XP boxes take 15-20 seconds to find each other

[Gil Theissen]

I've had a 10/100 ethernet home network w/ 4 pc's (2 3COM's and 2
Linksys's). Started with Win98, thru WinME and gradually added XP. With 98
and ME my boxes would find each other almost immediately when I clicked on
'Network Neighborhood (1-2 seconds, tops). However with each XP, I noticed
the old flashlight comes out it takes much longer (15-20 seconds) for the XP
boxes to find each other. Once I'm inside, I can navigate through the
files/folders normally and transfer speeds are OK. My one remaining WinME
box still snaps to attention, but my 3 XP boxes are always slow in this
fashion.
I use a switch and all PC's have a fixed IP address.
Thanks for any
suggestions -- Gil Theissen

 

[Robert L [MS-MVP]]

quoted from http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How do I know I have a browser problem

When you open My Network Places, the computer list you see is obtaining from
the master browser of your network. You have a master browser issue if you
have the following symptoms. 1) If you can ping a computer name, you can
search it, you can map it, but that computer doesn't show or take long time
to show up on My Network Places.
2) Net view command shows no lists or shows "System error 6118 has occurred.
The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently available".
3) when clicking on Computers Near Me in My Network Places or workgroup name
in Entire Network, the following error message may appear: "Cannot Access
'Computers Near Me' " or "Workgroup is not accessible" errors.
4) when click workgroup name under Entire Network Places, you get "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 permission. The list server for this workgroup is not currently
available."
5) Windows Explorer or My Network Places take a long time to open.
6) Event logs on servers show many master browser election messages.


--
For more and other information, go to http://www.ChicagoTech.net

Don't send e-mail or reply to me except you need consulting services.
Posting on MS newsgroup will benefit all readers and you may get more help.

Robert Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN, Anti-Virus, Tips & Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties.

 

[Gil Theissen]

Thanks for the link but after trying a few things there nothing seems to
help.
(1): I tried the reg hack to force my main PC (the one I have the NAT
internet connection sharing software on) to be the main browser, but no
change.
(2)Then tried switching the 'computer browsers' in my 3 other pc's to
manual and then to disabled under Admin Tools > Services, but again, still
slow.
(3) Then switched off my NAT software entirely and told my three other
PC's to stop looking at my main PC for the internet (erased the default
gateway and preferred DNS server IP addresses), but no change.
(4) pings to all the other PC's are always <1ms
(5) IP addresses are all 192.168.0.X with subnet masks of 255.255.255.0
(6) delay exists regardless of whether I have 2 , 3 or all 4 PC's on and
regardless of whether the WinME box is on or even connected to the network.
(7) TCP is the only protocol on all the boxes
(8) XP's Internet Connection Firewall is off
Not getting any error messages or slow down with file transfers, just
real slow with the inital connect among boxes after clicking on Network
Neighborhood. Any other suggestions?

Thanks - Gil Theissen

 

[Gil Theissen]

Found a partial(?) solution to my problem for what it's worth. There's a reg
hack at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/Remote
Computer/NameSpace
and under that branch, select the key
:{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} and delete it (If you like you may
want to export the exact branch so that you can restore the key if
necessary).

Apparently this key instructs Windows to search remote computers for
Scheduled Tasks across the network. I had already deleted that key on my
first two XP boxes, but forgot to delete it on my most recent addition.
Seems the latest XP box was not only slowing itself down but the others as
well. My XP boxes now 'find' each other in 5-7 seconds vs. the previous
15-20.
From what I've read so far, my impression is the XP is just a little
slower that 9X in this regard and 5 seconds may be as good as it gets for
me. Does that sound right?


Thanks - Gil Theissen