godai73 - yeah, good call. I'm sure that will work since I can ping either by IP# or server name. Maybe updating LMHOST is just what I should do on the backup server. I was hoping to solve the real problem with the server or network but maybe all I can do is treat the symptom but creating an LMHOST entry on the backup server. Especially since the network admin is the only one with access to the WINS server... alas...