LinkSys E3000 file sharing issues

[djhill8262]

I bought an E3000 last weekend to replace the combo I'd had of a BEFSR41 router and WAP54G access point (the latter had failed).

The current config is as follows:
* DCHP at 192.168.168.65, scope is 66-115; both bands use WPA2-personal/AES with the same 40-bit passphrase.
* Guest access is enabled but I plan to remove that via Cisco Connect (should be in the GUI!)
* The firmware has been updated to the most current version (1.0.03).
* There is no storage attached, but on the Storage Administration page, I can see that the router has filled in "Workgroup"

The wired connections are:
1. Dell desktop (XP Pro SP3), via 3-com Etherlink XL 10/100 PCI (3C905C-TX)
2. D-Link DPR1260 print server
3. Slingbox classic (with reservation at 115)
4. Linksys 8-port 10/100 switch (on the switch, the only connected device is an X-Box).

Wireless connections:
1. Dell M90 (Vista Business SP2), via Intel PRO wireless 3945ABG.
2. Dell Inspiron (Win 7), (need kid's password to check adapter type)
3. Sony PS3
4. Acer netbook (XP Home SP3), via Atheros AR5007EG

Windows Firewall, and the NIS firewall on the M90, are disabled.

The TCP/IP config is the same across all (DHCP). Note that ipconfig shows node type for the Desktop is Unknown, but the rest are Hybrid.

The credentials on each machine are as follows (passwords are the same wherever accounts exist):

M90: dad (admin; current logged in user), mom
Inspiron: dad (admin), kid (current logged in user)
Desktop: dad (admin), mom (current logged in user)
Netbook: dad (admin), mom (current logged in user)

My problems are with viewing the network (all computers are members of Workgroup), and accessing shares. These are no doubt related.

When viewing the network:
* The M90 and Inspiron can see each other, the router, and the print server. They do not see the Desktop or the Netbook
* The Desktop can only see itself.
* The netbook cannot even expand Workgroup ("... not accessible. You may not have permission ...")

File shares:
The Desktop has four shared folders. Previously, all computers had accessed these at one time or another so they showed up under Network. Now, they no longer appear on either laptop, but do appear and are accessible on the netbook (mom is logged in on both). The netbook can access these shares with no problem.

The M90 had two shared folders. Initially they showed up on the Desktop but could not be accessed, then disappeared. From the netbook, they still appeared and I was able to access them, but only using dad's credentials (even thogh mom's account exists on the M90).

Other items of note:
* Initially, I could only ping by IP address. After a while, I was able to ping by name, too.
* nbtstat -a appears to be resolving all names wherever issued.
* initially, from the M90 I could map a drive to one of the Desktop's shares, but only by IP address. Now that's working by name, too, but I'd prefer not to have to set up mapped drives all over the place.
* The Desktop started life under Win95, migrated to Win98 then to XP. The IPX/SPX services are still configured on the connection.

At first I thought the E3000 wasn't performing as a local DNS, but ipconfig shows that it has inserted itself as dns3.

Now I'm thinking that "Workgroup" is the problem, as if it isn't being recognized as being the same group (except on the M90 and Inspiron). Any ideas?

 

[Mike_G_D]

I know that Windows 7 and Vista redid their handling of shared folders for increased security over previous Windows versions. I had to deal with this when implementing my network with mixed OS's. You should probably go into the network connections windows on the 7 and Vista machines and make sure that the network is recognized and set as "Home" and/or "Private" (I forgot how this is, exactly, and am on an XP machine right now so can't check) and not "Public". Also, you can configure, to some extent, how the various "types" ("Public", "Private", "Home", etc.) deal with security issues but, again, I'd have to go back and refresh my memory as it's been awhile since I had to contend with all of that.

Also, a handy free tool for scanning your network and seeing shared resources is the SoftPerfect Network Scanner which you can find here: http://www.softperfect.com/products/networkscanner/. It may not help you with your curent problem directly but it can at least show you a semi-OS-objective view of your entire network faster than using ping alone.

-Mike

 

[djhill8262]

Mike,
I ran the tool (after being prompted by NIS to allow it to run), and it did show all the computers.

Shortly thereafter however, NIS reported an "HTTP Nukesploit" attack originating on my computer. Is the latest download infected, or does the tool's behavior coincidentally match that of the reported infection?

BTW, the situation has degraded: now, neither XP computer can even browse WORKGROUP - they both now get an access error.

Since the Vista and Win7 computers are fine, I assume it is a setting in XP SP3 that didn't matter with the old router and access point, but does matter with the E3000.

Other steps I have taken:

• Removed the NWLINK service and IPX/SPX protocol from the XP machine that had the shared folders (this was probably vestigial, from Win98)
• Restarted all computers and the entire stack
• removed shares, rebooted, and re-added shares
• removed File Sharing Service, rebooted, and re-added service

If I can't resolve quickly I'll have to take the E3000 back and try something else.

