I can RDP into server but cannot browse using explorer

Question

Disclaimer: Networking is not my strong point, it is my Achilles' heel.

At work I have been given a sandbox server to test my software with, I have full control over the server itself but the network/domain it sits in is offlimits for me.

I can RDP into it just fine from my machine, but for whatever reason I CAN'T view anything in the server by opening up an explorer window and going to address "\server ip address\"

Is there some setting I need to turn off or on to allow browsing using explorer?

Any help will be appreciated, thanks in advanced!

UPDATE : The machine is NOT local, it is remote and the OS is Server 2008 R2.

Solution

Unfortunately this won't help the next person with this same issue resolve their issue, but I eventually turned the firewall off altogether on the remote machine and still I couldn't connect to it.

The only explanation I can come up with is that there's either a physical firewall or a firewall in some other component blocking that access at a higher level than my machine.

Comments

[tony roth]

did you get a login prompt?

[tony roth]

ok reread your statement so you are on (rdp) the local server and doing \\local server\c$ ?

[Joel Coel]

What version of windows server? 2008 r2? 2012? older?

[IWriteApps]

To answer your first question: no I didn't get a login prompt, instead I got the "Network Error Windows cannot access \\ip address\c$". To answer the second I am on rdp to it, and am trying to do \\ip address\c$. I should clarify that it is NOT a local server, I'm sure it's remote(overseas). It is Windows Server 2008 R2.

[tony roth]

so the "ip address" is the ip address you rdp'd to?

[tony roth]

try exactly this "\\localhost\c$".

[IWriteApps]

Yes the ip address is the address I rpd's into. It's from my machine that I fail to browse from. Doing "\\localhost\c$" from INSIDE that machine work fine, however doing "\\ip address\c$" from MY machine doesn't work. Thanks for all this help by the way!

[tony roth]

ok makes more sense then port 445 is probably blocked somewhere.

[IWriteApps]

That's kind of what I'm looking for. I didn't know I needed port 445 open, is there anything else I need to do?

[tony roth]

nope just unblock port 445.

[tony roth]

more then likely ports 137,139 won't be involved in this conversation.

[tony roth]

I'm quite sure you are being blocked by a fw somewhere, do this for a last ditch test if you can try this "telnet serverip 445" what happens. Not sure if you have telnet available but you have nothing to lose.