"View workgroup computers" Error

Discussion in 'ESET Smart Security' started by stueycaster, Nov 10, 2007.

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  1. patch

    patch Registered Member

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    Thanks for clarifying.
    The aim is to demonstrate to ESET that the bug is consistent and reproducible across many users. Hopefully motivating them to find & fix it.
     
  2. Jenee

    Jenee Registered Member

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    I have not used EAV v3 but in Nod32 v2.7 there was a facility to repair the network which I found to be exceptionally good at fixing any network problems. Sometimes if my network did have various problems and the Windows network repair was not able to fix it, I would use the facility in Nod32 and it always worked. I wonder what this did exactly. Wish they would incorporate it into ESS perhaps.
     
  3. kC_

    kC_ Registered Member

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  4. Jenee

    Jenee Registered Member

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    I am probably convinced that workgroup computer error is a browser issue and even the shares are erratic in that one pc will show them and another will not and never has since ESS was installed.
    However, I have found that I can use the search facility to find computers on the network and access all the files. This will give me a temporary fix but can anyone tell me why a search will provide access but My Network Places cannot.
     
  5. kC_

    kC_ Registered Member

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    when i had the problem, mapped drives & previously made network shortcuts worked fine, only problemn was trying to list workgroups.
     
  6. sherryxp2000

    sherryxp2000 Registered Member

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    Mine won't even find nothing using a computer search.

    Only way I can get my EAV machine to find the Workgroup is if my laptop is on. And even then, I haven't tried yet to see if the laptop or the EAV PC has to be on first.

     
  7. sherryxp2000

    sherryxp2000 Registered Member

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    Alright, I have found when the Work Group works, and when it doesn't. At least in my case.

    EAV MACHINE IS OFF
    LAPTOP IS OFF

    Ok, I turn on my machine with EAV, and I get NO Workgroup when I try to view Workgroup. All I get is the ERROR Window for the view. I do a search, still nothing.

    I turn on my Laptop, and I view workgroup. Laptop sees ITSELF. Ok, normal. But still it doesn't see my other machine. By the way, NEVER no error windows on this laptop machine. I do a search, and again, all the laptop finds is itself.

    Ok now I REBOOT ONLY the EAV machine. I let it stop at the user logon.

    The Laptop has now found itself and the EAV machine now. I do a search, normal as suspected, it finds both. I can even add the printer from the EAV machine to the laptop.

    Now I finish logging into my EAV machine. Now the EAV sees both itself and the laptop. All is normal.

    Hope this helps "find" the FIX!!! I eagerly await. Thanks. :)
     
  8. stueycaster

    stueycaster Registered Member

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    Are you using Eset Antivirus or Eset Smart Security. This forum and thread are about ESS. If you're using ESS then you have the same set up that I do and it's doing the same thing when you boot them. If you're using EAV then I don't understand because it's the firewall that is causing the problem.

    Any time I rebooted the ESS machine with the laptop (with EAV) running the View workgroup link would start working correctly. But if I rebooted the laptop the workgroup link would fail.

    I'm certain this is because the ESS computer can't deal with the Master Browser responsibility because the firewall is blocking it. Then when the ESS computer is rebooted the laptop takes over the responsibility and it works.

    This hasn't been a problem for me since I shut down the Computer Browser service in my ESS computer. It always works right now. When I told people about this in my earlier posts I left something out. I left out the part about after shutting down the Computer Browser service you have to wait a while before trying it. Changes made in network settings sometimes don't take place immediately. When I wait 15 minutes it works. Try disabling the service again and this time wait 15 minutes before trying it. Maybe it will work. It does for me.

    I'm not saying that ESS doesn't need to be fixed though. Someday I plan to have 2 laptops and when I do I'm going to want my desktop to remain Master Browser because it stays on all the time. Also I want to run ESS on all three.
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2008
  9. Jenee

    Jenee Registered Member

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    I cannot find any entries in the ESS log that indicates it is blocking the network so the only thing that may be effecting the browser service is the Eset service installed in the Local Area Connection and/or a registry entry.
    I have changed all my PCs to Advanced File Sharing and I can now consistently see all the shares and all PCs except the one that is the master browser. If there is no master browser then I can't see any PCs.
     
  10. sherryxp2000

    sherryxp2000 Registered Member

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    Yes I am using ESS, just had a typo. Sorry for not paying attention.



     
  11. Jenee

    Jenee Registered Member

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    Are you able to list the rules created by ESS under System so that I can compare them to what I have. These rules seem to be the ones applying to the network. Could you also advise what is listed under the Trusted Zone.
    Many thanks.
     
  12. patch

    patch Registered Member

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    I would be surprised if the rules were the issue as no entries are shown in the log and disabling the firewall doesn't help.

    Only un-installing the Eset service installed under the properties of the local LAN (or ESS) fixes it. Indicating to me their driver is not compatible with some windows XP network configurations.

    I suspect it is the permutations of "NetBT" & "Direct hosted SMB", (use of which depends on host settings, router settings and network environment) that is the cause of the bug.
     
