Cannot connect to XP laptop via rdp, can’t ping machine due to Cisco vpn client firewall
I recently ran into an issue with a laptop where I could not access it via remote desktop or ping even though I was on the same network as it. It drove me nuts before I figured it out. Here is what I did before I realized what was blocking access:
- Verified windows firewall was not blocking access.
- Verified I could rdp from the machine to the machine, open remote desktop on the machine with the issue simply connect to itself by name, ip or loopback.
- Verified tcp was working, ping loopback…reset the tcp/ip stack, ran winsock fix, lsp fix but found no issues.
- I uninstalled any unneeded programs and also my antivirus just to test. Still had the issue.
- I rolled back from XP SP3 but still had the issue.
And then it dawned on me to check the Cisco vpn client. The built-in firewall was running. To disable I opened the client, right clicked the gold lock icon in the lower right hand corner and deselected Stateful Firewall (Always On). It started working as sooon as I did that. I am not sure if that is a default setting or something I enabled inadvertently. Next time I will think to check for any vpn clients and related issues much earlier in the process. Vpns have been known to cause a variety of network issues since they work so closely with windows networking.
