Network Issues

All of a sudden I've found that my Vista computer will stop being able
to access my local network. I can see the other computers but when I
click on them it tells me the name or path is wrong with an error of
0X80070035. I click on the diagnose and repair but am told there are
no problems... Rebooting usually fixes it but sometimes I have to
reboot twice for it to work but it will still happen again within a
few days doing nothing other than going into standby. Anyone else
seeing this issue? Any ideas of what I can do, short of a complete
reinstall, to fix it? Thanks!

Avatar

<> wrote in message
news:...
> All of a sudden I've found that my Vista computer will stop being able
> to access my local network. I can see the other computers but when I
> click on them it tells me the name or path is wrong with an error of
> 0X80070035. I click on the diagnose and repair but am told there are
> no problems... Rebooting usually fixes it but sometimes I have to
> reboot twice for it to work but it will still happen again within a
> few days doing nothing other than going into standby. Anyone else
> seeing this issue? Any ideas of what I can do, short of a complete
> reinstall, to fix it? Thanks!
>
> Avatar

It could be a NIC going defective. It could be the cable plugged into the
NIC is going defective. It could be the router is going defective, if one is
in use. A new NIC driver could be causing trouble.

You should go to the Command Prompt and enter IPconfig /all to see what IP
the machine has at this time of trouble.

If the IP starts with 169, then that's a sign of trouble and the O/S
assigned the IP. The 169 IP will allow the machine to access the machines on
the LAN, but the machine doesn't have an IP that's going to allow it to
access the Internet. On the other hand if the machine has no IP, it's not
accessing the LAN or WAN.

I doubt the the Vista O/S is the root cause of the problem.

Thanks for your response. I was away the past two days so I just saw
it now.

On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:21:34 -0400, "Mr. Arnold" <MR.
> wrote:

>It could be a NIC going defective. It could be the cable plugged into the
>NIC is going defective. It could be the router is going defective, if one is
>in use. A new NIC driver could be causing trouble.

Could be the NIC on the motherboard, of which there are two, so I can
try the other one to see. The cable? I'd be surprised as I've never
had one go bad on me before and there is no damage to the one being
used. I doubt it's the router as it's less than a year old and the
other two computers work just fine.

>You should go to the Command Prompt and enter IPconfig /all to see what IP
>the machine has at this time of trouble.

I have assigned IPs to all 3 computers so that doesn't change.

>If the IP starts with 169, then that's a sign of trouble and the O/S
>assigned the IP. The 169 IP will allow the machine to access the machines on
>the LAN, but the machine doesn't have an IP that's going to allow it to
>access the Internet. On the other hand if the machine has no IP, it's not
>accessing the LAN or WAN.

I've seen that before but it's not happening here.

>I doubt the the Vista O/S is the root cause of the problem.

Well it's only the Vista machine that has this issue the two XP ones
are fine so it does look like a Vista issue to this untrained eye.
Thanks again for your reply.

Avatar

<> wrote in message
news:...
> Thanks for your response. I was away the past two days so I just saw
> it now.
>
> On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:21:34 -0400, "Mr. Arnold" <MR.
> > wrote:
>
>>It could be a NIC going defective. It could be the cable plugged into the
>>NIC is going defective. It could be the router is going defective, if one
>>is
>>in use. A new NIC driver could be causing trouble.
>
> Could be the NIC on the motherboard, of which there are two, so I can
> try the other one to see. The cable? I'd be surprised as I've never
> had one go bad on me before and there is no damage to the one being
> used.

I have seen patch cables on the network switch and the ones to the card go
bad.

> I doubt it's the router as it's less than a year old and the
> other two computers work just fine.

Most home user's really don't know how to protect a router in the home
environment and just plug it into a surge protect power strip on the floor
with that being plugged into the wall outlet. In the meantime, the router is
being torn up, taking hits and on its way to going defective quickly.

>
>>You should go to the Command Prompt and enter IPconfig /all to see what
>>IP
>>the machine has at this time of trouble.
>
> I have assigned IPs to all 3 computers so that doesn't change.

And that can hide the fact that the computer for whatever reason cannot
obtain an IP from the DHCP server on the router or can use a static IP on
the router.

>
>>If the IP starts with 169, then that's a sign of trouble and the O/S
>>assigned the IP. The 169 IP will allow the machine to access the machines
>>on
>>the LAN, but the machine doesn't have an IP that's going to allow it to
>>access the Internet. On the other hand if the machine has no IP, it's not
>>accessing the LAN or WAN.
>
> I've seen that before but it's not happening here.

That's because you have manually assigned the IP, and the DHCP server on
the router is not being used. It would be a time out situation where the O/S
could not obtain an IP in a timely manner from the DHCP server on the
network, and the O/S assigned the 169 IP to the NIC, a sign of trouble.

So, you should change the NIC's settings to obtained an IP automatically and
if the O/S cannot obtained an IP from the DHCP server, you'll see it.

Oh, and just because the XP machines are OK does that mean that it's a Vista
problem. ;-)

On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:23:26 -0400, "Mr. Arnold" <MR.
> wrote:

>I have seen patch cables on the network switch and the ones to the card go
>bad.

