since you tried troubleshooting via IPs...but it's difficult to troubleshoot a network when it's not setup correctly in the first place. And right now the network is a mangles mess. Need to follow the correct steps in bringing it back to health.

My first hunch was that you were running this in peer to peer mode, with the router running DHCP, that's exactly why I asked for a printout of the servers IP and a workstations ICONFIG.

Your DNS and active directory is completely broken....with the server setup as you had it. That event log must be chocked full of nuts. Network is a scatter storm of broadcasts. Follow the guide above. ;) Once that is in place...we'll see what happens and what to do next.

Leave the router in the loop...you don't want computers (especially your server) on a public IP address without knowing some above and beyond methods of securing that WAN NIC.
 
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