Windows breaks networking ....

[Beeeater]

Is it just me or has Windows now finally broken networking in their products? It used to be fairly straightforward, but as MIcrosoft has added layer on layer of obscure settings and configurations, it has become more and more broken. Now it is practically unusable.
My latest issue is with simply browsing a workgroup - nothing fancy, I just want to see the attached computers and open them to see shared folders or printers. But when I open the 'Network' icon, none are visible. I know from using a third party network IP scanner that I have seven or eight connected PCs, all on the same workgroup, all perfectly visible - only Windows cannot see them! If I manually type in a PC network name in the address bar, I can access that PC and it's shares. But try as I might (and try I have - I am a computer professional for over 25 years!) Windows simply cannot browse the network. Yes, all relevant services are started - But what is interesting is that I cannot run the Net View command anymore - I get "the service has not been started" (and it's more than useless "net helpmsg 1284" suggestion which merely repeats the same worthless phrase).
Interestingly (for what it's worth) two BRAND NEW laptops out of the box similarly fail the net view command and also cannot visually browse the network.
I suspect the ghastly "Homegroup" to be the culprit - If only Microsoft had included an option to completely remove all and every setting related to Homegroups - who on earth needs them? The worst part is that even changing their settings and manually disabling the services associated with them is not enough - like some insidious disease they creep back in and turn themselves back on!

 

[muckshifter]

I'll need a PhD to get a MS network to ... work.

good luck

 

[Ian]

Which OS is it that you're using - is it Windows 10?

It may be worth going to Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Centre\Advanced sharing settings then make sure you have "turn on network discovery enabled", if you haven't done that already. This may be the culprit. I've attached a screenshot of my settings:

You may also need file sharing to be enabled for computers to be visible (not sure why, but this is what Windows tells me when I try to view network PCs).

 

[Beeeater]

All computers are using Windows 10. Your suggestions are not helpful, I see you have the dreaded 'Allow Windows to manage Homegroup' enabled. Did you read my post?

 

[Ian]

I read the post, but I didn't know if you had network discovery or file sharing enabled - you said you'd like the option to disable it entirely as it complicated things, not that you wanted to avoid using it if indeed it could be made to work. Thought it was worth a mention, just in case .

 

[Beeeater]

This is exactly the point I'm making... There are now so many little settings and options all the place, it's like a spiders Web, and nobody, not even Microsoft themselves, seems to know exactly how it actually works. It's becoming a black art, you need wizardry and a good dose of luck to actually get the thing to work!

 

[Abarbarian]

According to this sixteen year old Microsoft advert Redmond had cracked networking with Windows XP. By now their networking features must be almost perfect.

 

[nivrip]

My tiny network (two PCs and a phone) appeared completely automatically with no input from me. It is not, however, a workgroup (I don't think).

 

[Beeeater]

How is this helpful?

 

[nivrip]

It's not in the least helpful.

It's just a comment. Sorry I spoke.

 

[Ian]

How is this helpful?

You don't appear to want to help yourself, it sounds like you just want to vent!

 

[V_R]

How is this helpful?

Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine!

Ever wondered if it might be a case of PEBKAC?

 

[Beeeater]

I post here because I want to hear from people with helpful suggestions. Yes, I also want to vent. How would you like it if you went to your doctor because you had a headache and he said to you, 'Oh, I don't have a headache!'

 

[Beeeater]

Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine!

Ever wondered if it might be a case of PEBKAC?

More like a case of Ad Hominem

 

[bootneck02]

Hi Beefeater, as a ex Microsoft W10 user up to Dec 2015 and the debacle of data theft by Microsoft I decamped and moved to Linux Mint Cinnamon and now running 18.2 and found the transfer easy and are more happier than I have been with Microsoft's offerings. If you would like to have a conversation with me about Linux and the advantages of that alternative. post me on our Linux threads and I will be very happy to have a conversation of the pro's and cons.

 

[Beeeater]

Thanks Bootneck02, I also use Linux and have to agree with you regarding ease of use - Unfortunately I use a lot of native Windows applications and also professionally support many Windows networks so it's not just a local problem or I probably would have switched years ago! It's very frustrating though! How does Microsoft explain the situation where, for example, you browse the network and three computers are visible, and then you simply refresh the view without changing anything else and suddenly they are gone! Or one is gone and another pops up! It's completely random, erratic and unreliable!

 

[Ian]

Is network discovery already enabled on all your machines, as shown in the post above?

 

[Beeeater]

Yes of course,that's the first thing I do.

 

[nivrip]

Ever heard the words "please" and "thank you"?

A bit of civility might help. But, then again, I doubt it.

 

[Beeeater]

Ever heard the words "please" and "thank you"?

A bit of civility might help. But, then again, I doubt it.

Please look up the words 'childish' and 'argumentative' - I think you need to understand them. Thank you.