Microsoft KB Archive/943919

= The status of a computer in your OneCare circle appears as 'unknown' =

Article ID: 943919

Article Last Modified on 10/25/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Windows Live OneCare

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SYMPTOMS
When you view your OneCare circle of computers on the hub computer, a computer may appear with a status as ‘unknown’.



CAUSE
This issue may occur if the hub computer does not receive information about the affected computer for at least seven days.

Additionally, this issue may occur if Windows Live OneCare is not functioning correctly on one of the computers. Or, if the hub computer or the other computer has not been connected to the network.



RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, use the following methods in the order that they appear in.

Make sure that the date and time are configured correctly
You must make sure that the date and time are configured correctly on all computers in the OneCare circle. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) In the notification area, right-click the time or the date, and then click Adjust Date/Time.
 * 2) Set the correct time and date, and then click OK.
 * 3) Open OneCare, and then perform one of the following actions:
 * 4) * Click Manage your OneCare circle.
 * 5) * If you have already set up a OneCare circle, click Your OneCare circle.
 * 6) Verify that the status of all computers in the OneCare circle appear correctly.

If the issue is not resolved, go to the next section.

Restart the winss service
If the status of the affected computer is still ‘unknown’, restart the ‘winss’ service on all the computers in your circle. To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER.

In Windows Vista, click Start, in the Start Search box, type command prompt. In the results list, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
 * 1) Type the following commands, and then type ENTER after each command:
 * 2) * net stop winss
 * 3) * net start winss
 * 4) * exit
 * 5) Open OneCare, and then perform one of the following actions:
 * 6) * Click Manage your OneCare circle.
 * 7) * If you have already set up a OneCare circle, click Your OneCare circle.
 * 8) Verify that the status of all the computers in the OneCare circle appear correctly.

If the issue is not resolved, go to the next section.

Remove blocking software
Important These steps may increase your security risk. These steps may also make the computer or the network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We recommend the process that this article describes to enable programs to operate as they are designed to or to implement specific program capabilities. Before you make these changes, we recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with implementing this process in your particular environment. If you decide to implement this process, take any appropriate additional steps to help protect the system. We recommend that you use this process only if you really require this process.

Third-party antivirus programs or firewall programs can block communication between the computers in your OneCare circle. You must remove any third-party antivirus programs or firewall programs that may be the cause of these symptoms.

To do this, follow these steps:
 * 1) Click Start, click Run, type appwiz.cpl, and then click OK.
 * 2) Under Currently installed programs, locate any third-party antivirus programs or firewall programs.
 * 3) Click the program, and then click Remove.
 * 4) Restart the computer.
 * 5) Open OneCare, and then perform one of the following actions:
 * 6) * Click Manage your OneCare circle.
 * 7) * If you have already set up a OneCare circle, click Your OneCare circle.
 * 8) Verify that the status of all computers in the OneCare circle appear correctly.

If the issue is not resolved, go to the next section.

Verify that all computers are connected to the network
If the status of the affected computer is still ‘unknown’, verify that all the computers in your circle are connected to the network. To do this, open the Web browser and try to visit several Web sites on each computer that is included in your circle.

If you cannot reach any Web sites from a computer, the computer does not have network connectivity. You must troubleshoot network or installation issues to resolve this problem.

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

943767 After you install Windows Live OneCare, you cannot connect to the Internet

910656 How to troubleshoot Windows Live OneCare installation issues

Keywords: kbtshoot kbnetwork kbprb kbexpertisebeginner KB943919

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