 

[djhill8262]

OK, here's the latest...

Step 0: Used Cisco Connect to disable Guest access on the E3000. Replaced NAV 2008 with NIS 2011 on the XP Desktop. Set the network on all NIS installations to Full Trust and ensured all other internal firewalls were disabled. These actions by themselves had no effect.

Step 1: I manually removed all shares from the XP Desktop, then removed the File Sharing service on both XP machines. Next, I moved both XP machines to "Workgroup2" and reinstalled the File Sharing service. After rebooting, they were able to see each other in Workgroup2, though they still could not access "Workgroup". I added one of the shares on the XP Desktop, and the XP Netbook was able to access it.

Step 2: I moved the two XP computers back to "Workgroup". As before, they still could not access it and sharing no longer worked.

Step 4: I moved all four computers to "Workgroup2", and was able to view and access all computers and shares. I also accessed the E3000's Storage Administration, and changed that to "Workgroup2" as well (it has no storage devices attached). Netscan now shows all devices as members of "Workgroup2" (except the print server and slingbox, which are blank).

So with all computers now in Workgroup2, everything is working as expected. However when I travel to do training, I typically need to connect as a member of Workgroup; the same may apply to my son's laptop, and my wife's Netbook, so this workaround is not really acceptable.

However, it may be that it was simply the act of moving all 4 machines to a different network than the one they were on, so they were effectively joining a "new" network, that caused things to be rescanned and start working. If so, moving them all back to Workgroup (at the same time) may work. I'll try that later.

Can someone with Admin-level experience comment?

Also, I'd like an answer to the question about the "HTTP Nukesploit" report that occurred the first time I ran netscan (this hasn't recurred, but that may be because if there was malware embedded in it, it has already accomplished its purpose ;-).

 

[Mike_G_D]

I doubt that there is malware on the Netscan download - I haven't seen any myself and I am pretty paranoid about such things - and the Soft Perfect company site seems pretty high quality and secure. I rather think that the constant pinging that Netscan uses to scan the network is being misinterpreted by NIS to be a network attack. If it reoccurs try the "Stop Scanning" button on NetScan and see if the warning goes away. I really don't think you have anything to worry about with this tool. Of course I use it primarily with Microsoft Security Essentials and Webroot AV/Spysweeper so I can't speak for how NIS sees it. I do have another computer with NIS 2010 on it that I could try with Netscan to see if I get the same effect though even if I do my first thought would be as I described above - the constant pinging of the network by Netscan being interpreted as a network attack.

As to the rest - you seemed to have gone to considerable lengths to troubleshoot your issue - I wouldn't have bothered removing the shares as you did! Anyway, what you describe sounds very similar to what I had to go through at first when introducing a Vista machine into my then XP Pro only populated network. This is why I made my initial suggestion to you concerning the network type changes in Vista and 7. I still think this is possibly where you have your primary issue but I can't easily explain why the router change seemed to initiate the problem. However, in terms of Windows and networks, it is advisable to re-run the Network Setup Wizard in XP after major changes. Be aware that that will reset the network name to "Workgroup" by default each time so if you have changed it it will need to be reentered. Also, I seem to recall that Vista and 7 have a different default name so you should check that (it's been awhile since I went through all of this). In any case, my procedure would be as follows:

1) Shut everything down and pull the power plug on the router. Wait a few minutes and then plug in and power up the router - wait until the router has settled down (see router instructions - usually when the lights stop flashing erratically etc.) before proceeding to the next step.

2) Power XP PC#1 up and reset the network settings including network name, DHCP settings, type, file and printer sharing, etc. When finished, shut down and proceed to the rest of the XP PC's. Repeat for each XP PC.

3) Power Vista/7 PC#1 up and go into the Network Connections settings. Make sure the network type is set for "Home" or "Private" (can't recall - something like that) and set the name to match that of the same one the XP machines will use (i.e. if you use "Workgroup" then name it that in the Vista/7 machines as well). Vista/7 have separate settings for enabling how network types handle various things like file and printer sharing so you need to make sure this is enabled correctly. It's a little different in 7 versus Vista and both are very different from XP so use the Windows Help feature to research this and set correctly (my memory is faulty here and I don't currently have immediate access to my Vista and 7 machines to test the procedure for you). I did this a lot (used Windows Help) when first setting up a mixed OS network (even a Mac OSX machine added!). If you search Windows Help in Vista and 7 and look for networking with older and different OS's you should find some good info that can assist you in setting up your network. Again, once finished, shut down and proceed to the next 7/Vista machine until all are done.

4) At this point all of your machines should be set and powered off. Now power up PC#1 wait until the network connection appears connected and stable. When ready, proceed to PC#2 and repeat, continue until all PC's have been powered up and their network connections are stable, etc.

5) Wait a few minutes - Windows 7 and Vista both will take a little longer to recognize the shared folders and files of older Windows OS's so give it at least a few minutes without any activity on your part (leave the machines alone).

