I am trying to set up a home wired network between a new laptop with Vista
Ultimate (64-bit) and a desktop with Windows 98 SE through a router. I am
having problems browsing the computers on the network and sharing files --
the Vista laptop doesn't show the desktop on the Network Map, and the desktop
doesn't show the laptop in the Network Neighborhood.

I have seen other posts here on Win98 networking problems with Vista
Premium, but decided to go ahead and post this since I understand Vista
Ultimate, particularly the 64-bit version, has some unique issues.

Here are some specifics of things I have tried with limited/no luck:

Both computers:
* I have given the same workgroup name on both computers
* They are both able to connect to the Internet through the router

On the Win98SE Desktop:
* I have a Cat 5 cable from the router to the desktop. This is a thick
rounded cable.
I have eZ Armor firewall on the desktop where the router IP address/subnet
mask is placed in the Trusted Zone
* The router has NAT security and dynamically assigns IP addresses.
However, I have also tried adding the laptop IP address to the Trusted Zone
to see if this makes a difference -- no change.
* I have tried turning off the eZ Firewall, as well as just the Trusted Zone
security. No luck.
* I am able to successfully "ping" the laptop IP address with no lost
packets. The router tech support guy says this means they are physically
connected and talking to each other, and that it is a Windows issue that I
cannot "see" them.
* The desktop is able to find the laptop when I do Start--Find--Computers
(another indication that they are connected). With this, I have pasted a
shortcut to the laptop in Network Neighborhood and am able to open it and see
the Public and Users folders. But when I double-click on the folder, it
stops responding or freezes.

On the Vista Laptop
* I have a Cat 5e cable from the router to the laptop. This is a flat cable.
* There is an Administrator User Account and a Guest User Account named Guest
* I have turned on Network Discovery, File Sharing and Public Folder Sharing
* Password-protected File Sharing is OFF
* Printer Sharing and Media Sharing are OFF
* Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper I/O Driver and Link-Layer Topology
Discovery Responder are both enabled
* I have tried switching from the Norton Firewall to the Windows Firewall
with its recommended settings, with no luck.
* The network has been set to "Private". I also have set up A and G
wireless networks with the router for wireless Internet access which are set
to "Private". I turn off the wireless networks when I am trying to get the
wired LAN to work between the two computers.
* Both TCP/IPv4 and TCP/IPv6 have checks in the boxes when I look at the
Adapter properties

I am at a dead-end not knowing what to do next. Would love a step-by-step
guide to making this work! Here are some specific questions:

1. Do I need to create User Accounts with the same name on both computers?
How do I do that on the Win98 desktop? Can I just name it "Guest" to match
the Guest User Account on the laptop?
2. Is having both IPv6 and IPv4 checked in the adapter Properties on the
laptop causing problems? I guess Win98 only supports IPv4?
3. With NAT security on the router, is it safe to turn off all Firewalls on
both computers? Will it make any difference?
4. Alternatively, should I be making an exception in Windows Firewall on the
laptop? How do I do that, and will it help?
5. I have not tried resetting the network adapter on the laptop. is this
something I should try?
6. How would this be done on the Win98 desktop? Do I need to uninstall and
reinstall the adapter? Is this something I should try?
7. Is there anything unique about 64-bit Vista Ultimate that might be
causing problems?
8. Do I need to have identical cables from the router to both computers?
While the laptop adapter is 10/100/1000 Mbps capable, there are two desktop
adapters -- one for 10/100 Mbps and one for 10 Mbps. Both are installed, but
I have been trying to get this to work with the faster one. Should I use a
Cat 5e cable for the desktop as well?

--
Shri

I forgot to mention -- I am successfully able to "ping" the desktop IP
address from the laptop as well with no lost packets.
--
Shri


"Shri" wrote:

I am trying to set up a home wired network between a new laptop with Vista
Ultimate (64-bit) and a desktop with Windows 98 SE through a router. I am
having problems browsing the computers on the network and sharing files --
the Vista laptop doesn't show the desktop on the Network Map, and the desktop
doesn't show the laptop in the Network Neighborhood.

I have seen other posts here on Win98 networking problems with Vista
Premium, but decided to go ahead and post this since I understand Vista
Ultimate, particularly the 64-bit version, has some unique issues.

Here are some specifics of things I have tried with limited/no luck:

Both computers:
* I have given the same workgroup name on both computers
* They are both able to connect to the Internet through the router

On the Win98SE Desktop:
* I have a Cat 5 cable from the router to the desktop. This is a thick
rounded cable.
I have eZ Armor firewall on the desktop where the router IP address/subnet
mask is placed in the Trusted Zone
* The router has NAT security and dynamically assigns IP addresses.
However, I have also tried adding the laptop IP address to the Trusted Zone
to see if this makes a difference -- no change.
* I have tried turning off the eZ Firewall, as well as just the Trusted Zone
security. No luck.
* I am able to successfully "ping" the laptop IP address with no lost
packets. The router tech support guy says this means they are physically
connected and talking to each other, and that it is a Windows issue that I
cannot "see" them.
* The desktop is able to find the laptop when I do Start--Find--Computers
(another indication that they are connected). With this, I have pasted a
shortcut to the laptop in Network Neighborhood and am able to open it and see
the Public and Users folders. But when I double-click on the folder, it
stops responding or freezes.

On the Vista Laptop
* I have a Cat 5e cable from the router to the laptop. This is a flat cable.
* There is an Administrator User Account and a Guest User Account named Guest
* I have turned on Network Discovery, File Sharing and Public Folder Sharing
* Password-protected File Sharing is OFF
* Printer Sharing and Media Sharing are OFF
* Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper I/O Driver and Link-Layer Topology
Discovery Responder are both enabled
* I have tried switching from the Norton Firewall to the Windows Firewall
with its recommended settings, with no luck.
* The network has been set to "Private". I also have set up A and G
wireless networks with the router for wireless Internet access which are set
to "Private". I turn off the wireless networks when I am trying to get the
wired LAN to work between the two computers.
* Both TCP/IPv4 and TCP/IPv6 have checks in the boxes when I look at the
Adapter properties

I am at a dead-end not knowing what to do next. Would love a step-by-step
guide to making this work! Here are some specific questions:

1. Do I need to create User Accounts with the same name on both computers?
How do I do that on the Win98 desktop? Can I just name it "Guest" to match
the Guest User Account on the laptop?
2. Is having both IPv6 and IPv4 checked in the adapter Properties on the
laptop causing problems? I guess Win98 only supports IPv4?
3. With NAT security on the router, is it safe to turn off all Firewalls on
both computers? Will it make any difference?
4. Alternatively, should I be making an exception in Windows Firewall on the
laptop? How do I do that, and will it help?
5. I have not tried resetting the network adapter on the laptop. is this
something I should try?
6. How would this be done on the Win98 desktop? Do I need to uninstall and
reinstall the adapter? Is this something I should try?
7. Is there anything unique about 64-bit Vista Ultimate that might be
causing problems?
8. Do I need to have identical cables from the router to both computers?
While the laptop adapter is 10/100/1000 Mbps capable, there are two desktop
adapters -- one for 10/100 Mbps and one for 10 Mbps. Both are installed, but
I have been trying to get this to work with the faster one. Should I use a
Cat 5e cable for the desktop as well?

--
Shri