Firewall Trouble

[ESPplayer7]

i have a network connection between two home computers and under network connections it says the name of the connection along with firewalled by it and a picture of a lock. whenever i try to access one of the computers in my workgroup it tells me i dont have permission. I am almost posotive its a firewall problem, i have norton antivirus running on both computers and i know that windows xp (both computers run it) has a built in firewall. My question is should i disable all the firewalls everytime i wanna access another comp on the network? or i remember hearing one time in this forum that both computers need the same ip for the firewall to network, anyway im really confused on this issue. Last question, is there any other types of firewalls my comp. could have that i dont know about, how do i find them?

[pop pop]

I never used XPs firewall so I don't even know what it's settings may be like. I use Sygate Personal Firewall. It's free and MUCH better. Just Google it.

It does sound like a firewall setting blocking all traffic. That can be done with one click in most firewalls. Are you only running the XP firewall?

As for this : both computers need the same ip for the firewall to network No. Each PC will have its own IP and they must in order to talk. You can check the IP stuff like this:

Start/Run type cmd, press enter to open a DOS window. Now type ipconfig /all and press enter. This will show you the IP address and other network info for that PC and your network.

First you need to know what firewall you are running. Then you need to look into the settings. You can turn it off just to check PC-to-PC comms, but that's not the solution.

[classicsoftware]

Please say waht flavor of XP you are running. It's a different approach if it's XP home or Professional.

I would disable the Windows firewall, as if it is not totally useless, it's almost totally useless.

Please disbale the firewall and let us know what happens and at the same time please let is know the version of XP on each PC.

[malcore]

If you are not using a router with a hardware firewall, I would not suggest disabling the Windows firewall. While it is not the best firewall, it is better than no firewall.

To make sure that it's not interfering with your network, go to Control Panel > Windows Firewall. For now, make sure that the box for "Don't allow exceptions" is not ticked. Then hit the Exceptions tab and make sure the "File and Printer Sharing" box is ticked. Ok out.

This will make sure that the Firewall is not responsible for connection troubles and also leave you somewhat more protected from the outside than shutting it off completely.

I doubt the firewall is your problem anyway if you are being told you don't have "permission". As classic said, tell us which version of XP so we can make sure you have permissions set up properly.

[classicsoftware]

If you are not using a router with a hardware firewall, I would not suggest disabling the Windows firewall. While it is not the best firewall, it is better than no firewall.

I hate to disagree, but the built in firewall is useless and it causes lot's of network ills. I always disable it as a test to see if the network will run. It's easy to download a free firewall..

[malcore]

No need to hate disagreeing. Seeing things from more than one perspective can lead to greater understanding.:)

While third party firewalls do offer greater options, including outbound protection, the Windows firewall does give decent inbound protection. With SP2, there are a few more configuration options (although still not enough). These options, in my experience, have eliminated the problems associated with a simple home lan. The steps I mentioned above should be enough to allow File and Printer sharing using NetBios to function if all other settings, ie permissions, naming etc., are in order.

While it's not the best choice for a firewall, it does offer inbound protection, and in that sense I wouldn't call it "useless". Inferior yes, but not useless.

Anyway, I still think we need a bit more info here before offering any advice as to what procedure to take.

[ESPplayer7]

i am currently running xp pro on my computer, and xp home on the comp next to the router. We are both plugged into a linksys router, what could be my problem with this permissions stuff, and also how do i know if my router has a firewall and where would i go to turn it off, thx for all the help thus far

[Locobato]

Ok, for linksys you would open you browser and type in the address 192.168.1.1 and a logon screen will pop-up. Leave the Username blank and type admin in the password field and hit enter. This takes you to your routers configuration screen. It would be best to download your routers manual from the Linksys (http://www.linksys.com) website so you can check how to configure your firewall settings if you indeed have a router with built in firewall. I was having this same issue a month ago, turned out the new systems we purchased had Mcafee personal firewall running. I've learned that on XP Pro and home by running the Network setup Wizard it will ask if you want to turn Printer and File Sharing on. This will set the Windows firewall setting automatically for you. So there should be no problem there whatsoever. So just to be safe check for any third party software on your PC like norton or Mcafee to make sure there are no other firewalls.