Windows Vista Seeing Other Computers and Servers

[Raymond Zachary]

I have two Compacs running XP, three Macs running OS10.4.8, a SNAP server running some old version of SNAP OS, and a XIMETA NDAS server. I have installed Vista on a second clean drive of one of the Compacs and that went well. I finally got my network HP printer to be recognized and installed after downloading the Latest XP versions of the server driver and the printer driver. (Nothing comes on the Vista package as with the XP CD).

The problem is having anything resembling control of what the Vista machine sees on the network. For example, under Mac OS, one lists the IP addresses of Macs as
afp://<IP address> and Windows machines as smb://<IP address> and then one has virtually iron clad control of being able to see shared files on all those machine if they are turned on. As best I can tell, there is no equivalent thing under Windows. However, I can with irregularity see my Macs and PCs by clicking on the Network Icon on the desktop or the Network Icon in Control Panels. While I can see the SNAP server from XP reliably, I cannot get Vista to generate the right logon and password. I think the problem is that Vista puts a prefix on all logons which is the name of the Vista computer. I think the SNAP server does not like that. (The Macs and other PC will tolerate it). I have searched everywhere to figure out how to stop Vista from putting this prefix on the logon. It appears this is a security feature and might be removed if one could create a "Roaming" logon. However, that option is always "grayed out."

1.Does anyone have a clue about how to get reliable control of network computer and server accessibility?

2.Is there a way to get Vista to show all passwords being used for any purpose in the machine?

3.Is there a way to get Vista to show all logons from Vista as seen by the network?

4. Is there a way to get iron clad editing control of any of this stuff?

Thanks,

Ray Zachary

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you're facing some network and accessibility challenges with your Vista machine in a mixed environment with XP, Macs, a SNAP server, and a XIMETA NDAS server. I'll address each of your questions to help you gain better control over your network setup: 1. Achieving Reliable Network Accessibility: Windows Vista manages network access through a feature called Network Location Awareness which categorizes your network into different types (Home, Work, Public). To ensure reliable access to network resources and devices, follow these steps: - Set the network location type to either Home or Work for your local network to allow sharing and visibility of devices. - Ensure that network discovery, file sharing, and printer sharing are enabled in the Network and Sharing Center settings. - Check that the necessary services like TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper, DNS Client, Function Discovery Resource Publication, and SSDP Discovery are running. 2. Viewing Passwords in Windows Vista: Windows Vista does not provide a built-in solution to view saved passwords directly. However, you can use third-party tools like "Credential Manager" or "Password Managers" to manage and view saved passwords on your system. 3. Displaying User Logons for the Vista Machine: To view the list of user accounts or logons recognized by Windows Vista, you can access the User Accounts section in the Control Panel. Here, you can see and manage user accounts, but viewing network logons from other devices might not be directly available. 4. Gaining Editing Control: To have better control over network access and settings, consider the following: - Ensure that the necessary sharing permissions are correctly configured on shared folders and devices. - Check firewall settings to allow proper communication between devices on the network. - Use consistent workgroup names across all devices to simplify network browsing. - Use correct credentials when accessing shared resources that require authentication. - Consider creating a HomeGroup if applicable to simplify sharing among Windows devices. Additionally, for accessing the SNAP server with the correct credentials, you may need to ensure that the login prefix or domain is correctly set when authenticating with the server. This typically involves providing the correct username and password combination that the server recognizes. If you continue to experience issues with accessing network resources, consider checking event logs on both your Vista machine and the server for any error messages that might provide insights into authentication failures or connection issues.