Basic Troubleshooting for Networking

This section provides basic troubleshooting information for installing network components with Windows 95. For additional information about troubleshooting for particular networks, see the chapters in Oart 3, "Networking." For information about general troubleshooting procedures and the supporting tools provided with Windows 95, see Chapter 35, "General Troubleshooting"; for information about troubleshooting network problems, see online Help.

When troubleshooting network problems, start by verifying the network operations status prior to and during the error condition. To evaluate the network problem, check these factors:

• Did the network work before? If so, what has changed? If any hardware or software has been added or removed, reset the original network hardware or software, and try again.
• If the network was provided by another vendor, was it installed previously and working? If not, reinstall the other vendor's network. Verify that the network operates correctly. Reinstall Windows 95.
• Has any network cable been moved or added? Check cables, connections, and terminators.
• Have any protocols been added or removed? Check protocol settings, protocol bindings, and the compatibility of the protocol with the network.
• Are the network adapter settings correct? Check network adapter settings. Consult the documentation for the correct settings. Reset the adapter settings to the correct values if necessary. Restart the computer and try again.
• Has any network adapter been moved or added? Check the adapter connection, and check any other working adapter.
• Are the network connections live? Look at the status lights on the back of the network adapter or on the media attachment unit. If the status lights show activity, the connection is live. If the status lights show no activity, disconnect and reconnect the network cable and check for activity. If the lights on the adapter are off, try a different network outlet.

Check domain or server validation.

Verify that the network domain or server is validating the user account. If the logon isn't validated, connections to required servers cannot be made, login scripts won't run, and so on. If the network domain or server doesn't validate the account, perform each of the following procedures.

To check the logon setting

1. In the Network option in Control Panel, double-click the network client (for example, Client for NetWare Networks or Client for Microsoft Networks).
2. In General properties, do the following:
   • For Client for Microsoft Networks, verify that logon validation is enabled and that the correct domain name or preferred server is shown.
   • For Client for NetWare Networks, verify that the correct server is specified as the Preferred Server.

To check the user and workgroup names

• In the Network option in Control Panel, click the Identification tab. Check the computer name and workgroup name.

Also check basic logon requirements. For example, verify that the user password and the domain or preferred server account are correct, and test basic network functionality, such as viewing or connecting to other servers.

Check connections to network resources.

Determine whether domains, workgroups, and workstations appear in Network Neighborhood. If they appear, try connecting to a server or workstation. If they do not appear, then verify that at least one server exists on the local network and that client services and protocols are installed. Also, check cable termination.

If you cannot connect to the server or workstation you want, review the error messages. At the command prompt, use the net use command (as described in Chapter 11, "Logon, Browsing, and Resource Sharing") to verify that you can connect to at least one server and workstation. If you cannot connect to any server or workstation, then check workgroup assignment, domain assignment, domain logon, and basic network operations.

If you still cannot connect, determine whether you can connect to a server from another computer. If this doesn't work, it probably indicates a problem with the server you are trying to connect to, or with the cabling or routing to that server.

Verify that the File and Printer Sharing service appears in the list of installed network components to ensure that peer resource sharing is enabled. Also verify that the correct settings for the browsing method are configured in the properties for the File and Printer Sharing service. For information, see Chapter 11, "Logon, Browsing, and Resource Sharing."

Check network adapter and protocol configuration.

The following procedure summarizes how to check settings for network adapters. For more information about configuring network adapters, or for detailed troubleshooting steps for protocols, see Chapter 12, "Network Technical Discussion."

Note If the network adapter is not terminated, Windows 95 stalls during system startup (similar to Windows for Workgroups 3.11). To test whether this is causing a computer to stall, try terminating the network adapter directly.

To check network adapter settings

1. In the Network option in Control Panel, double-click the entry for the network adapter in the list of installed components.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and verify that each entry in the Property area has an appropriate value specified in the Value area. For information, see your hardware documentation.
3. Click the Resources tab, and then verify that the configuration type, I/O address range, and IRQ are correct. Again, for information, see your hardware documentation.
4. Click the Driver Type tab, and then verify that the appropriate driver type is selected. (If you are using a protected-mode network client, the default is an Enhanced Mode NDIS Driver.)
5. Click the Bindings tab, and verify that each protocol is checked. If a protocol is not checked, that protocol is not providing network functionality using that adapter.

Check real-mode network components.

To check basic network communications, you can use the net diag command with a second computer connected to the same local network. As a diagnostic tool, net diag can assist you in troubleshooting network connectivity problems by establishing a diagnostic server and then verifying that the local computer can connect to this server.

To establish a diagnostic server on a second local computer

1. At the command prompt, type:

• net diag

2. When a message appears showing you the protocols in use, press one of the numbers indicated in the message to specify the protocol to test.
3. When a message appears prompting you to specify whether a diagnostic server exists, press N.

To verify that the diagnostic server is detected in a Windows 95 VM

1. On the computer that is not the diagnostic server, at the command prompt, type:

• net diag

A message appears showing the protocols in use.
2. To specify the protocol to test, type one of the numbers in the message for the protocol used on the diagnostic server.
3. A message appears stating that the diagnostic server has been detected.

To reinstall the protected-mode drivers in Windows 95

1. In the Network option in Control Panel, make note of each installed component.
2. For each component, click the component, and then click the Remove button.
3. Install the components by following the procedure named "To install networking components after Windows 95 is installed" in "Installing Network Components" earlier in this chapter.