Vista and XP Network and Printer Problems SOLVED

Hi All:

Here is a list of steps that were required to get my new VISTA Premium Home
Laptop to work on our existing network populated with XP Pro boxes. It is a
university network. I am skipping the obvious steps because this advice is
spread all over the web like:
1. Make sure all the computers are connected
2. Make sure the router is turned on
3. Make sure the workgroups are the same on all the computers
4. Make sure all systems are uptodate

1. Getting LLTD to install when it is missing from XP SP3. Cannot install
after SP3 is downloaded unless manually copied into the directories. The MS
hotfix fails to install properly either. You can install the LLTD protocol
in the TCP/IP properties, but it will be gone the next time you enter the
properties. No error message is ever given by XP.

On the XP Machines where LLTD is uninstallable

A. Save the LLTD update WindowsXP-KB922120-v5-x86-ENU.exe to your hard disk.
A good location is C:\
B. Enter the command prompt and unpack it by entering
C:\WindowsXP-KB922120-v5-x86-ENU.exe -xC:\WindowsXP-KB922120-v5-x86-ENU
C. Copy the following files to these locations
1. C:\WindowsXP-KB922120-v5-x86-ENU\SP2QFE\rspndr.sys ->
C:\windows\system32\drivers
2. C:\WindowsXP-KB922120-v5-x86-ENU\SP2QFE\rspndr.exe ->
C:\windows\system32\
3. C:\WindowsXP-KB922120-v5-x86-ENU\SP2QFE\rspndr.inf -> C:\windows\inf
4. Reboot
5. Install the LLTD protocol in the TCP/IP properties and verify that it is
there after exiting the properties.
If all is successful you will now see the computers on the network map.

If not, you can try to uninstall SP3 and reinstalling all the security
updates (will take a couple of hours so avoid this step if you can).

Machines are still invisible
Go into the TCP/IP properties and ensure that
1. subnet mask is set to 255.255.255.0 and not 255.255.0.0 that windoze
picks as a default
2. advanced->wins check enable NetBios over TCP/IP
3. The networking in Vista is much less efficient than XP/Pro so if your
computers are on different subnets, it times out for large networks. This
presents a problem if some computers use static and others use dynamic ip. I
had to set the Vista notebook to a static ip, so it was on the same subnet
as the other network computers. This was not the case for the laptop that
had XP Pro which this system is replacing. There are many other missing
network capabilities of Vista as well, such as having a workgroup folder
that you could drag onto your desktop.

Getting vista recognize a plugnplay printer on an XP Pro box.
1. Forget about adding the printer driver through the network. Vista cannot
do this, while XP Pro could. Instead connect the printer directly to the
vista box, let the printer be recognized and install the printer driver.
2. Now hook your computer back to the network and the printer back to the XP
host.
2. Go to printer in the control panel
3. Add a printer
4. Add a local printer (counter intuitive but it works)
5. Create a new port, pick local port
6. Type \\computer name\printer name (before trying this be sure that the
computer is listed in the network list and when you open it you see the
printer) use the names of the printer and computer just as they appear in
the network list.

This troubleshooting required 2 full work days, so much for MS misleading
ads about enhancing office productivity. I am not satisfied that the laptop
had to be switched from dynamic ip to static ip to network effectively, so
Vista is much worse on the large networks that you find at most
universities. Hope that I can save you some time and frustrations in 2009.

Happy Computing!!!

Pete

"Pete" <peter.harrington@ohio.edu> wrote in message
news:7D713D56-8AE2-47D7-A13B-9A5157A73574@microsoft.com...
> Hi:
>
> I have XP Pro on a desktop and Vista 64 Home on my laptop. They both are
> connected by ethernet to the same switch. Both computer belong to the
> same workgroup. Vista can find just about every computer on campus except
> my XP box. The XP machine can find all the workgroup computers except for
> my Vista laptop. Both systems are uptodate with plethoria of windows
> updates, so can someone explain why they cannot find each other when they
> the are about 1 foot apart. I dont believe it is a firewall problem
> because they can each find all the other computers on the network
> including computers in the same workgroup.
>
> XP networking has always been horrible and in many cases you could search
> for a computer by name that did not appear and XP would find it. Vista
> seems to have lost this handy capability and the networking is much worse.
> For example, even if you only are interested in computers in your
> workgroup it searches all the computers and just filters them. It also
> seems to forget where the computers are located each time and sometime it
> will find a computer and other times not.
>
> Any help would be much appreciated.
>
> TIA,
>
> Pete