Steve Winograd's Networking Pages

Windows Networking Myths

Here are some statements that I've seen repeated many times in networking web sites and news groups that, in my experience, simply aren't true. I've tested them all on numerous computers running multiple versions of Windows. If you have evidence to support any of these statements, please let me know.

There are myths in most areas of human endeavor, and there's often a germ of truth behind them. In some cases, I've given an explanation for why these myths exist.

Myth: A computer must actually share something (a disk, folder, or printer) to appear in Network Neighborhood on other computers.

Fact: Simply enabling File and Printer Sharing is sufficient. There's no need to actually share something.

Myth: All of the computers on a network must use the same workgroup name.

Fact: Windows networking supports multiple workgroups. Computers in any workgroup can access computers in any other workgroup. Workgroups have no role in network access, and they don't provide any type of security.

Explanation: It's a little easier to access computers in the same workgroup than in other workgroups. In Windows 95 and 98, computers in the same workgroup appear immediately when you open Network Neighborhood, and you need to click Entire Network to access other workgroups.

Myth: You must set the primary network logon to "Client for Microsoft Networks" to access a peer-to-peer network.

Fact: All peer-to-peer network functions are available using "Windows Logon" or "Microsoft Family Logon" as well as "Client for Microsoft Networks" as the primary network logon.

Explanation: Logging on to a Windows NT or Windows 2000 Server requires setting the primary network logon to "Client for Microsoft Networks".

Myth: Windows networking requires the NetBEUI protocol.

Fact: Nothing in Windows networking requires, or has ever required, NetBEUI. All network functions are available using TCP/IP or IPX/SPX. In Windows XP, NetBEUI is only available as an un-supported protocol.

Explanation: Windows 95 installs NetBEUI by default, so people assume that it's required. But you can remove NetBEUI and use a different protocol in Windows 95.

Myth: Crossover cables run at a maximum speed of 10 mbps.

Fact: Crossover cables support the same speeds as regular cables.

Explanation: Some people can't find crossover cables in stores, so they make their own. It's hard for us amateurs to make a cable that works reliably. An incorrectly wired cable, crossover or regular, can work fine at 10 mbps and fail miserably at 100 mbps.

Myth: Windows 95 can't read a shared disk on another networked computer if the disk uses the FAT32 or NTFS file system. Windows 95/98/Me can't read a shared disk on another networked computer if the disk uses the NTFS file system.

Fact: Every networked computer knows how to read its own disk and make the contents available to other computers. So, for example, a Windows XP computer can share a disk formatted with the NTFS file system, and a Windows 95 computer can read the shared disk over the network.

Explanation: The original release of Windows 95 can't read a FAT32 partition on its own local disk. Windows 95/98/Me can't read an NTFS partition on their own local disk.

Myth: Use the 90.0.0.x range of IP addresses for LAN computers when running a proxy server.

Fact: Those are public IP addresses reserved for future use by the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority). While they're not currently allocated, using those addresses on your network could block access to some web sites in the future. The reserved private IP ranges for LANs are:

10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255

Myth: If you can ping 127.0.0.1, you know that the network hardware is working.

Fact: The 127.x.x.x range of IP addresses is internal to the TCP/IP stack. Pinging 127.0.0.1 only indicates that the TCP/IP protocol is installed. It doesn't tell you anything about network hardware. It can even work on a computer with no network hardware installed.

Myth: It isn't safe to use TCP/IP for file sharing on a local area network, because other Internet users will be able to see your files.

Fact: The only situation in which TCP/IP isn't safe is when all of these conditions are true:

Each computer receives its own public IP address from your Internet service provider.
The computers are connected to a hub or switch, and a DSL or cable modem is connected to the uplink port of the same hub or switch.
There's no hardware or software firewall blocking outside access.

In that case, use IPX/SPX or NetBEUI for file sharing and un-bind file sharing from TCP/IP.

Your network is isolated from the Internet, and it's safe to use TCP/IP for file and printer sharing, in these common configurations:

All of the computers connect to the Internet through a Cable/DSL router.
One computer has an Internet connection and shares it with the other computers using Microsoft's Internet Connection Sharing program.

Myth: Windows XP Home Edition only allows 5 computers on a peer-to-peer network, and Windows XP Professional only allows 10 computers.

Fact: There's no limit to the number of computers that can network with Windows XP Home Edition and Professional.

Explanation: Windows XP Home Edition allows a maximum of 5 other computers to connect to its shared resources simultaneously. Windows XP Professional allows a maximum of 10 other computers to connect to its shared resources simultaneously. Computers that aren't actively connected to a computer's shared resources don't count against the limit. When a computer disconnects from a shared resource, it no longer counts against the limit. For details, see the article Inbound Connections Limit in Windows XP in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

Myth: To access a shared disk or folder on Windows XP, you must create matching user names and accounts on all computers.

Fact: Windows XP Home Edition always allows network access by all users on all computers. Windows XP Professional also works that way, using its default network settings.

Explanation: In Windows XP Professional, you can disable "simple file sharing", which causes it to use the Windows NT/2000 type of user authentication.

Myth: You must run Windows XP's Network Setup Wizard on all of the computers on the network.

Fact: Even though it tells you to do it, it's never necessary to run the Network Setup Wizard on any computer, and it won't run at all on Windows 95, NT, or 2000. You can make all of the network settings manually. If the other computers are already configured for networking, you shouldn't run XP's Wizard on them. Instead, manually configure XP's network settings to match the other computers.

Myth: You must turn on the Guest account in Windows XP to allow other computers to access its shared disks and folders.

Fact: Turning the Guest account on or off in Control Panel | User Accounts has no effect on access by other computers on the network. It simply determines whether someone can log on as Guest from the local keyboard.

Explanation: There's a different Guest account setting that controls networked access to XP's shared disks and folders when simple file sharing is enabled.

To enable networked access, enter this line at a command prompt:

net user guest /active:yes

To disable networked access, enter this line at a command prompt:

net user guest /active:no

Myth: Windows XP reserves 20% of the network bandwidth for itself, making it unavailable for Internet and LAN access.

Fact: XP doesn't reserve any bandwidth. 100% of the network bandwidth is available.

Explanation: See the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Windows XP Quality of Service (QoS) Enhancements and Behavior.