XP machine cannot find Linux machines
This is not a question, but since I just spent two days gunning out the problem I have to share it with someone. :-) Besides, I couldn't find a similar situation by using Google, so now maybe someone will be able to.
I have a network with mixed Linux and Windows XP machines on it. Every machine has a hosts file on it, and every machine can ping every other machine by name, regardless of political affiliation (Linux or XP). EXCEPT FOR ONE DAMN MACHINE! This is an XP machine that would ping other XP machines by name, but would only ping Linux machines by IP address! But it could not be an XP thing, because all the other ones worked like they were supposed to. The hosts files all were the same. Tried different nbtstat options. Nothing. The XP machine just was not using it's hosts file! And of course, on XP, the hosts file is located at c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc right? Everyone knows that, right? Yeah, except when sometime in the past you have re-installed XP because of corrupted files, and elected to keep the old system on there in order to be able to do system restore. Then the hosts file is located in a different place. Then it is located in c:\newsysname\windows\system32\drivers\etc, where "newsysname" is whatever you elected to call it when you did the second system install. End of story. Now for a richly-deserved rum and coke. :-) |
Oops! Sorry. Small typographical error there (I am tired). The correct host file would now be located at :
c:\newsysname\system32\drivers\etc In other words, instead of "windows" you use "newsysname" |
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