  13. Jenee

    Jenee Registered Member

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    I tend to agree that it may have something to do with NetBT and SMBs but the real issue is the browsing service and they are all linked. What I can't understand is that KC has been able to remove the problem by starting with a clean install of XP. That indicates it is not an issue with hardware, drivers or router settings. However, the clean installation may have had an effect on how ESS set up the rules and may have also determined registry settings. None of us know if the installation of ESS modifies any registry settings that could affect the browsing service.
     
  14. stueycaster

    stueycaster Registered Member

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    This is just a guess on my part. KC_ runs Server 2003 on one of his computers. Since it's a server it probably runs all the time. Because of that it maintains Master Browser status. In one of the links that Patch provided for us it mentioned how the computer that spends the most time running is usually master. Also does that computer have ESS installed? Hopefully he'll drop in and clarify exactly what his configuration is and how he uses it.

    Some others mentioned reinstalling their o/s without it fixing it.
    Also since I disabled the Computer Browser service in my ESS computer this issue doesn't affect me at all.
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2008
  15. Jenee

    Jenee Registered Member

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    Thanks Stueycaster. We know it is a browser issue and we know that disabling the firewall does not fix it. That just leaves the service driver Eset installs on the NIC and a registry entry.
    I recently added a new PC to my network but all the data was imaged from a PC previously in the network. This new PC had a fresh install of ESS and even if it is the master browser and is left on, it is still random as to whether it can see all the other PCs in the network. Most times it can only see itself and one other PC.
    Does anyone know:
    a) what effect does the removal of the Eset NIC service have on security integrity; and
    b) if this service is removed, does it fix the problem?
     
  16. sherryxp2000

    sherryxp2000 Registered Member

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    I did a new XP install on an old system today. A new install still has Workgroup errors with ESS.
     
  17. kC_

    kC_ Registered Member

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    yep the server 03 box runs 24/7, has done for the past 3 years or so, it has always been set as the master browser & i always disable the computer browser service on the rest of my network..

    this xp machine where i had the problem, was configured with outpost/nod32 2.7
    network working fine, then i started to tryout the ess beta's which is when i started getting the problem.. (computer browser service was already disabled on the xp client)

    since the xp machine was the original instal on the machine for 5-6years+ i thought about the fresh instal, and it sorted it immediatley.
    (same drivers/hardware/services/network config)

    is a very odd one indeed:blink:
     
  18. Jenee

    Jenee Registered Member

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    Each of the PCs in my network has a slightly different set of rules under System which relate to netbios access and file sharing and I don't understand why they should be different.
    One PC has a rule to allow access to shared files and printers in the trusted zone for incoming direction and the other PC does not. All PCs have a similar rule for outgoing direction but not trusted zone. I don't know how to create the incoming rule on the PC where it is missing as I don't know what the "System" application is.
    I know that disabling the firewall has no effect on the problem but these settings may still affect the service installed on the NIC and that is not disabled when the firewall is disabled.
     
  19. patch

    patch Registered Member

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    If you switch off all other computers does "View workgroup computers" still work on this XP machine?

    This test is to see how the XP machine functions as a master browser as opposed to using a master browser elsewhere in your network.
     
  20. stueycaster

    stueycaster Registered Member

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    Just in case I never mentioned this, on my ESS machine the view workgroup link fails if it is the only machine turned on. The view workgroup links on both computers are totally dependent on the EAV computer. The EAV computer can view it's own when the ESS machine is shut down.
     
  21. mayt

    mayt Eset Staff Account

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    Hello,

    thank you all for your contribution to get this problem solved. We've managed to narrow down the problem. It seems the problem appears when ndis filter (present in ESS) is installed on a machine which is a browser master.

    Further analysis and replication yet to come. We cannot guarantee any date when a fix might appear at the moment.

    Thanks for understanding.
     
  22. stueycaster

    stueycaster Registered Member

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    Thanks for the info. At least we won't be left wondering what happened when the new release comes out soon and it isn't fixed. I'm sure you guys will fix it.
     
  23. Jacqui D

    Jacqui D Registered Member

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    It is reassuring to note that ESET seem to have found the culprit. The workaround I am using, i.e. not installing the software for the ESET firewall miniport on the NIC (thru the Local Area Connection Properties) is probably related to this NDIS filter. Would it be possible, since I initially asked the question in post #102 and Jenee asked the same question later in post #240, for ESET to confirm whether the functionality of the firewall is adversely affected by using this workaround?

    Thanks.
     
  24. patch

    patch Registered Member

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    Wonderful news
    Thank you for letting us know you have been able to reproduce the fault.

    Please let us know if we can be on any further assistance in fixing it.
     
  25. papa33600

    papa33600 Registered Member

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    Here is a possible partial workaround :
    the view workgroup computers problem seems to arise whenever the computer
    running ESS is elected as master browser. If another computer on the network
    (not running ESS) is elected as master browser, then it works fine.
    Thus you can try this :
    edit your registry as follows :
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters
    MaintainServerList=No

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters
    IsDomainMaster=FALSE

    I also disabled the computer browser service.

    This does not solve entirely the problem :
    if the computer with ESS is the only one connected to the network, then there is no master browser, and so you get an error if you try to view workgroup computers.
    And if you have several computers running ESS on the network, that might be even more complicated.

    But it solved the problem in other cases, at least for me.
    papa33600
     
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