Network Browse

[Jim Romanchek]

I have a 3-machine home network. One machine runs W2K/SP4; the other two run
WXP/SP2.

The W2k machine can see and browse all shares on the network. One of the WXP
machines can do the same. The third WXP machine can't browse anything,
however, I can "add a network place" and type in a path to a share on
another machine (\\machine\folder\.......). Then it can see the share,
connect to it, and do whatever is permitted by the sharing, but it still
won't browse the network.

Can anyone suggest how to get the one machine to browse?

Thanks,
Jim R

 

[Robert L [MS-MVP]]

Sounds like master browser issue. any error in the XP computer Event Viewer? Or use browstat.exe to troubleshoot it. These search results may help,

Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on http://www.HowToNetworking.com
I have a 3-machine home network. One machine runs W2K/SP4; the other two run
WXP/SP2.

The W2k machine can see and browse all shares on the network. One of the WXP
machines can do the same. The third WXP machine can't browse anything,
however, I can "add a network place" and type in a path to a share on
another machine (\\machine\folder\.......). Then it can see the share,
connect to it, and do whatever is permitted by the sharing, but it still
won't browse the network.

Can anyone suggest how to get the one machine to browse?

Thanks,
Jim R

 

[Chuck]

I have a 3-machine home network. One machine runs W2K/SP4; the other two run
WXP/SP2.

The W2k machine can see and browse all shares on the network. One of the WXP
machines can do the same. The third WXP machine can't browse anything,
however, I can "add a network place" and type in a path to a share on
another machine (\\machine\folder\.......). Then it can see the share,
connect to it, and do whatever is permitted by the sharing, but it still
won't browse the network.

Can anyone suggest how to get the one machine to browse?

Thanks,
Jim R

Jim,

First, check that NetBT is consistently set.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/04/netbios-over-tcpip.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2006/04/netbios-over-tcpip.html

Look for a misconfigured or overlooked personal firewall, or other security
component. There are several other possibilities too, and any might be the cause
of your problem.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/10/irregularities-in-workgroup-visibility.html>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/10/irregularities-in-workgroup-visibility.html

Finally, we'll look at "browstat status", "ipconfig /all", "net config server",
and "net config workstation", from each computer, and diagnose the problem.
Read this article, and linked articles, and follow instructions precisely
(download browstat!):
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighborhood.html#AskingForHelp>
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/troubleshooting-network-neighborhood.html#AskingForHelp

 

[Jim Romanchek]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I didn't know there was something called a master browser.

I did some experimenting as follows:

On the WXP machine that could not browse, I turned off the browser service as suggested in one of your links. No change in problem.

Next I rebooted that machine. No change in problem

Then I went to the W2k machine and turned off its browser service. That fixed the problem with the WXP machine.

Just to close the loop I went to the WXP that could all along browse and looked at its browser service. It was running, so I left it alone.

My problem is solved, but it still leaves open the question why 1 of the WXP machines could browse while the other could not, even though they both were running the browser service. Meanwhile, I guess the W2k machine was the master browser, but couldn't handle both of the WXP machines. So it picked one, but not the other. Once a WXP became the master, it handled both of the other machines.

Does any of this make sense?

Thanks,

Jim

Sounds like master browser issue. any error in the XP computer Event Viewer? Or use browstat.exe to troubleshoot it. These search results may help,

Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on http://www.HowToNetworking.com
I have a 3-machine home network. One machine runs W2K/SP4; the other two run
WXP/SP2.

The W2k machine can see and browse all shares on the network. One of the WXP
machines can do the same. The third WXP machine can't browse anything,
however, I can "add a network place" and type in a path to a share on
another machine (\\machine\folder\.......). Then it can see the share,
connect to it, and do whatever is permitted by the sharing, but it still
won't browse the network.

Can anyone suggest how to get the one machine to browse?

Thanks,
Jim R

 

[Jim Romanchek]

Chuck,
Thanks for the tips. I went to your links and found some very good
information and reading material. Although my problem is solved for the
moment, the opportunity to expand my knowledge base is welcome.
Jim

 

[Chuck]

Chuck,
Thanks for the tips. I went to your links and found some very good
information and reading material. Although my problem is solved for the
moment, the opportunity to expand my knowledge base is welcome.
Jim

Thanks for the update, Jim.

If you have more questions, do some more reading. The answers are there.