RESOLVING CONNECTION ISSUES WITH NETWATCHER

Any Network Administrator has run into the dilemma of certain users being denied a connection to a computer while other users can connect trouble-free. Of course, it's difficult to identify the problem if you are unable to determine which users can access the shared resource and which users cannot. If the shared resource is on a Windows 98 computer, you can start to pinpoint the problem by using the Netwatcher utility (Netwatch.exe).

Netwatcher is located under Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools. If it is not there, you can add Netwatcher from the Windows Setup Tab in Start | Settings | Control Panel | Add\Remove Programs.

Netwatcher will tell you exactly which users are permitted to connect to a given computer. By comparing this list to a directory of all users on the network, you should be able to determine which users cannot access the desktop(s) in question. This provides a good starting point to establish the differences between these users. The discrepancy
probably lays in either the users' accounts or in the computers they frequently work with.

For instance, if you know that User A can connect to a particular resource but User B cannot connect to the same computer, you might want to start by looking at the users' respective account permissions. If User B can successfully connect from another computer, however, you might want to start looking at the computer he was using when the
connection failed. There's a fair chance the failed machine is suffering from protocol issues.

Netwatcher also allows you to disconnect users from your computer and shows which files are in use.