MS Windows Home Server

I changed the connection of my client PC (Vista Home Premium) from a wireless network connection to a powerline connection. As a result the client PC can no longer see the windows home server on the network. Other PCs on the network show up fine but the home server has disappeared. If I go back to the wireless connection the home server is once again available. Any ideas how to remedy this issue? Thanks in advance.

can any of the other machines on the network see the machine when on the powerline adapter?

Yes, the PC is visible to the other PCs on the network when using the powerline adapter. The network mapping capability available in Vista shows the change from a wireless to a wired connection as viewed from my other PC which is connected directly to the router. I also took my notebook which uses a wireless connection, turned off the wireless, plugged it into the powerline adapter and got the exact same behavior -- the home server disappears from the network as viewed from the notebook. The connection to the internet is unaffected whether using the wireless or powerline option. I am stumped and it doesn't help that when it comes to networks it seems like it could be a thousand different things causing the issue.

can you give me more information of how your network is set-up and configured i.e. do you have any network switch's and what is plugged in to them, have you a router and what is plugged in to that, that sort of thing. i am sure this is something very simple, i have a feeling i have the same sort of set-up as yourself so should be able to diagnose.

With the exception of the PC running home server, the 2 desktops and one notebook are Vista Home Premium machines. The only switch in use is built into the router which is a Netgear WGR614 v6 which has the latest firmware update. DHCP is set to automatic on the router and all attached devices are showing up when viewed from within the router's control interface. I initially had our main desktop PC directly wired to the router as well as the home server. I decided to move the home server downstairs and hooked it to the network with a powerline adapter which - to my surprise - works great. All of the PCs continued to see and backup to the home server without issue from the powerline adapter network connection.

As things currently stand I have one desktop PC and a powerline adapter directly wired to the netgear router. This powerline adapter provides the communication link to the other powerline adapter which is hooked to the home server (I also have another powerline adapter hooked to a Roku player which streams online video to our TV) My other desktop PC and notebook connect wirelessly to the network as well as a WII. All of the PCs and home server are in the same "Workgroup" and have the same "SSID" designation.

The only reason for switching the other desktop from wireless to powerline is to get around the occasional dropped connection. I can live with things as they are but this is now a "bugs me" thing as to why it doesn't work. I am tempted to buy a switch for the powerline adapter that is hooked to the home server and then run a cable across the room to the wireless desktop PC rather than using a separate powerline adapter -- just to see whether that works.

Ok then a few things to try:

1. can you ping the WHS from the desktop when both are on the power line adapters?
2. if you can ping the WHS, try browsing the server shares by typing \\windowshomeservername into windows explorer.
3. have you tried swapping the adapters around with ones you know definitely work just in case you are dealing with a faulty adapter.
4. make sure the power line adapters aren't plugged in to any extension cables or surge protectors as these cause major issues with the power line adapters.
5. try swapping around the cat5e patch leads just to make sure they aren't causing any problems.

Let me know how these things go, from the sound of your network set-up everything seems to be in place correctly.

I pinged the home server using the wireless first and nearly always received back all 4 packets. I switched to the powerline adapter and, on average, had 50% packet loss. I swapped out the cat5 cable between the PC and powerline adapter and got basically the same results. I then swapped powerline adapters by taking the one attached to the Roku and using it with the PC - once again same 50% packet loss. I also did the pinging by attaching my notebook to the powerline adapter and had the same packet loss results so I don't believe anything is wrong with the ethernet card on the desktop. I am approaching the conclusion the home wiring may be the culprit (no powerstrips, extension cables or anything like that are in use). However, the utility software that came with the powerline adapters shows the downstairs adapter has a decent connection to the powerline adapter attached to the router.

to be honest i think you are right, it is going to be the wiring in the house i had exactly the same problem but only on one of my sockets in the house, in fact that might be worth a try changing the power line adapter for another socket.

with the fact that you have got 50% packet loss, it may be better not use the power line adapter after all, file sharing over a poor connection is not advisable and i have found that it causes more problems in the long run.

it is worth trying the power line adapter in another socket but i am pretty sure it is down to house wiring, apart from that i am stumped and sorry i couldn't be more help.

No need to be sorry because you did help. I was wrongly assuming there was no connection when in fact there was a connection albeit a weak one. After I last posted I tried another outlet just a bit further away and now things are gold -- I have a connection and consistently no packet losses. I should have thought of pinging and not troubled you in the first place. Anyway, I am grateful for you setting me on the right path -- this problem is solved!! Thank you very much for your time and assistance.