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Cannot connect to Home Server

Question
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All of a sudden I cannot connect to my Home server via the Home Server Consol.
I can RDC into the Home server and my back ups are still running. Yet when I try to sign in through the Home Server Consol I get this message.
This computer cannot connect to your home server. Check your network connection and make sure your home server is powered on. If your home server has recently restarted, try again in a few minutes.
Any help is appreciated.
Dave
Dave LloydWednesday, August 19, 2009 4:18 PM
Answers
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I found the issue.
The IIS Admin Service was not running.
I tried to start it and got an error. When i checked the system log there was a corupt file c:\windows\system32\inetsrv\metabase.xml
It had some bad brackets in the XML. I got the last good one and restored it restarted IIS and the install went perfectly.
Thank you for all your help everyone. I never imagined IIS would not be running.
Is it common for this file to get corupt?
Dave Lloyd- Marked as answer by DlloydMVP Friday, October 9, 2009 1:57 AM
Friday, October 9, 2009 1:57 AM
All replies
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Have you tried restarting your home server?
I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)Wednesday, August 19, 2009 6:24 PMModerator -
I have restarted my home server, but still the same thing. Is it possible a service is not running?
Dave LloydTuesday, August 25, 2009 1:48 PM -
Can you ping the server by IP and also by server name? Is it a static IP address? How long has the server been running? More info would be a help to us.
CruiseTuesday, August 25, 2009 1:54 PM -
- I can ping the server by Name and by IP address.
- The Home server does have a static IP 192.168.1.100
- The default gateway and preferred DNS Server is my routers IP. 192.168.2.1
- The Server has been running for months.
- I can remote into the server and run the consol in the remote session.
- My Backups are running fine.
It just seems to be from the Windows Home Server on my Laptop.
Any other information you need let me know. I'm stumped.
Dave LloydTuesday, August 25, 2009 3:24 PM -
- The Home server does have a static IP 192.168.1.100
- The default gateway and preferred DNS Server is my routers IP. 192.168.2.1
The easiest fix will be to assign your server an IP address in the same subnet as your router (192.168.2.xxx), but outside of the DHCP range the router hands out.
I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)Tuesday, August 25, 2009 4:49 PMModerator -
ooops my mistake.
My Home Servers IP address is 192.168.2.100 Sorry for the typo confusion.
Thanks, had I not lied your advise would have been great. :)
So given the new information, anyone?
Dave LloydTuesday, August 25, 2009 4:54 PM -
Are you running this on an OEM machine (EX 4xx for example)?Tuesday, August 25, 2009 4:57 PM
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It's an HP MediaSmart Server.
Dave LloydTuesday, August 25, 2009 5:33 PM -
Ok. The problem may be with the additional software that HP includes with the Mediasmart. To test whether this is the case, I would recommend logging into your server through remote desktop and navigating to C:\Program Files\Windows Home Server. !BE VERY CAREFUL WHILE YOU DO THIS! Rename the file "HomeServerConsoleTab.HP.dll" to "HomeServerConsoleTab.HP.bak". See if this fixes the problem. If it does, you will have to do a system restore to repair the Mediasmart software. If it doesn't fix anything then remove the ".bak" from "HomeServerConsoleTab.HP.dll".Tuesday, August 25, 2009 6:28 PM
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I did that and there was no difference.
Could it have to do with versions of the Home Server Consol vs the Home Server?
Dave LloydTuesday, August 25, 2009 7:37 PM -
It shouldn't be that as the Home Server Console is a Remote Desktop Connection to the server. Try updating the software on the server, make sure you have the latest updates from Microsoft. After that, update the connector on your computer by going to http//SERVERNAME:55000 (substitute your server's name there) and downloading the connector software. If you have the latest connector already installed, uninstalling it, restarting the computer, and reinstalling the connector can't hurt.
Edit: It occurred to me to ask; can you connect using another client machine?Tuesday, August 25, 2009 7:46 PM -
Just getting some time to play with this some more. I uninstalled my connector software, I tried installing the setup from \\homeserver\Software\Home Server Connector Software
because when i try installing from port 55000 it never works. It never has I can't remember why.
When I try the install it asks for the password then the next screen says This operation cannot be completed at this time. Please try again later. If the problem persists , please contact product support.
Dave LloydMonday, October 5, 2009 6:18 PM -
What do you get when you try http://server:55000
What do you get when you try http://server
How about http://192.168.2.100
exit out of your virus software
exit out of any local firewall
turn off windows firewall
did you install any new software or update any old software at the time this started?
did you try running c:\program files\windows home server\discovery.exe assuming c: is your local windows installation
i guess since your backups still run and you can remote in, that your user account on the server is ok....
are you updated to pp2? might try updating to pp3 beta, it comes with new connector software.