I believe you but its not been my experience in the past 17 years of
playing with computers.

>Most home user's really don't know how to protect a router in the home
>environment and just plug it into a surge protect power strip on the floor
>with that being plugged into the wall outlet. In the meantime, the router is
>being torn up, taking hits and on its way to going defective quickly.

So do you have your own special protection scheme you'd care top
share? What I have done has worked fine and I'm in the "lightning
capitol" of my state.

>>>You should go to the Command Prompt and enter IPconfig /all to see what
>>>IP
>>>the machine has at this time of trouble.
>>
>> I have assigned IPs to all 3 computers so that doesn't change.
>
>And that can hide the fact that the computer for whatever reason cannot
>obtain an IP from the DHCP server on the router or can use a static IP on
>the router.

I've seen that before a couple of years ago, not on any of my current
machines with their current setups, just saying I know what you're
talking about.

>> I've seen that before but it's not happening here.
>
>That's because you have manually assigned the IP, and the DHCP server on
>the router is not being used. It would be a time out situation where the O/S
>could not obtain an IP in a timely manner from the DHCP server on the
>network, and the O/S assigned the 169 IP to the NIC, a sign of trouble.
>
>So, you should change the NIC's settings to obtained an IP automatically and
>if the O/S cannot obtained an IP from the DHCP server, you'll see it.

I understand what you're saying I just don't think it's part of the
issue I'm currently experiencing. Could be wrong though.

>Oh, and just because the XP machines are OK does that mean that it's a Vista
>problem. ;-)

It makes it more likely to be the case from all the troubleshooting
I've done and what I've seen in the past. I'll wait to see if it
happens again as it hasn't been an issue these past 4-5 days. If it
does I'll swap out the cable and see if that makes any difference. So
far you've been giving me the impression it can't be a Vista issue, or
at the very least the last possible thing it could be. Am I wrong?

Avatar

<> wrote in message
news:...
> On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:23:26 -0400, "Mr. Arnold" <MR.
> > wrote:
>
>>I have seen patch cables on the network switch and the ones to the card go
>>bad.
>
> I believe you but its not been my experience in the past 17 years of
> playing with computers.

There is a first time for everything.

>
>>Most home user's really don't know how to protect a router in the home
>>environment and just plug it into a surge protect power strip on the floor
>>with that being plugged into the wall outlet. In the meantime, the router
>>is
>>being torn up, taking hits and on its way to going defective quickly.
>
> So do you have your own special protection scheme you'd care top
> share? What I have done has worked fine and I'm in the "lightning
> capitol" of my state.

What I use is an UPS/AVR system that keeps the power clean and constant to
all my equipment free from spikes, brownouts, and blackouts. And if the
network takes a lighting hit and equipment is destroyed due to this and can
be proved, then the UPS manufacture has an equipment coverage payout for
equipment destroyed due to the strike.

>
>>>>You should go to the Command Prompt and enter IPconfig /all to see what
>>>>IP
>>>>the machine has at this time of trouble.
>>>
>>> I have assigned IPs to all 3 computers so that doesn't change.
>>
>>And that can hide the fact that the computer for whatever reason cannot
>>obtain an IP from the DHCP server on the router or can use a static IP on
>>the router.
>
> I've seen that before a couple of years ago, not on any of my current
> machines with their current setups, just saying I know what you're
> talking about.
>
>>> I've seen that before but it's not happening here.
>>
>>That's because you have manually assigned the IP, and the DHCP server on
>>the router is not being used. It would be a time out situation where the
>>O/S
>>could not obtain an IP in a timely manner from the DHCP server on the
>>network, and the O/S assigned the 169 IP to the NIC, a sign of trouble.
>>
>>So, you should change the NIC's settings to obtained an IP automatically
>>and
>>if the O/S cannot obtained an IP from the DHCP server, you'll see it.
>
> I understand what you're saying I just don't think it's part of the
> issue I'm currently experiencing. Could be wrong though.

I am not saying it's part of the issue. I am saying it's away to show that
all of a sudden the machine has lost connectivity, which the 169 IP will be
applied to the NIC by the O/S at any given point in time the connection is
lost or cannot be obtained, when a DHCP server is in play on the network.
That was the indicator that lead to the discovery of cable, NIC or switch
problems in the work place environment, not that the O/S is having issues.

>
>>Oh, and just because the XP machines are OK does that mean that it's a
>>Vista
>>problem. ;-)
>
> It makes it more likely to be the case from all the troubleshooting
> I've done and what I've seen in the past. I'll wait to see if it
> happens again as it hasn't been an issue these past 4-5 days. If it
> does I'll swap out the cable and see if that makes any difference. So
> far you've been giving me the impression it can't be a Vista issue, or
> at the very least the last possible thing it could be. Am I wrong?

That Vista is going to all of a sudden loose the IP without some other
factor being involved? You are correct, based on my 30 some plus years of
being in IT. It looks to me that you have equipment issues.

