Troubleshooting Basic Networking Configuration

This section provides basic troubleshooting information for installing network components and solving connectivity problems. The section describes general factors to check and then describes in more detail how to check specific elements of your networking configuration.

For additional information about troubleshooting for particular networks, see Chapter 16, "Windows 98 on Microsoft Networks," and Chapter 17, "Windows 98 on Third-Party Networks." For information about general troubleshooting procedures and the supporting tools provided with Windows 98, see Chapter 27, "General Troubleshooting." See also online Help.

When troubleshooting network installation and connectivity problems, start by verifying the network operations status prior to and during the error condition. To evaluate the network problem, consider the following questions:

• 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.
• Have any protocols been added or removed? In the Network option in Control Panel, check protocol settings, protocol bindings, and the compatibility of the protocol with the network.
• If you installed a new network component, did it install correctly? Are there duplicate network components or conflicting devices? Check the Microsoft System Information utility to find problem devices and device conflicts. If you find problems, you can change your settings from within Device Manager. For more information about Microsoft System Information, see Chapter 27, "General Troubleshooting."
• Are the network adapter settings correct? Check network adapter settings in Device Manager. 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? Are other nearby network connections working? Check the adapter connection, and check any other working adapter.
• Has any network cable been moved or added? Check cables, connections, and terminators.
• Are the network connections alive? 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.
• 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 98.

Tip

You can quickly view, print, and save information about all your network components by using the Microsoft System Information utility. For more information about Microsoft System Information, see Chapter 27, "General Troubleshooting."

The following sections describe in more detail how to check specific elements of your network configuration.

Note

On a clean installation, Windows 98 does not configure Client for Microsoft Networks to log on to a Windows NT domain. If you want Client for Microsoft Networks to log on to a Windows NT domain, follow the instructions in the procedure "To check the logon setting," later in this chapter.

Check domain or server validation.

Verify that the network domain or server is validating the user account. If the logon is not validated, connections to required servers cannot be made, logon scripts will not run, and so on. If the network domain or server does not validate the account, perform each of the following procedures.

To check the logon setting

1. In Control Panel, double-click Network, and then click the Configuration tab.
2. Double-click the network client (for example, Client for Microsoft Networks or Microsoft Client for NetWare Networks).
3. Click the Properties button and then do the following:
   • For Client for Microsoft Networks, verify that logon validation is enabled and that the correct domain name is shown.
   • For Microsoft Client for NetWare Networks, verify that the correct server is specified as the preferred server.
4. If you are running Service for NetWare Directory Services, double-click Service for NetWare Directory Services and verify that the correct tree and context are specified.

To check the user and workgroup names

• In Control Panel, double-click Network, and then 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.

You can also make Windows 98 display a dialog box that lists the server that validates a Windows 98 client logging on to a Microsoft Windows NT or LAN Manager domain. To do so, use Registry Editor to add a DWORD value named DomainLogonMessage to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Network\Logon

Set the data value for DomainLogonMessage to 1.

For more information about this procedure, see Knowledge Base Article Q150898, "How to Display Domain Logon Confirmation in Windows 95."

Check connections to network resources.

Double-click Network Neighborhood on your desktop and determine whether domains, workgroups, and workstations appear. If they appear, try connecting to a server or workstation. If they do not appear, verify that at least one server exists on the local network and that client services and protocols are installed. If no resources appear in Network Neighborhood but all connectivity appears to be working, attempt to access a network resource by mapping to it using the Map Network Drive dialog box or by choosing Start/Run from the taskbar and typing in the universal naming convention (UNC) syntax of the resource (\\computername\sharename). If you can connect, browsing is an issue. Also, check cable termination.

Tip

You can access the Map Network Drive dialog box either by right-clicking the Network Neighborhood icon and then selecting Map Network Drive, or by selecting Map Network Drive from the Tools menu in Windows Explorer. You can also make the Map Drive button appear on the Windows Explorer toolbar by clicking the View menu and then clicking Folder Options.

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 18, "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, 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 does not work, it probably indicates a problem with the server you are trying to connect to, or with the cabling or routing to that server.

If you are connecting to resources on a Windows 95 or Windows 98 server running file and printer sharing, verify that the file and printer sharing service appears in the list of installed network components on the server 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 on that server. Finally, verify that something is being shared on the server. For information, see Chapter 18, "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 15, "Network Adapters and Protocols."

Note

On networks with a bus topology, if the network adapter is not properly terminated both on the client and on the server, the Windows 98 networking component might not initialize during system startup. Make sure the network segment is terminated properly.

To check network adapter settings

1. In Control Panel, double-click Network, and then 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 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.)
4. Click the Bindings tab, and verify that each protocol is checked. If a protocol is not checked, it is not providing network functionality using that adapter.
5. In Control Panel, double-click System, and then select the Device Manager tab.
6. Expand the Network adapters tree, click the adapter you wish to check, and then click Properties.
7. Click the Resources tab, if it exists, and verify that the configuration type, I/O address range, and interrupt request (IRQ) are correct. Device Manager will also report any device conflicts and enable you to resolve those device conflicts by changing your settings. For information about the settings required for your specific adapter, see your hardware documentation. For information about using Device Manager, see Chapter 24, "Device Management."

Check real-mode network components.

To check basic network communications, at the command prompt you can use the net diag command with a second computer connected to the same local network segment. 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.

Note

In order for net diag to work, you must be running either the Internet Packet Exchange (IPX) or NetBIOS extended user interface (NetBEUI) protocol.

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 the first letter of the protocol 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

1. On the computer you are trying to troubleshoot, at the command prompt, type:

   net diag

2. When a message appears showing the protocols in use, specify the same protocol to test as that of the diagnostic server established in the previous procedure.

   A message should appear stating that the diagnostic server has been detected. If a message appears stating that no diagnostic servers have been detected, there may be a problem with the network adapter, configuration, or cables.

To remove and reinstall the protected-mode drivers in Windows 98

1. In Control Panel, double-click Network, and make note of each installed component.
2. For each component, click the component, and then click Remove.
3. Install the components by following the procedure "To install networking components after Windows 98 is installed" in "Installing Networking Components" earlier in this chapter.

Caution

Removing your network components causes you to lose network connectivity. You will not be able to reinstall your network components over the network. Make sure you have your original installation media available before removing your network components.

Additional Resources