# Windows 2003 SBS question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039 "2009-09-29T22:20:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/1 "2009-09-29T22:20:21Z")
I have a client who has an older system that is using Windows 2003 SBS. The server has died and we are attempting to replace it. We have a backup using Acronis, but there is some kind of corruption with the MBR, so we can’t re-image the server onto the new hardware, despite having Acronis’s URT available. Anyway, we put the new server back in place last night configured as close to how we understand the old server was working. We reinstalled all of the database programs and data, created the shares, etc. However, once we brought up the server we discovered none of the machines would connect to the share. It seems that the machines are all Windows XP Home, and that some how they were able to access the shares on the SBS server despite this. We however were unable to get this to work. We can ping the server. We are resolving the server name and also the forwarders are working using the SBS servers DNS. But when you try and access the share you don’t even get an authentication box…just a message that the path was not found. I know the share is working because I can resolve it from the SBS server. I’m recommending to the customer that they get XP Pro or Vista Business or better asap, but in the mean time I need to get this working if possible. I’m completely exhausted at this point and may be missing something simple here, so figured I’d see if some of the 'dopes Windows guru’s know an easy way to do this. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Otanx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Otanx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otanx)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/2 "2009-09-30T09:50:01Z")
Can you ping the workstations from the server? Check the systems for firewall being turned on. If the new server is on a different IP, or has a new name it might be blocked at the PC. I have always hated using XP Home with a server. -Otanx ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/3 "2009-09-30T19:59:58Z")
Can you even get a share listing? try \IPaddress not \NETBIOSNAME Home is fine, it just cant joint the domain, but it can access a share fine. Double check firewall settings too. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/4 "2009-09-30T20:32:16Z")
Thanks for the responses. I’ll try and answer the questions in the hope that someone can stumble on what is going wrong here. [QUOTE=Otanx] Can you ping the workstations from the server? [/QUOTE] Yes, the server can ping the workstation, as well as vice versa. In fact, they all seem to be able to resolve perfectly, so WINS and DNS seem to be functioning as they should be. > [@](#): > > Check the systems for firewall being turned on. One of the first things I checked. The firewall is off of the server (it’s behind a firewall), and also off on the workstations. > [@](#): > > I have always hated using XP Home with a server. I’ve actually never even used XP Home, either professionally or personally. It came as a bit of a shock that their entire office was using it. For that matter, I’m not actually that familiar with SBS either. [QUOTE=HorseloverFat] Can you even get a share listing? try \IPaddress not \NETBIOSNAME [/QUOTE] Tried that as well. I even changed the share from being a hidden share to being an open one. Basically whether you do \\\share or \\\share you get the same thing…about a 30 second delay and then an error box saying the path could not be found. No authentication box at all. If you run it from the server, however, it works fine. There IS one other weird thing. Not sure if it matters as the layer 2 stuff seems to be working fine, but there are two network cards in the server. The first card (192.168.1.1 /24) is attached to the external firewall. The second NIC (192.168.2.1 /24) is attached to the switch for the users network. The users however are able to resolve both internal and external IP addresses, so it seems to be all working. Also, the workstations are statically addressed. They seem to be configured correctly, however, with the server (192.168.2.1) as their gateway and DNS. > [@](#): > > Home is fine, it just cant joint the domain, but it can access a share fine. Double check firewall settings too. I’ve never used it, but it’s set us back a bit since we still haven’t been able to get it to work. We were told we had to do something with the SBS client connections wizard to get the machines to work, and needed to manually put the workstations IP addresses as A records into the DNS (this is what the IT guy who was there before said), but even doing this it doesn’t seem to do anything. -XT ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/5 "2009-09-30T20:42:53Z")
> [@](#): > > The first card (192.168.1.1 /24) is attached to the external firewall. The second NIC (192.168.2.1 /24) Those are two different subnets, assuming a 255.255.255.0 subnet mask. Are you running RRAS on there? Heck, for testing I would disable that other network interface and see if you have a routing issue. Perhaps you can try putting the server name in the hosts file to make sure its not a resolution issue. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/6 "2009-09-30T20:46:21Z")
This might be your issue: A particular folder when shared with “Everyone” permission is accessibe without authentication from a Windows XP Home machine–even with the GUest account disabled on the server. But when that folder is later shared with “Domain User” permission it becomes inaccessible–without an authentication prompt. [http://www.eggheadcafe.com/forumarchives/windowsserversbs/Jan2006/post26145447.asp](http://www.eggheadcafe.com/forumarchives/windowsserversbs/Jan2006/post26145447.asp) ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/7 "2009-09-30T20:50:21Z")
[QUOTE=HorseloverFat] Those are two different subnets, assuming a 255.255.255.0 subnet mask. Are you running RRAS on there? Heck, for testing I would disable that other network interface and see if you have a routing issue. Perhaps you can try putting the server name in the hosts file to make sure its not a resolution issue. [/QUOTE] As far as I know you shouldn’t need RRAS on the server to do what they are trying to do. Since both networks are directly connected, and since the clients are using the server as a gateway (and DNS), and the server is using the firewall as a gateway, there is no need for internal routing on the server. > [@](#): > > A particular folder when shared with “Everyone” I haven’t read the article yet, but I do remember that the shared folder had the group ‘Everyone’ in it. I’ll check it out and cross my fingers it’s something like that. 🙂 BTW, thanks muchly for the help and effort. Appreciated. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/8 "2009-09-30T21:03:48Z")
Have you done IPCONFIG /RENEW on all workstations? SBS likes to be the DHCP server and might be objecting to leases it did not issue. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/9 "2009-09-30T21:09:57Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > I’m recommending to the customer that they get XP Pro or Vista Business or better asap, but in the mean time I need to get this working if possible. I can understand XP Pro, but you must be kidding about Vista. So far, I’m completely won over by Windows 7. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/10 "2009-09-30T21:26:32Z")
I’m not saying I recommend Vista Business…but you need Vista Business or better to put it on a domain. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Aestivalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Aestivalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aestivalis)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/11 "2009-10-01T01:23:10Z")
Can you test a quick workaround as noted here: [http://lists.samba.org/archive/samba/2003-April/066197.html](http://lists.samba.org/archive/samba/2003-April/066197.html) Try specifying the username/password with a net use command: net use x: \servername\sharename /user:username password ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/12 "2009-10-01T01:24:25Z")
Actually tried that. It came back with an odd error…from memory it was something like ‘network path not found’. -XT ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-2003-sbs-question/512039/13 "2009-10-01T01:56:02Z")
Do you have the workgroup the same for the SBS server and all the clients? I’ve found that XP home can be picky about being part of the right workgroup.