On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:12:42 -0400, "Mr. Arnold" <MR.
> wrote:

>There is a first time for everything.

Yes, of course. But I really don't believe so in this case as I
actually think I've figured out exactly when it happens. If my Vista
computer is on and I reboot one or the other XP computers the Vista
computer will no longer be able to access it, it is still able to be
seen but I get that weird message that the path is wrong even though
it shows up. I have to reboot the Vista computer once or twice (most
times it's twice) in order for it to be accessed. If I never reboot
the XP computers while the Vista computer is on I will not have this
problem. I can also reboot them while the Vista machine is in sleep
mode without any issues. It only looses the ability to access them if
the rebooting occurs while it's on. Have you seen this before? Could
it be a possible hardware issue still? I'm seriously asking here as
you have more experience than I. I personally still think it's a Vista
issue but I can still be wrong on that one. Thanks.

Avatar

<> wrote in message
news:...
> On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:12:42 -0400, "Mr. Arnold" <MR.
> > wrote:
>
>>There is a first time for everything.
>
> Yes, of course. But I really don't believe so in this case as I
> actually think I've figured out exactly when it happens. If my Vista
> computer is on and I reboot one or the other XP computers the Vista
> computer will no longer be able to access it, it is still able to be
> seen but I get that weird message that the path is wrong even though
> it shows up. I have to reboot the Vista computer once or twice (most
> times it's twice) in order for it to be accessed. If I never reboot
> the XP computers while the Vista computer is on I will not have this
> problem. I can also reboot them while the Vista machine is in sleep
> mode without any issues. It only looses the ability to access them if
> the rebooting occurs while it's on. Have you seen this before? Could
> it be a possible hardware issue still? I'm seriously asking here as
> you have more experience than I. I personally still think it's a Vista
> issue but I can still be wrong on that one. Thanks.
>

I have seen it where two XP machines couldn't access each other on the same
network using a Linksys router.

What fixed the problem was using NetBios over TCP, which should not be a
problem for you since I'll assume you're using a router, and the machines
are behind it.

http://ecross.mvps.org/howto/netbt.htm
http://www.happyhacker.org/gtmhh/beginnine2.shtml

Of course, all the NIC's have to be setup to use NetBios.

What do you have to loose in trying it?

On Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:32:56 -0400, "Mr. Arnold" <MR.
> wrote:

>I have seen it where two XP machines couldn't access each other on the same
>network using a Linksys router.

I do have a Linksys router but never an issue with my XP machines.
(sounds of knocking on wood can be heard in the background)

>What fixed the problem was using NetBios over TCP, which should not be a
>problem for you since I'll assume you're using a router, and the machines
>are behind it.
>
>http://ecross.mvps.org/howto/netbt.htm
>http://www.happyhacker.org/gtmhh/beginnine2.shtml
>
>Of course, all the NIC's have to be setup to use NetBios.
>
>What do you have to loose in trying it?

Nothing I guess but it still doesn't answer my original question to
you. Do you still think it has nothing to do with Vista in this case?
I've never had issues in the past year plus with this particular setup
until I recently installed Vista Ultimate 64 and then did as I
explained above. It really doesn't sound like a hardware issue to me
under these circumstances. So I'm curious to hear your professional
opinion. It's weird that the computer(s) can be seen but not accessed
and then be told that the path is wrong...

It's been over a week and I still haven't heard back from Microsoft
regarding this so I'm going to wait until I do and then let them know
what I've found. It's not a big deal really, more of an annoyance more
than anything else but now that I know what causes it and it does it
each and every time I try it it's pretty easy to avoid.

Thanks again for your time and responses!

Avatar

wrote:
> On Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:32:56 -0400, "Mr. Arnold" <MR.
> > wrote:
>
>> I have seen it where two XP machines couldn't access each other on the
>> same
>> network using a Linksys router.
>
> I do have a Linksys router but never an issue with my XP machines.
> (sounds of knocking on wood can be heard in the background)
>
>> What fixed the problem was using NetBios over TCP, which should not be a
>> problem for you since I'll assume you're using a router, and the machines
>> are behind it.
>>
>> http://ecross.mvps.org/howto/netbt.htm
>> http://www.happyhacker.org/gtmhh/beginnine2.shtml
>>
>> Of course, all the NIC's have to be setup to use NetBios.
>>
>> What do you have to loose in trying it?
>
> Nothing I guess but it still doesn't answer my original question to
> you. Do you still think it has nothing to do with Vista in this case?
> I've never had issues in the past year plus with this particular setup
> until I recently installed Vista Ultimate 64 and then did as I
> explained above.

Oh, Vista 64 I don't think it's as stable as 32.

> It really doesn't sound like a hardware issue to me
> under these circumstances. So I'm curious to hear your professional
> opinion. It's weird that the computer(s) can be seen but not accessed
> and then be told that the path is wrong...

I am using wireless and there is this unsecured Linksys network in the area
that I have trouble connecting to and staying connected sometimes I can go
for a long time with no problem, unlike my other connection to wireless that
is solid as a rock.

I consider that to be Vista and Linksys issues combined into one.