Master Browser problems

[Aloke Prasad]

I have 3 PC's on an internal network behind a cable router, running the
following:

XP Pro
XP Home
Win2000

I constantly have problems browsing the local network for shared printers,
drives etc. I am sharing a printer connected to XP Pro and would like the
XPPro to be the master browser (it is on most of the time).

Q: How do I set Master Browser settings on the PC's.

I see a registry setting at

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/kb...istryTips/Network/PreferredMasterBrowser.html

but surely there must be a better (user interface) way of dealing with this
issue..

Thanks.

 

[Richard G. Harper]

There is no GUI that I know of that sets this setting. Regedit/Regedt32 it
is.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

 

[Aloke Prasad]

Do you recommend setting this (using Regedit) to True on one PC and False on
others?

Does any setting in ZoneAlarm Pro affect this? I have added the local
sub-net (192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0) to the Trusted Zone in ZAP. We
habitually enable Internet Lock when not using PC's. Will that cause
problems?

What about XP Firewall. Will that allow the browse-master traffic?


--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com

There is no GUI that I know of that sets this setting. Regedit/Regedt32
it is.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x] (e-mail address removed)
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

I have 3 PC's on an internal network behind a cable router, running the
following:

XP Pro
XP Home
Win2000

I constantly have problems browsing the local network for shared
printers, drives etc. I am sharing a printer connected to XP Pro and
would like the XPPro to be the master browser (it is on most of the
time).

Q: How do I set Master Browser settings on the PC's.

I see a registry setting at

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/kb...istryTips/Network/PreferredMasterBrowser.html

but surely there must be a better (user interface) way of dealing with
this issue..

Thanks.

 

[Lou]

I am not an expert, just a user.

You might take a look at:
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/service411.htm#Alerter

for a description of Computer Browser. Tuning that service on only
one machine may work.

 

[Chuck]

I have 3 PC's on an internal network behind a cable router, running the
following:

XP Pro
XP Home
Win2000

I constantly have problems browsing the local network for shared printers,
drives etc. I am sharing a printer connected to XP Pro and would like the
XPPro to be the master browser (it is on most of the time).

Q: How do I set Master Browser settings on the PC's.

I see a registry setting at

<http://www.windowsnetworking.com/kb...istryTips/Network/PreferredMasterBrowser.html>

but surely there must be a better (user interface) way of dealing with this
issue..

Thanks.

Aloke,

When you have multiple computers equally eligible to being the master browser in
a domain, the computer that has been online the longest will generally be
elected (previously having been the master browser also counts). To make the XP
Pro computer become the master browser, power all computers off, then bring the
XP Pro computer up first. If you restart all computers simultaneously, always
restart the XP Pro computer so it comes online first.
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winntas/deploy/prodspecs/ntbrowse.mspx>

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Hans-Georg Michna]

Do you recommend setting this (using Regedit) to True on one PC and False on
others?

Aloke,

my first thought would be to disable the browser on the Windows
2000 computer.

Does any setting in ZoneAlarm Pro affect this? I have added the local
sub-net (192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0) to the Trusted Zone in ZAP. We
habitually enable Internet Lock when not using PC's. Will that cause
problems?

I don't know ZoneAlarm. Make sure you have the latest update
version. Disable it entirely for a test.

What about XP Firewall. Will that allow the browse-master traffic?

Not as long as you enable the File and Printer Sharing
exception, but you should make a decision which firewall you
want to use. Never run two software firewalls on the same
computer at the same time.

Hans-Georg