Workgroup is not accessible

[scottcaley]

For the record, I am posting this solution to a network problem which
has been plaguing me (on Windows 2000 Pro and Windows XP Pro) for two
years.

See if this sounds like you...
You plugged your computer into the network of another company, then
found when you returned to your home network that no other computers
could gain access to your computer. Furthermore, your computer could
not even access your local Workgroup. The other computers on your home
network might have even lost access to shared network printers which
had originally been setup from your computer.

You might get an error message like this:
'Workgroup is not accessible. You might not have permission to use
this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find
out if you have access permissions.

The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently available'

Two years later, and literally days of scouring Groups in Google I have
found the solution to this problem. It was buried in a response
authored by Greenstead, under 'NetBios Name resolution
failure-HELP' on
http://forums.practicallynetworked.com/showthread.php?t=5508&highlight=node+type

Since I did not follow his/her advice verbatim, but studied up and
compared settings on affected and non-affected computers, I will list
for you exactly what I did which worked perfectly:

First I tested TCP/IP and found it to be OK using the procedure from:
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/troubleshoot/

Identified problem:
NetBIOS name resolution failure

For completeness I reset TCP/IP with the following command (as outlined
in the link above):
netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt
Admittedly this step was unnecessary in my case.

Here is the SOLUTION that worked for me!
Edit registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters
Set "DhcpNodeType" to 0x00000008 (8)

Exit Registry

From a command prompt window enter:

ipconfig /release
Then:
ipconfig /renew

Misc notes:
- Greenstead listed "DhcpNodeType" as "NodeType", and suggested a value
of 00000001. Perhaps he/she was working with an OS other than Win 2000
Pro or Win XP Pro
- Plugging my machines into another company's network changed my
registry entries for "DhcpNodeType" to 0x00000002 (2). This apparently
disables NetBIOS name resolution capability on a peer-to-peer network

I hope this helps somebody.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

For the record, I am posting this solution to a network problem which
has been plaguing me (on Windows 2000 Pro and Windows XP Pro) for two
years.

See if this sounds like you...
You plugged your computer into the network of another company, then
found when you returned to your home network that no other computers
could gain access to your computer. Furthermore, your computer could
not even access your local Workgroup. The other computers on your home
network might have even lost access to shared network printers which
had originally been setup from your computer.

You might get an error message like this:
'Workgroup is not accessible. You might not have permission to use
this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find
out if you have access permissions.

The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently available'

Two years later, and literally days of scouring Groups in Google I have
found the solution to this problem. It was buried in a response
authored by Greenstead, under 'NetBios Name resolution
failure-HELP' on
http://forums.practicallynetworked.com/showthread.php?t=5508&highlight=node+type

Since I did not follow his/her advice verbatim, but studied up and
compared settings on affected and non-affected computers, I will list
for you exactly what I did which worked perfectly:

First I tested TCP/IP and found it to be OK using the procedure from:
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/troubleshoot/

Identified problem:
NetBIOS name resolution failure

For completeness I reset TCP/IP with the following command (as outlined
in the link above):
netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt
Admittedly this step was unnecessary in my case.

Here is the SOLUTION that worked for me!
Edit registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters
Set "DhcpNodeType" to 0x00000008 (8)

Exit Registry

ipconfig /release
Then:
ipconfig /renew

Misc notes:
- Greenstead listed "DhcpNodeType" as "NodeType", and suggested a value
of 00000001. Perhaps he/she was working with an OS other than Win 2000
Pro or Win XP Pro
- Plugging my machines into another company's network changed my
registry entries for "DhcpNodeType" to 0x00000002 (2). This apparently
disables NetBIOS name resolution capability on a peer-to-peer network

I hope this helps somebody.

Thanks for posting that -- I'm sure that it will help people.

I wrote that PracticallyNetworked troubleshooting page, and I'm glad
that it helped you solve the problem.

As you say, setting DHCPNodeType to 2 prevents the computer from
resolving computer names in a workgroup network. Here are the
possible DHCPNodeType values and their meanings. Any value except 2
is OK in a workgroup:

1: Broadcast (B-node). Uses NetBIOS broadcasts for name resolution.
Works on workgroups, but not domains.

2: Point-to-Point (P-node). Uses WINS server for name resolution.
Works on domains, but not workgroups.

4: Mixed (M-node). Tries broadcasts for name resolution. If that
fails, tries a WINS server. Works on workgroups and domains, better
on workgroups.

8: Hybrid (H-node). Tries WINS server for name resolution. If that
fails, tries broadcasts. Works on workgroups and domains, better on
domains.

For more information, see these Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

Default Node Type for Microsoft Clients
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;160177

TCP/IP and NBT Configuration Parameters for Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314053
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[scottcaley]

Thank you for your reply, and for filling in the details of what the
different DHCPNodeType values can be. As you can imagine, your original
PracticallyNetworked troubleshooting page was a God send to me.

Based on the four options for DHCPNodeType you list above, it sounds
like option 1 or 4 might be a better choice than 8 since I use the
computer primarily in the peer-to-peer network in my own office. Any
suggestion?

Since I will continue to have the need of connecting my computer to the
DHCP network which had changed my registry's DHCPNodeType value to
option 2, is there a way to prevent this value from being changed? If
not, now I at least know how to fix it.

Many thanks,
Scott B. Caley
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

As you say, setting DHCPNodeType to 2 prevents the computer from
resolving computer names in a workgroup network. Here are the
possible DHCPNodeType values and their meanings. Any value except 2
is OK in a workgroup:

1: Broadcast (B-node). Uses NetBIOS broadcasts for name resolution.
Works on workgroups, but not domains.

2: Point-to-Point (P-node). Uses WINS server for name resolution.
Works on domains, but not workgroups.

4: Mixed (M-node). Tries broadcasts for name resolution. If that
fails, tries a WINS server. Works on workgroups and domains, better
on workgroups.

8: Hybrid (H-node). Tries WINS server for name resolution. If that
fails, tries broadcasts. Works on workgroups and domains, better on
domains.

For more information, see these Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

Default Node Type for Microsoft Clients
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;160177

TCP/IP and NBT Configuration Parameters for Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314053

Thank you for your reply, and for filling in the details of what the
different DHCPNodeType values can be. As you can imagine, your original
PracticallyNetworked troubleshooting page was a God send to me.[/QUOTE]

You're welcome, Scott!

Based on the four options for DHCPNodeType you list above, it sounds
like option 1 or 4 might be a better choice than 8 since I use the
computer primarily in the peer-to-peer network in my own office. Any
suggestion?

I'd set it to 4 if you use the computer in workgroups and domains.

Since I will continue to have the need of connecting my computer to the
DHCP network which had changed my registry's DHCPNodeType value to
option 2, is there a way to prevent this value from being changed? If
not, now I at least know how to fix it.

I'm sorry, but I don't know how to prevent it from being changed.

Here's a file that you can run to change the value without having to
run Regedit manually. Copy the five lines between the "==========="
lines to a text file and rename the file to "DhcpNodeType.reg":

====================
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters]
"DhcpNodeType"=dword:00000004

====================

Many thanks,
Scott B. Caley
(e-mail address removed)

--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[scottcaley]

Steve,

Thanks for the response and the .reg util. That makes it painless.

Thanks again,
Scott