Network help, 2 comps cant see each other

I cant figure out what is going on here. i have 2 win98se computers networked through a 5 port hub that worked fine until a few days ago. for some reason they suddenly cant see each other any more.

both of them are in workgroup HOMENET and the ip adresses are 192.168.0.1 (computer 1) and 192.168.0.2 (computer 2). computer 1 is also connected to a shared printer and is the internet connection sharing. when i open the network neighborhood icon i can only the computer i am on and the entire network icon. when i double click entire network and it shows HOMENET.

computer 1 can see computer 1 and HOMENET and can only connect to computer 2 by computer name or ip address, not through network neigborhood. computer 2 can see computer 2 and HOMENET, but CANT access computer 1, its printer or use ics through it.

i have tried everything i can think of and i cant figure out what is wrong.
thanks for any help

[Bires]

This happens most often when a network card has its drivers reinstalled or the network card itself is changed. If this doesn't apply...then I'm sorry...you're hosed.

My recommendation is to uninstall the protocals and then the cards and delete relevant files from system32. Then do a reinstall from scratch.

I wish I had a better solution, but this is the only way that I've gotten really stubborn networks to work.

[OC]

First - when you have a Win9x-only network, some boxes can take up to 10 minutes to show up in Network Neighborhood. If they still don't show up, try this:

Power down the offending box. Remove the network card. Boot up in Safe Mode. Remove the NIC from Device Manager. While you are here, check for duplicate entries - Win98 loves to load, say, three LPT1s and such. Remove ALL BUT ONE of everything that has more than one entry - EXCEPT - STAY AWAY from System Devices - some things are SUPPOSED to show up more than once. Just stay out of System Devices in Device Manager or you might have to reinstall the OS. Also remove any refernces to old hardware that show up here - like an old CDROM (or whatever) you use to have installed.

Ok - rebooot into normal mode. The NIC is out at this point. Get to a stable desktop, then shuit down and replace the NIC. Boot up and reinstall the NIC driver.

This general procedure has cleared up a bunch of Win98 problems for me. Good luck.

-OC

[Doomer]

If you are using ICS then the second comp should obtain it's ip address automatically. The comp sharing it's internet connection should always be 192.168.0.1. If you try it any other way, it ain't gonna work.

Originally posted by Bires
This happens most often when a network card has its drivers reinstalled or the network card itself is changed. If this doesn't apply...then I'm sorry...you're hosed.

My recommendation is to uninstall the protocals and then the cards and delete relevant files from system32. Then do a reinstall from scratch.

I wish I had a better solution, but this is the only way that I've gotten really stubborn networks to work.

i didnt change or reinstall anything before the problem occured. but i already tried uninstall everything and reinstall it on both computers, so i dont think thats the problem. thanks

Originally posted by overclocked
First - when you have a Win9x-only network, some boxes can take up to 10 minutes to show up in Network Neighborhood. If they still don't show up, try this:

Power down the offending box. Remove the network card. Boot up in Safe Mode. Remove the NIC from Device Manager. While you are here, check for duplicate entries - Win98 loves to load, say, three LPT1s and such. Remove ALL BUT ONE of everything that has more than one entry - EXCEPT - STAY AWAY from System Devices - some things are SUPPOSED to show up more than once. Just stay out of System Devices in Device Manager or you might have to reinstall the OS. Also remove any refernces to old hardware that show up here - like an old CDROM (or whatever) you use to have installed.

Ok - rebooot into normal mode. The NIC is out at this point. Get to a stable desktop, then shuit down and replace the NIC. Boot up and reinstall the NIC driver.

This general procedure has cleared up a bunch of Win98 problems for me. Good luck.

-OC

Thanks OC, im gonna try that as soon as i get a chance.

Originally posted by Doomer
If you are using ICS then the second comp should obtain it's ip address automatically. The comp sharing it's internet connection should always be 192.168.0.1. If you try it any other way, it ain't gonna work.

The computer that connects to the internet connection is 192.168.0.1. the other one is 192.168.0.2. i dont believe the problem lies within ics, but within the network problem. ics should work fine if the network works properly.

[billxp]

Have you tried a crossover cable to take the hub out of the equation?

Originally posted by billxp
Have you tried a crossover cable to take the hub out of the equation?

no, i havent. for 2 reasons. first its too far and wired so idiodicly (sp?) through my house, that it would take too long, and second, the connection seems to work perfectly if i use a program such as pcanywhere.

so it seems to be a windows problem (big surprise), and not a hardware problem. it just doesnt add up to me and its driving me crazy. pcanywhere can see the computers, but windows cant. oh well, i think its time for my semi annual complete backup and system restore. for some reason these seem to be becoming more and more frequent as i learn more and more about computers . but i still want to fix this problem just so i feel better.