If this is a workgroup setting, I suspect they may have removed or altered some accounts on the machine. Here's a "cookbook" to getting networking working. Turn off any firewalls for debugging. If the firewall is the problem, you'll have to configure it to allow access to "trusted zone" addresses. Note that some firewalls must be completely uninstalled to stop them from affecting your networking. Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD to open a command prompt. In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands: PING each remote computer by IP address, and if successful, PING by name. Open a command prompt as described above and type. PING or PING Where: - is the x.x.x.x IP address - is the computer name A failure to PING is almost always a firewall configuration issue. Any failure to PING needs to be corrected before you go any farther. Note: You can obtain the IP address and computer name of a computer by opening a command prompt (DOS window) and typing IPCONFIG /ALL. This should work for any Windows version. The IPCONFIG /ALL display will provide a wealth of useful information for debugging your network connection. Check your Services are Started on all PCs: • • • • • • • • • • •
COM+ Event System (for WZC issues) Computer Browser DHCP Client DNS Client Network Connections Network Location Awareness Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Server TCP/IP Netbios helper Windows Zero Configuration (wireless configurations) Workstation
Note: You can check the services in Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services.
All of these services should be started, and their startup type should be automatic. All computers should be in the same workgroup for computer browsing to function properly. File & Print Sharing has to be enabled on any computer you wish to share files or printers from. You also need to actually share the resource in question from My Computer, right click on the drive/printer/folder, and select sharing. If you encounter difficulties accessing computers that are visible in Network Neighborhood, make sure the computer being accessed has an account with the same name/password as the system connecting to it uses to login. While the default NetBIOS setting is correct for normal network configurations, it's possible for it to be altered, and it costs nothing to make sure it's correct. NETBIOS over TCP/IP must be enabled for normal network browsing. http://support.microsoft.com/?id=257844 Create a Two-Way, External Trust for Both Sides of the Trust Updated: August 8, 2008 You can use this procedure to create both sides of a two-way, external trust. You must have administrative credentials for your domain as well as for the reciprocal domain. If you have administrative credentials only for your domain, you can use the procedure Create aTwo-Way, External Trust for One Side of the Trust to create your side of the trust. Then, have the administrator for the reciprocal domain create a two-way, external trust from his or her domain. A two-way, external trust allows users in your domain (the domain that you are logged on to at the time that you run the New Trust Wizard) and users in the reciprocal domain to access resources in either of the two domains. You can create this external trust by using the New Trust Wizard in the Active Directory Domains and Trusts snap-in or by using the Netdom command-line tool. For more information about using the Netdom command-line tool to create an external trust, see Netdom Overview (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=111537). Membership in Domain Admins or Enterprise Admins in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), or equivalent, is the minimum required to complete this procedure. Review details about using the appropriate accounts and group memberships at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83477.
To create a two-way, external trust for both sides of the trust 1. Open Active Directory Domains and Trusts. 2. In the console tree, right-click the domain for which you want to establish a trust, and then click Properties. 3. On the Trusts tab, click New Trust, and then click Next. 4. On the Trust Name page, type the Domain Name System (DNS) name (or NetBIOS name) of the domain, and then click Next. 5. On the Trust Type page, click External trust, and then click Next. 6. On the Direction of Trust page, click Two-way, and then click Next. For more information about the selections that are available on the Direction of Trust page, see "Direction of Trust" in Appendix: New Trust Wizard Pages. 7. On the Sides of Trust page, click Both this domain and the specified domain, and then click Next. For more information about the selections that are available on the Sides of Trust page, see "Sides of Trust" in Appendix: New Trust Wizard Pages. 8. On the User Name and Password page, type the user name and password for the appropriate administrator in the specified domain. 9. On the Outgoing Trust Authentication Level--Local Domain page, do one of the following, and then click Next: o Click Domain-wide authentication. o Click Selective authentication. 10. On the Outgoing Trust Authentication Level--Specified Domain page, do one of the following, and then click Next: o Click Domain-wide authentication. o Click Selective authentication. 11. On the Trust Selections Complete page, review the results, and then click Next. 12. On the Trust Creation Complete page, review the results, and then click Next. 13. On the Confirm Outgoing Trust page, do one of the following: o If you do not want to confirm this trust, click No, do not confirm the outgoing trust. Note that if you do not confirm the trust at this stage, the secure channel will not be established until the first time that the trust is used by users. o If you want to confirm this trust, click Yes, confirm the outgoing trust, and then supply the appropriate administrative credentials from the specified domain. 14. On the Confirm Incoming Trust page, do one of the following: o If you do not want to confirm this trust, click No, do not confirm the incoming trust. o If you want to confirm this trust, click Yes, confirm the incoming trust, and then supply the appropriate administrative credentials from the specified domain. 15. On the Completing the New Trust Wizard page, click Finish.