WinXP SP2 networking issue...

[Inaris]

First a little history...

my client has about 2000 machines attached to a windows 2003 AD network. All of our machines are XP SP2 with the firewall turned off when attached to the domain. about 1/3 of all of the machines are laptops of varying types.
Now to the problem.

Every now and again, a machine shows up that won't get virus updates. The machine notifies the server and then a nitification is then sent to the admins. These machines for what ever reason are laptops only. The issue that we see is that the machine will not allow incoming request. None at all. The only way to talk to the machine is by having the user start up netmeeting and calling your machine. Then we can connect to it using netmeeting, but nothing else. The machine is visable in DNS/DHCP as well as being in AD. It's able to browse the network, as well as connect to any share, check email, run network scripts, it just won't allow incoming requests.
To date, the only fix that has worked was to rebuild the machine. Initially we started troubleshooting it, rebuilding Winsocks and reinstalling the TCP/IP stack, but nothing worked. We have tested the Switch's/Routers and all of that works. Another machine in the same port works, but that machine won't, nor on another port/switch/router. Renewing Ip/reregistering in DNS/WINS doens't help. I can get a new IP, but it doesn't help. Problem still exists.

I'm asking you guys for any other thoughts on this as I'm out of ideas.
I'm going to call MS to see if they can help next week if I can't get any where with this as I'm running short on options, and don't want to rebuild the machine without a good fix.

Thank you

 

[Law]

So you're basicly having problem with certain machines because when you ping them they don't reply back, hence the way you said "the machine will not allow incoming request"?

This happen to some laptop connected to the switch or all?

 

[Inaris]

It's only on specific machines. When I say incoming requests, it's all forms of requests. Nothing can talk to the machines. Not the switches that they are connected to (unable to ping from switch to machine on port) unable to connect using RDP, remote asstance, SMS remote (uses UDP) anything...

 

[Law]

Look at what's difference between the non working laptop and working laptop. What Anti-Vir/Firewall/Security Program that could be loaded. Check the services running, maybe the user might have install something, but the service is still running (take example zone alarm, you can disable it but the true vector service still runs).

It sound like a firewall issue, if this computer can ping the switch but the switch can't

 

[Inaris]

I have. I have compared it with a large group of machines. I'm the build engineer for this site and have all of the machine platforms (11) in my office to test with. The build is standard. The user is not an admin. the applications on the machine are not related to network operation. The other machines that have had this problem were laptops as well, but of a different vendor and nic.
The only common thing among them is that they have wireless ability. Uninstall both the wifi nic and the Lan Nic do nothing either.

In the process of doing a port scan to see if there is something there that is going on.