Monday, October 5, 2009 9:16 PM -
What do you get when you try http://server:55000 NOTHING
What do you get when you try http://server NOTHING
How about http://192.168.2.100 NOTHING
exit out of your virus software I have uninstalled it
exit out of any local firewall Don't have one
turn off windows firewall Done
did you install any new software or update any old software at the time this started?
Installed since last succesful backup.
Cisco Systems VPN Client 5.0.04.0300
Bing Maps 3D
Abode Reader 9.1.3
HP MediaSmart Server (An attempt to get it working again)
MS Silverlight 3 toolkit July 2009
Canon MX320 MP Drivers
Family.Show
Windows Live Sync
Wiondows Live Essentials
MS SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition
Windows Home server toolkit 1.1
MS Office Visio professional 2007
did you try running c:\program files\windows home server\discovery.exe assuming c: is your local windows installation No such .exe on my machine
i guess since your backups still run and you can remote in, that your user account on the server is ok.... Backups don't run anymore. I can still remote in
are you updated to pp2? might try updating to pp3 beta, it comes with new connector software. I do have PP2
Could it be Cisco? I need that to get to a clients SharePoint Server.
Dave LloydTuesday, October 6, 2009 1:10 AM -
When I am connected to our companies Cisco VPN I can't access anything on my home network, so if you are connected to a VPN you won't be able to access anything on your home network either, I don't think just having it installed would cause you problems, it would only cause you not to be able to access your home network if the VPN was connected. Is it connected all the time? That is the only software that you have installed that I can see that might be causing trouble.Tuesday, October 6, 2009 2:55 AM
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I also would blame the VPN software. If it is active, the machine will focus on the VPN and not be able to establish new connections within the LAN.
(My experience with the CheckPoint VPN software.)
So I created a virtual machine to use VPN if needed.
Best greetings from Germany
OlafTuesday, October 6, 2009 7:25 AMModerator -
I tried to install the Connector software before ever even starting the VPN software let alone connecting and I still get the same message. :(
Dave LloydTuesday, October 6, 2009 12:17 PM -
Hi,
both server and client are in the same subnet?
Can you post the output of the command
ipconfig /all
on both the client and the server?
Best greetings from Germany
OlafTuesday, October 6, 2009 1:56 PMModerator -
From my Home Server
Windows IP ConfigurationHost Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Burlington
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : NoEthernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : SiS191 1000/100/10 Ethernet Device
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0A-E4-87-35-24
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
From my laptop
Windows IP ConfigurationHost Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Dave-Laptop
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Peer-Peer
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : no-domain-set.bellcanadaWireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : no-domain-set.bellcanada
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Dell Wireless 1505 Draft 802.11n WLAN Min
i-Card
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1F-E1-C5-80-83
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : YesEthernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : no-domain-set.bellcanada
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controlle
r
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-21-70-6C-2A-B5
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::8d52:2260:10ec:f1a3%10(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.16(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : October-06-09 8:07:31 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : October-09-09 8:07:30 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 251666800
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-11-1B-8A-F3-00-21-70-6C-2A-B5DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
192.168.2.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : EnabledTunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 11:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.no-domain-set.bellcanada
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : YesTunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 12:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : no-domain-set.bellcanada
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.no-domain-set.bellcanada
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : YesTunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 16:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : YesTunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 17:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #5
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : YesTunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 27:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #6
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Dave LloydTuesday, October 6, 2009 2:01 PM -
Settings look ok to me, the only thing I noticed was this line
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : no-domain-set.bellcanada
Mine has nothing after "Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :"
but you may need that line for your ispTuesday, October 6, 2009 3:06 PM -
Yes, again that infamous DNS Suffix/DNS Search Suffix, which comes from your router configuration.
This causes name resolution attempts to go to the DNS Server of the ISP, which may respond never (possible causing a timeout) or with a wrong address.
Try to remove this text in the router configuration and reboot both the client and the server. (If after that the Internet connection should fail, what I would not expect, but who knows all ISPs, you can put it in again.)
The other workaround would be to edit the hosts file in Windows\system32\drivers\etc on each client and put a record for the server into it. (Run notepad as Administrator for successful saving of the altered file.) Be aware, that such alteration will cause new trouble after any change of the servers IP address.
