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A single Win 7 computer is not seeing my NAS.

balane

balane

Senior member
I have 3 computers all running Windows 7 64 Bit. I'm using a Linksys E900 router. All 3 of these computers can access my NAS (WD Netcenter.) just fine. Two over ethernet cables and one over wifi.

I just added a 4th computer, laptop, via wifi which also runs Win7-64. It accesses the internet just fine, it sees all the other computers on my network just fine. However, it will not see the Netcenter.

I'm looking for suggestions as to why this new computer can see every computer on the network but absolutely will not connect to my NAS. (Which I also use for a print server.)

Thank you.
 
my first thought is that there is something about the 4th computer's file and printer sharing settings that is causing it. Is network service discovery on? Is the network type set to home or work, rather than public?

the second thought is, is there a limit on the number of client connections possible with the WD network drive?
 
The computers aren't always on at the same time, typically only 2 are on at any given time.

Discovery is turned on and I've tried it set to home and work, still can't see it. I did try this with every single computer turned off and it was a no go.

I'm really stumped here. Thanks.
 
when you say you can't see it, does that mean that it simply doesn't show up in the server browse list? Can you access the server if you directly use the UNC path?

Edit: What happens if your shut every other computer down, and restart the NAS? Does the computer detect it then? (Because at that point, the server browse master has to be either the NAS or the PC.)
 
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OK, if I type http://192.168.1.141/ into the browser I can get the netcenter setup page and do anything I want in there.

But as far as Windows seeing it on the network it just absolutely won't find it or even seems to be aware of its existence. I want to map a network drive into Windows explorer and also use the connected printer. But none of this is showing up in network explorer.

I just shut every computer down with the exception of the new one. Then I powered off and on the netcenter NAS. Same thing, invisible.

Thank you.
 
Addendum. I tried disabling wifi on the laptop and connecting it to the router, all by itself, via an ethernet cable and still, the NAS will not show up in the computer's Windows network locations. So I'm totally stumped here.
 
When I press Start and then Run, entering;

http://192.168.1.141/
opens the browser and gets me into the WD Netcenter control pages.

\\192.168.1.141\
gives me this error;

error.jpg
 
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I had an almost identical situation and it ended up being that my anti-virus software (Kapersky) had set a firewall rule against that connection.
I literally had the problem for a year before I discovered the solution.
 
I also read that on a forum but I'm not using any type of anti-virus software beyond Microsoft Security Essentials. I did even try to boot Windows with it disabled in the Start Up config to no avail. But then I read even if you remove MSSE from startup it will still run in the background to some extent (Even going as far to quarantine/remove files.) so I guess I should try uninstalling it completely to see if the NAS appears.
 
Yes, I did that pretty early on. When I get back home I'm going to turn it off again and also uninstall MSSE completely to see if it helps. Gut tells me it won't help but it never hurts to try.
 
What hardware and drivers are you running? I don't think uninstalling MSE will help, but it's work a shot.

You can also try booting to an Linux Live distro, it won't touch the hard drive, and you can see pretty quick if you can touch the NAS shares. That will tell you for sure if it's a software/OS/driver issue.
 
Verified that the problem remains even with Firewall deactivated and MSSE removed completely.

Great idea on the Linux DVD boot but unfortunately this is an Enduro based laptop which switches between an AMD card and the Intel GPU... but it does so quite poorly. As this is a Clevo based computer disabling Enduro isn't possible as it is on Alienwares. I've tried three different versions of Linux boot disks in the past and none of them will work properly. They do things like cause the screens to flash colors, stay black, etc. Enduro can be a real pain at times.

Since the NAS is neither accessible on wifi nor ethernet I'll list both pieces of hardware and related drivers.

1.) Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Driver: Realtek 7.54.309.2012

2.) Realtek RTL8723AE Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC
Driver: Realtek 2002.1.1201.2011

I will add that I've tried multiple different wifi drivers. Many of which installed and gave 100% working connection other than this particular NAS issue.

Edit: And just to be perfectly clear, this laptop will see every other computer attached the network with the exception of the NAS.

Thank you.
 
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Can your NAS see your laptop?
Check the logs on your NAS and/or try to ping your laptop from your NAS.
Maybe your laptop was assigned an IP address from your router that your NAS has reserved?
I'm mostly guessing at this point.
 
is the Domain/workgroup name the same for all computers?
 
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Yes, name is Workgroup.

This laptop sees all other computers, just not the NAS.
All other computers see this laptop and the NAS.

Strange one.
 
What username/passwords are set on the NAS?

You can try to map a network drive with \\192.168.1.141\sharename

And click "connect using different credentials" and enter the username/password set on the NAS if there is one. I've had similar problems as you are, but not with a NAS...just windows shares. This has worked for me..
 
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