The 1st issue is I have a Dell p3 833 (or 866?) - the network card (fast eithernet) seems to always pick an irq that is in use. the appears to be causing a problem preventing the computer from accessing other computers on the network but other computers can access that one. I have tried setting the bios to plug and play os yes AND no (at seperate times) and have played the switch the card to other pci slots but can’t seem to get it alone. Also If I go to sytem setup and try to change the irq of the card or any other device that is using that irq it says that resorce can’t be modified.
I was considering just getting a usb to network adapter and bypass the whole irq issue but I don’t know much about them. Should I just get one of them or try to resolve the conflict (and how to do that), or should I look in another direction.
First, is this WIN9x? If not, you may need to ignore the rest of this.
If other computers on the LAN can see your computer and access it, then your network card is probably working OK. Many newer PCI type network cards seem to work fine sharing an IRQ with other devices, particularly video cards.
If you can’t browse the network using Network Neighborhood or Explorer, you may be signed on to your Windows session incorrectly (that is, as a default user, instead of as an actual user. Click on Start see what it says by “Log Off”. It should show your User Name. If not, log off, and log back on, this time with your user name (depending on how you set up your system, you may or may not need to type a password). Then see if anything is different.
If that doesn’t change anything, check your installed network components (right click on Network Neighborhood and select properties, or click on Network in the Control Panel). Make sure you have the proper clients and protocols installed, and check your Primary Network Logon. Compare these (and their properties) with one of the systems that does seem to be accessing the Lan.
Good luck, this can be a real pain to figure out. But try to log off/log back on first.
Ugly
it’s win me, and I use windows logon to avoid the sign on screen. When I go to network neighborhood I can see the other computers drives but when i try to open them it locks up. sometimes it will free itself in about 2-5 minutes.