6) Go into the Windows 7 and Vista machines and open the Network Connections settings and look at the window that shows the connected devices ("Show all devices" or some such). When everything is settled down and operating correctly you should be able to see the XP machines on the Vista and 7 machines and access their folders, etc., though in some cases you may have to log in using the machine's password (if any) but this is usually only in the case of an XP machine trying to access a Vista or 7 machine's shared resources and not usually the reverse.

If all is well you should now be able to access each machine's shared resources on every other machine - be aware of what I wrote above that, in some cases, usually when looking from an XP machine into a Vista or 7 machine, you may need the password of the target machine for complete access.

Again, I am going at this thinking that your primary problem is not the router and is in the mixed OS nature of your network. I think that the router change simply threw a random element into the network stability (it was shut down, router replaced, powered back up, etc.) but that the primary underlying cause of your problems is more to do with the OS differences in terms of network handling of shared resources. Of course I could be wrong but it wouldn't hurt to go through these steps as a start.

When I make a major change to any network component I find it good practice to reset the network settings on the affected machines (rerun Network Connection Wizard on the XP machines and reset the network types and privacy settings for those types in each Vista and 7 machine) and shut down and restart sequentially each component giving each in turn time to settle before moving on to the next. I also give the Vista and 7 machines extra time to recognize completely the XP machines. Since my initial experience of chaos very similar to what you are describing nearly a year ago, after following these steps I have since experienced many months of relative "network peace" that persist to this day (knock on silicon;-))!

Baring this advice - if this doesn't work - I am at a loss, at least for now, sorry!

Good luck and hope you get it all sorted out!

-Mike

 

[djhill8262]

Thanks for the details Mike. I've made some progress.

I was curious why at one point, when all the computers were in Workgroup2, that "Workgroup" still showed up in Explorer under the list of networks, but only on the two XP machines. Netscan showed this group association as well, which I then realized was the E3000 itself, in its role as a potential NAS server. However there was no storage device attached.

Could this in itself cause the access error? If so, should users be advised that if they don't plan to host any storage, that they should to go to the E3000 Storage Administration page and change the workgroup name to something other than their actual workgroup name?

In my case, I changed it to "Workgroupx", though perphaps something like "StorageGroup" would be more meaningful, especially if the Workgroup computers could still access any storage I might install in the future.

Anyway, I tried the steps in your note and was unable to get things working. I repeated my original approach however (after the above change and a router reboot), and at least got my original Workgroup reestablished to the point where the XP machines not longer get access errors, and most machines can access the shares on the XP desktop. The steps I used on each machine were:

• remove any shares I had set up on any folders
• uninstalled the File and Printer Sharing service
• Accessed Computer Name properties page to change the workgroup name
• Shut Down

After all 4 were done, I reversed the process:

• Started computer (now coming up in new Workgroup)
• Reinstalled File and Printer Sharing service
• Checked visibility

At this point, the XP machines could see each other, and the Win7 and Vista machines could see each other, but initially these two cliques wouldn't interact.

Next I re-added the shared folders on the XP desktop, and the XP netbook could see and access them. After aabout an hour, the Win7 machine joined this clique, and could also access the shares. But six hours later, the Vista machine is still clueless. Netscan shows everything of course, and I used it to set up a mapped drive on the Vista machine to one of the shared folders.

Other possibly relevant facts:

• The was all working fine with the BEFRS41/WAP54G combo
• I can ping all machines by IP address, but not by name
• On the Vista machine I can set up mapped drives to the XP's shared folders, but again, only by IP address.
• At one point I removed NWLink from the XP desktop. Now, nbtstat -r only shows the printserver's name being resolved.
• The two XP machines, being SP3, lack the LLTD responder.

So,

• Is it possible the NetBIOS in NWLink was providing some kind of name caching? If so, should I reinstall the protocol driver (I don't think it is available on Win7)?
• Should I request and apply the KB922120 hotfix to get LLTD onto the XP machines?

Perhaps in the morning, "by name" access will have returned, as it did on my first go-round. Needless to say this has been a real pain, what with all the reboots required. At least now I remember to hit F8 so I can select Safe Mode with Networking...

Update in the morning: the Win7 and both XP computers can now see all four computers, but cannot access the share on the Vista machine. The Vista computer only sees the Win7 computer, the printserver, and the E3000. I stlll cannot ping by name.

Unrelated (?) question: in Netscan, the Vista machine's hostname appears with its DNS suffix (i.e., as a FQDN; ping -a also shows this), but the other computers do not (just show as local machine names). Any idea why? BTW, even though it looks like a FQDN I cannot ping it from my server's public network.

 

[ciscolou]

DHCP caching?

I just noticed that the ip of the router is 192.168.1.1 so I changed it back to 192.168.0.1 and voila. I'm sure if you just came up with a new SSID then this wouldnt be an issue but I, like most of you it seems wanted to keep things the same. Must be something in windows that caches settings when you start filesharing and I really have know idea... but it worked!