Problem with re-connecting to shared drives

Question for all the technical gurus out there. I have lived with this for some time now. Client computer will not re-connect to shared drives on host computer at initial start-up. Will re-connect if host computer is restarted. Problem disappeared for about a week and returned. Problem started after addition of second NIC for the cable modem. I am also using Zone Alarm 2.62 as the firewall. The ICS always functions even if the connections are not completed.
Home network consists of host computer running Win98SE and has a cable modem connected to a NIC. The home network is connected via a 802.11b PCI card in the host.
The client computer is a laptop running WinME and is using a 802.11b wireless PC card.
The WAN (external - internet) is configured with TCP/IP bound to NIC that the cable modem is connected to.
The LAN (internal - host/client) is configured with NetBEUI bound to the wireless NIC on both the host and client.
If I start the laptop (client) I will get the windows networking message that states the following:
The following error occurred while reconnecting to D:\mapped drive
Permanent connection unavailable
Do you want to restore this connection the next time you log on?
Yes No
I select yes and the connections are shown as broken. If I restart the host computer then the drives are connected as soon as they are acccessed.
The host computer is never turned off. The client is turned off at the end of each session. If I restart the client immediately it re-connects, no problem. If I wait an unknown amount of time (more than an hour) I have to re-start the host again. Before the second network card there was no problem. The client would always connect at start-up.
I apologize for the length but I wanted to convey the situation with as much clarity as possible. Thanks for any input anyone may have.

1. RE: Problem with re-connecting to shared drives
lbyard Mar-25-02 11:47 AM
In response to message 0

>I apologize for the length…
You shouldn’t. This kind of detail is very useful and saves a lot of time.
The next time this happens see if the link LEDs on the network adapters stay on. Some network adapters have a combination Link/Activity LED. They usually stay on most of the time and blink when there is network activity. You could have a marginal/intermittent cable/connection. Larry

2. RE: Problem with re-connecting to shared drives
w_craig_wall Mar-25-02 12:52 PM
In response to message 1

Larry
Thanks for the reply. I will check it out. I know I get the icon in the tray that tells me that the wireless link is established between the two computers and I can surf the net etc. I will check the other card that is connected to the cable modem and the host machine for activity. I may just bite the bullet and purchase a wireless router and be done with it. I will keep you posted. Thanks again!
W. Craig Wall
Danville, KY

3. RE: Problem with re-connecting to shared drives
donv Mar-27-02 03:44 PM
In response to message 2

Hi Craig, it sounds very much like the antics i've had recently, caused by ZonAlarm see my earlier post http://duxcw.com/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=read_count&om=1783&forum=DCForumID2.
Don

4. RE: Problem with re-connecting to shared drives
w_craig_wall Mar-27-02 10:22 PM
In response to message 3

Don
I did read your post before I submitted this thread and immediately thought about uninstalling Zone Alarm. I have not had the opportunity to do that yet. I think I did turn it off on both the host and client with it having no effect but I'll bet that is not good enough and only uninstalling it would be the best route to take. I am thinking of going to a wirless router and being done with it. Anyone have any suggestions on the best 802.11b wireless router with at least 128 bit WEP security? Thanks for the information Don. It is greatly appreciated.