ARA: Troubleshooting Devices Not Visible In The Chooser

Question/Step 1
What device is it that cannot be seen?

Serial or SCSI
These devices cannot be accessed over ARA connection.

Ethernet
See #9.

LocalTalk
See #5.

ARA Server You Are Calling Into
See #2.

Question/Step 2
Are there more than 50 devices on the network?

Yes
Apple Remote Access makes a slow network connection. The Chooser was intended for local area environments and high bandwidth networks. When there are a lot of device names being returned to the Chooser, not all are able to cross your ARA connection before the Chooser makes another request from the network. See Tech Info Library article 7403 titled, "System 7 Chooser: Device, Name, Zone, Memory Limits" for additional information on this topic.

No
See #3.

Question/Step 3
Is File Sharing on or is the AppleShare File Server turned on?

Yes
See #4.

No
Turn on File Sharing or the AppleShare File Server.

Question/Step 4
Does switching between the current AppleTalk setting and Remote Only in the AppleTalk (or Network) control panel of the client resolve the situation?

Yes
You cannot connect two extended networks without routers together using ARA and see remote devices.

No
1. Reset PRAM on ARA Server. See Tech Info Library article 2238 titled, "Macintosh: How To Reset PRAM and NVRAM" for instructions on performing this task.
2. Perform a clean install of system software on the ARA server. See Tech Info Library article 30691 titled, "Mac OS: When & Why To Perform A Clean Install" for more information on this procedure.
3. No known issues.

Question/Step 5
Is it a device on the remote LocalTalk network?

Yes
See #6.

No
See #7.

Question/Step 6
Is "Allow Access To:" in the Remote Access Setup control panel set to "entire network"?

Yes
See #2.

No
Turn on "entire network" in the Remote Access Setup control panel.

Question/Step 7
Is the local LocalTalk network routed?

Yes
See #8.

No
See #4.

Question/Step 8
Is the client computer a PCI-based Macintosh?

Yes
There is a known issue with Open Transport. See Tech Info Library article 18666 titled, "ARA: Open Transport Issue" for more information on this issue.

No
See #4.

Question/Step 9
Is it a device on the remote Ethernet network?

Yes
See #10.

No
See #11.

Question/Step 10
Is the remote Ethernet network routed?

Yes
See #6.

No
This is a known limitation of ARA. See Tech Info Library article 30704 titled, "Apple Remote Access: Not Seeing Some AppleTalk Devices" for more information.

Question/Step 11
Is the local Ethernet network routed?

Yes
See #8.

No
See #12.

Question/Step 12
Is it a printer on a non-routed Ethernet network?

Yes
A router must be added to the network. See Tech Info Library article 30704 titled, "Apple Remote Access: Not Seeing Some AppleTalk Devices" for more information.

No
See #13.

Question/Step 13
Is File Sharing on in the Sharing Setup control panel or is the AppleShare File Server application running?

Yes
Reset PRAM on the device that cannot be seen. See Tech Info Library article 30704 titled, "Apple Remote Access: Not Seeing Some AppleTalk Devices" for more information.

No
Turn File Sharing or the AppleShare File Server on.