# Weird networking problem. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-networking-problem/534164 "2010-03-29T01:19:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![figure9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@figure9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/figure9)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-networking-problem/534164/1 "2010-03-29T01:19:15Z")
At work we have a network with a main drive, called H:\ and a bunch of individual workstations. On every computer but mine you can access the computers in the network and drive H:. But on my computer I can’t access the individual computers unless I first access H:\ . After I have opened and closed H:\ I can see the whole network. If I don’t access H:\ first I get a message, “You do not have permission to access this resource.” (well that is how I remember it anyway). Oh you might want to know the operating system. It is Windows based and the workstations are running Win98, and Windows XP. My computer has XP on it. ---
**Author:** ![figure9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@figure9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/figure9)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-networking-problem/534164/2 "2010-03-29T01:21:43Z")
DOH! I put this in the wrong forum. My apologies to the mod who will have to move it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2010, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-networking-problem/534164/3 "2010-03-29T10:49:19Z")
You know where to send the bribe. I’m assuming you meant to put this in General Questions, so I’ve moved it there from Great Debates. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-networking-problem/534164/4 "2010-03-30T06:10:58Z")
No specific advice, other than to say IIRC Win98 and XP had some special tricks in order to network together. I never did get my setup to work. If accessing the H: drive is what it takes to make it work, well, at least it works. Is yours the only computer running XP? ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-networking-problem/534164/5 "2010-03-30T06:31:56Z")
Map the network drive H:\ from Windows Explorer to a local drive letter, and then set it to map permanently. That way you won’t have to manually open and close. Or create a batch file with net use. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2010, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-networking-problem/534164/6 "2010-03-30T06:52:45Z")
Check your domain/workgroup settings and compare it to the other computers (Right-Click on **My Computer** , select **Properties** from the menu, choose the _Computer Name_ tab). Also, look at the other machines to see if your username has been added as a local user, and compare the local user lists to the other machines. Otherwise, it may be an authentication protocol issue - LANMAN (weak) vs NTLM (better) which will require some registry hacking. Si ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-networking-problem/534164/7 "2010-04-01T05:21:23Z")
I dont know your setup, but it looks like H: is mapped by using some credentials like domain\username and password. When you click it, it maps the drive, and then windows goes “Oh, I’ll use these credentials on the network instead of the ones you logged in as.” Now you are using those credentials and that allows you access to the domain/workgroup you are trying to access. The fix here would be to log in as the same credentials you are using H for, but this business with win98 complicates matters. You really shouldnt even have a 12 year old on your network, it can only hurt and perhaps be the source of your problems. This is a problem for your IT guy.