Best greetings from Germany
Olaf- Proposed as answer by PatrickDickey Tuesday, October 6, 2009 10:33 PM
Tuesday, October 6, 2009 9:57 PMModerator -
I would agree with removing that. Unless it's required by your ISP (which I'm not sure if it would be). I had the same issue with my setup (laptop had .local.lan and home server didn't) and it wouldn't connect. After I removed the .local.lan from my laptop, everything worked perfectly.
Have a great day:)
Patrick.
Smile.. Someone out there cares deeply for you.Tuesday, October 6, 2009 10:33 PM -
You guys are great, thanks for all the help.
I already have an entry in my Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file. I believe I always have so I don't think that is an issue.
You say (Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : no-domain-set.bellcanada) comes from my router? Any guesses as to where? I can't find it. It's not a normal router it's a Bell Sympatico router, and they try to make it easy for the average home owner which just make it harder for someone how is used to a normal router. :(
Finding anything is such a pain.
I also just noticed my Remote Access is not working either. I hadn't tried it ion a while. I have to guess these are related?
Dave LloydTuesday, October 6, 2009 10:51 PM -
From my Home Server
Windows IP ConfigurationHost Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Burlington
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : NoEthernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : SiS191 1000/100/10 Ethernet Device
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0A-E4-87-35-24
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
From my laptop
Windows IP ConfigurationHost Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Dave-Laptop
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Peer-Peer
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : no-domain-set.bellcanadaWireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : no-domain-set.bellcanada
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Dell Wireless 1505 Draft 802.11n WLAN Min
i-Card
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1F-E1-C5-80-83
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : YesEthernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : no-domain-set.bellcanada
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controlle
r
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-21-70-6C-2A-B5
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::8d52:2260:10ec:f1a3%10(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.16(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : October-06-09 8:07:31 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : October-09-09 8:07:30 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 251666800
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-11-1B-8A-F3-00-21-70-6C-2A-B5DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1
192.168.2.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : EnabledTunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 11:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.no-domain-set.bellcanada
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : YesTunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 12:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : no-domain-set.bellcanada
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.no-domain-set.bellcanada
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : YesTunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 16:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : YesTunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 17:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #5
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : YesTunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 27:
Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #6
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Dave Lloyd
I would guess it has to do with the fact the Node Type on your client is Peer-Peer. You might try getting into Hybrid (aka h-node). See KB16077 for details on how to change it.Wednesday, October 7, 2009 5:01 AMModerator -
Good catch. I didn't even notice the Node type. I actually had no idea what it was. Mine is set to Hybrid. Here is something I found
"Windows Server 2003and Windows XP are configured as B-node types by default. When Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 is running on computer and configured to use WINS server addresses for name resolution, then it automatically changes to H-node as H-node node type is for NetBIOS name registration. However, other operating systems may use other node types"
http://192.168.2.100 should have worked no matter what the node type was set on though, I would think. Are you still able to ping the server?Wednesday, October 7, 2009 11:57 AM -
More information.
I tried installing the connection software on another machine and got the same error, I assume it's something to do with my Server or the Router.
Yes I can ping the server by name.
The Server has
static IP = 192.168.2.100
subnet mask = 255.255.255.0
Default gateway = 192.168.2.1
Preferred DNS Server = 192.168.2.1
Some Router settings:
IP Address: 192.168.2.1
IP Netmask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: Use WAN
Host Name: mynetwork
DHCP Server: Enabled
Start IP Range: 192.168.2.10
End IP Range: 192.168.2.99
Default Gateway: 192.168.2.1
DNS: Use WAN
Domain Name: no-domain-set.bellcanada
Lease Time (mins): 4320
Ports open on router.
Name Protocol Port Redirected to IP Address
HTTP TCP HTTP/80 192.168.2.100
Custom Configuration TCP 443 192.168.2.100
Custom Configuration TCP 4125 192.168.2.100
Dave LloydFriday, October 9, 2009 1:03 AM -
I changed the node type to Hybrid and I still get the same issue. I cannot install the Windows Home Server Connector.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Dave LloydFriday, October 9, 2009 1:16 AM -
I found the issue.
The IIS Admin Service was not running.
I tried to start it and got an error. When i checked the system log there was a corupt file c:\windows\system32\inetsrv\metabase.xml
It had some bad brackets in the XML. I got the last good one and restored it restarted IIS and the install went perfectly.
Thank you for all your help everyone. I never imagined IIS would not be running.
Is it common for this file to get corupt?
Dave Lloyd- Marked as answer by DlloydMVP Friday, October 9, 2009 1:57 AM
Friday, October 9, 2009 1:57 AM