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Windows 7 Network headache

T

T101

Senior member
Hi, I just wanted to ask if someone has an idea on how to solve a headache I have with my home network in Windows 7 x64 Ultimate.

2 out of 3 computers appears on the network instantly. The third never appears at all. But if I open the run prompt and type \\Computername it immediately open it and shows the shares. I have not a clue to why it work like that but then not appear on the network.

Sometimes when I reboot one of the computers to Mac OS X (its an hackintosh), and that computer seems to be the master browser, then the missing computer also shows up on the network instantly.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
 
Dont depend on the computer browser service, it is not reliable and never has been, and more than likely will never be.
 
I was hoping for something more helpful than "dont use it". Typing \\Computername all the time is getting tiresome.
 
Ensure all PC's are on the same subnet, workgroup, and that each can receive broadcasts (i.e. the firewall is disabled). The computer browser service IS unreliable and it shouldn't be used. Instead designate the master browser - the best way is to use a WINS server by running a win2k3 or 2k8 instance.

Ensure all PC's have user accounts that have access to the machine, the shares needed, and that they have the same password on all these machines. The issue should go away.
 
T101 said:
I was hoping for something more helpful than "dont use it". Typing \\Computername all the time is getting tiresome.
Click to expand...

I doubt you'll find one. Windows computer browsing has always been terrible and it only gets worse when you mix in non-Windows systems. Unless that Samba system is up 100% of the time and you have it configured to always win the master browser election, that can help sometimes. But I don't know if the version of Samba included in OS X can be configured manually like that or not.

But frankly, I find hitting Win+R and typing \\computername to be a lot quicker than browsing...

bobdole369 said:
Ensure all PC's are on the same subnet, workgroup, and that each can receive broadcasts (i.e. the firewall is disabled). The computer browser service IS unreliable and it shouldn't be used. Instead designate the master browser - the best way is to use a WINS server by running a win2k3 or 2k8 instance.
Click to expand...

WINS has been deprecated since AD, it shouldn't be used at all. I'm actually surprised that it was still included in Win2K8.
 
I get around this by using mapped drives.

Even when you loose the connection, a simple refresh by opening the mapped drive works great.
 
1. Is Network Discovery on?

2. What is the computer's network location? It is my ynderstanding that if it is Public, it will not be seen.

T101 said:
Hi, I just wanted to ask if someone has an idea on how to solve a headache I have with my home network in Windows 7 x64 Ultimate.

2 out of 3 computers appears on the network instantly. The third never appears at all. But if I open the run prompt and type \\Computername it immediately open it and shows the shares. I have not a clue to why it work like that but then not appear on the network.

Sometimes when I reboot one of the computers to Mac OS X (its an hackintosh), and that computer seems to be the master browser, then the missing computer also shows up on the network instantly.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
TSDible said:
I get around this by using mapped drives.

Even when you loose the connection, a simple refresh by opening the mapped drive works great.
Click to expand...

2nd This.. Mapping your drives is the way to go. Don't have to worry about browsing or \\computername
 
Instead of typing in the \\computername, create a .bat file on your desktop that you can double click.

Look into the netuse command to map network drives. Thne use that information to create a .bat file. You could even add the .bat file to your start up menu, so the network drives are reconnected when you start your computer.
 
All your suggestions was overly complicated an unnecessary. Just setting the computers to be a "home" network, instead of work, solved everything. Now they find each other immediately.
 
T101 said:
All your suggestions was overly complicated an unnecessary. Just setting the computers to be a "home" network, instead of work, solved everything. Now they find each other immediately.
Click to expand...

ROFL indeed. Looks like the win7 network configuration preset "home" does more than I thought 🙂
 
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