Controller / Host Problem

[mike]

Hi TCH gang,

 

I need a little help with something and I know this is the right place.

 

I have my pc networked with wifes, both xp home. They have been fine, forever.

 

All of a sudden we can't share files and when I looked at the device mgr it says that my

 

pc has a problem with the RAID controller and the HOST TO HOST bridge.

 

Her pc just says the host to host bridge.

 

Can anyone steer me on this one?

 

thanks in advance.

MIke

[Madmanmcp]

Hmmm, not knowing what you have over there I would say you are seeing these "problems" because you don't have either of these components and they are phantom devices. At least for the raid controler. Do you have "raid" drives setup on one of your systems?

 

The host to host bridge is probably your USB connections for the network cards or the Router or cable modem. Check the connections and make sure they are seated properly. Then check the drivers, remove and reload if necessary.

[Head Guru]

Are you running USB ethernet controllers to network with?

[mike]

Are you running USB ethernet controllers to network with?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

We have SMC ethernet cards with usb lines to the router.

 

I really didn't think I had anything RAID?????

[mike]

When I take them both out of device mgr and reboot

 

it just finds them both again and wants drivers .

[Madmanmcp]

it just finds them both again and wants drivers

 

Then you need to find the disk that you got with your cards and routers and install them again.

[Madmanmcp]

rād) Short for Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks, a category of disk drives that employ two or more drives in combination for fault tolerance and performance. RAID disk drives are used frequently on servers but aren't generally necessary for personal computers.

I really didn't think I had anything RAID?????

 

I didn't think you had "raid" either thus my comment about a phantom device.

 

What exactly are you seeing in Device Manager about a RAID?

[mike]

Device mgr just says RAID CONTROLLER with the yellow exclamation mark to denote a problem.

 

It says the same thing under components/problem devices in system information.

 

The common factor is that my wifes pc also says it has a problem with the host to host bridge ( yellow in device mgr ) all of a sudden.

Yet we both get on the internet just fine.

[Madmanmcp]

Ok Mike, the Yellow exclamation in device manager means there is a problem with the driver for the device. You either find the correct driver and load it or you ignore it.

 

If you have internet connectivity and everything seems to be working, I would just ignore it.

[mike]

Yes, I realize about the yellow ! alright and that's what I kind of thought - ignore it.

 

But we can't share files between our pc's anymore. so there has to be a reason for that.

 

Maybe I just need to remove workgroup and network places and reset them?

[Madmanmcp]

But we can't share files between our pc's anymore. so there has to be a reason for that.

 

What have you changed or added recently? This doesn't change without a reason. Did you install SP2? Did you install a firewall? Did you remove file and print sharing?

 

If you installed XP SP2 this may explain things, you can run thru the Network setup wizard and setup file and print sharing and possibly turn the firewall off to see if this corrects the file sharing problem.

[Head Guru]

You cant share files as your using usb and your host to host controller driver is not working.

 

Reload the drivers for the motherboard and or usb ethernet devices.

[mike]

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !!!!!!

 

 

Now that you mention it madman I DID install the xp sp2 disk.

 

I will do some looking on that concept.

 

HG - then it sounds like I would have to reinstall the motherboard because the cards assumably work because we both still get on the internet just fine.

 

Sound right?

[Madmanmcp]

I'd start one thing at a time, if it doesn't work try the next. Start with the drivers for the USB Ethernet cards.

 

Next, The firewall is quick and simple. Go to Control Panel, select the Windows Firewall, select OFF. If this does not fix the problem with file sharing then come back turn it back on and try the other drivers.

[mike]

Ok so the windows firewall is off. Actually it has been because I use ZoneAlarm.

 

I found the motherboard is an MSI , appears to be VT8233, and it has onboard RAID controller. ( hmphh ).

 

I disabled the onboard RAID in bios setup and that problem is gone from device mgr.

 

However still have the host to host bridge problem and can't move files , or even see them, on each others pc's.

 

I downloaded and installed the 4 in 1 updates for the VIA motherboard and got no changes from that.

 

Is there a chance the IRQ steering isn't "steering"? How would I know that?

 

thanks - hope ya'll had a great Christmas.

 

Oh. As long as I can get both pc's on the internet, and neither shows a problem with the nic cards in device mgr, shouldn't that rule out the nic cards?