OK thanks for that. I still have no solution. I've been able to confirm that a connection is definitely established between the two computers. The local machine shows a connection established on port 135 (PID 1180). The remote machine shows a connection established on port 135 (PID 972). I will continue to search for a solution and let you know if I come up with anything. Thanks

This is my first post so please advise if there is any way I can improve the information in my question. I have the following Workgroup PCs connected using a standard home router/internet gateway: 1. Desktop running Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 on wired ethernet. 2. Laptop running Windows 7 Professional SP1 on wireless 802.11g 3. Laptop running Windows XP Professional SP3 on wireless 802.11g I'm trying to use the systeminfo command with the /S switch but I keep getting asked for the password for my local machine e.g: C:\Documents and Settings\Jeff>systeminfo /S REMOTE-PC Type the password for LOCAL-PC\Jeff:********* ERROR: Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password. C:\Documents and Settings\Jeff> This happens regardless of the local machine I'am using or the remote machine I am trying to access. Other networking features are working fine i.e. File Sharing, Remote Desktop. I've tried providing the remote machine's credentials with the /S & /P switches but still get the same error. Any idea why this is happening? Thanks P.S. sorry about the text formatting.

Try using the account on the remote-pc: >SYSTEMINFO /S REMOTE-PC /U ANNA /P BLUE22

OK I've tried that and no longer get asked for the LOCAL-PC password but still get an error: C:\Windows\system32>SYSTEMINFO /S REMOTE-PC /U JOHN /P P@SSW0RD ERROR: Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password. The exact same credentials allow me to start a Remote Desktop Session.

From the remote PC I am getting the following response (using wireshark): Protocol:DCERPC Fault: call_id: 4 Fragment: Single ctx_id: 1 status: nca_s_fault_access_denied Hope this helps!?

try to add the workgroup name to the username: "workgroup\john" _________________________________________________________________________________________ Please vote my post as helpful if you think it was, and mark it as an answer if it answered your question. That will help others with the same problem finding the answer. Thanks.

OK tried that but still getting the same error message. Thanks for the suggestions.

Are these two services running on the computer you try to connect to? Remote Procedure Call (RPC) DCOM Server Process Launcher _________________________________________________________________________________________ Please vote my post as helpful if you think it was, and mark it as an answer if it answered your question. That will help others with the same problem finding the answer. Thanks.

Maybe the settings need to be changed in Local Computer Policy for each remote computer. But I'm just clutching at straws really - this is beyond my current expertise.

Ole Drews Jensen wrote: try to add the workgroup name to the username: "workgroup\john" ____________________________________________________________________ _________________ Please vote my post as helpful if you think it was, and mark it as an answer if it answered your question. That will help others with the same problem finding the answer. Thanks. Instead of using the workgroup name you should use /U REMOTE-PC\user . Wolfgang

Ole Drews Jensen wrote: I tried to replicate what you're trying to achieve and got the same errors. When using a real domain/workgroup name combined with a real username, I get your original error. When using administrator as the username, I get RPC Server is Unavailable. I've been searching the net for this, and see several other users with the same issue. I made sure those two services were running, checked my policy and firewall, and could not figure out what's causing this. I did this test between a Windows XP and a Windows 7 - both ways. HOWEVER, I was able to connect to my Windows Server 2008 from both of them with systeminfo, so that was pretty interesting. Only difference between the server and the workstations (apart from being a server), is that the server does NOT have McAfee VirusScan installed, so not sure if that's where the problem could be. This issue is now bothering me too, so I will continue to search for a solution. Please let me know if you find one as well. Thanks, Ole ____________________________________________________________________ _________________ Please vote my post as helpful if you think it was, and mark it as an answer if it answered your question. That will help others with the same problem finding the answer. Thanks.   And what if you try a real computername\username ?? Because workgroups do not provide any means of authentication. The computername has to be the one you are connecting to (= name of remote PC) and the username has to exist on the remote PC - and be member of the administrators group. If you are in a domain (with a domain controller) you can use domainname\username if the remote PC is joined to the domain (and the user is a domain admin). Wolfgang

@ Wolfgang: That doesn't work either. Besides, here's the syntax: C:\windows>systeminfo /? SYSTEMINFO [/S system [/U username [/P [password]]]] [/FO format] [/NH] Description: This command line tool enables an administrator to query for basic system configuration information. Parameter List: /S system Specifies the remote system to connect to. /U [domain\]user Specifies the user context under which the command should execute. /P [password] Specifies the password for the given user context. Prompts for input if omitted. /FO format Specifies the format in which the output is to be displayed. Valid values: "TABLE", "LIST", "CSV". /NH Specifies that the "Column Header" should not be displayed in the output. Valid only for "TABLE" and "CSV" formats. /? Displays this help/usage. Examples: SYSTEMINFO SYSTEMINFO /? SYSTEMINFO /S system SYSTEMINFO /S system /U user SYSTEMINFO /S system /U domain\user /P password /FO TABLE SYSTEMINFO /S system /FO LIST SYSTEMINFO /S system /FO CSV /NH C:\windows> _________________________________________________________________________________________ Please vote my post as helpful if you think it was, and mark it as an answer if it answered your question. That will help others with the same problem finding the answer. Thanks.

Are these two services running on the computer you try to connect to? Remote Procedure Call (RPC) DCOM Server Process Launcher _________________________________________________________________________________________ Please vote my post as helpful if you think it was, and mark it as an answer if it answered your question. That will help others with the same problem finding the answer. Thanks. Yes these two services are running on all 3 computers. I've tried the command... SYSTEMINFO /S RANDOM-NAME where RANDOM-NAME refers to a computer that does not exist on the network. This produces the following error message: ERROR: The RPC server is unavailable. Which makes sense. So is the RPC server on REMOTE-PC replying with an access denied response? I've also tried using the remote computer's IP address inplace of it's name but I still get: ERROR: Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password. Any further assistance is much appreciated

I tried to replicate what you're trying to achieve and got the same errors. When using a real domain/workgroup name combined with a real username, I get your original error. When using administrator as the username, I get RPC Server is Unavailable. I've been searching the net for this, and see several other users with the same issue. I made sure those two services were running, checked my policy and firewall, and could not figure out what's causing this. I did this test between a Windows XP and a Windows 7 - both ways. HOWEVER, I was able to connect to my Windows Server 2008 from both of them with systeminfo, so that was pretty interesting. Only difference between the server and the workstations (apart from being a server), is that the server does NOT have McAfee VirusScan installed, so not sure if that's where the problem could be. This issue is now bothering me too, so I will continue to search for a solution. Please let me know if you find one as well. Thanks, Ole _________________________________________________________________________________________ Please vote my post as helpful if you think it was, and mark it as an answer if it answered your question. That will help others with the same problem finding the answer. Thanks.