Windows 7 host name problem on LAN

[danock]

My Windows 7 notebook cannot access other devices by their hostname (wifi or hardwire). I can ping. I can bring them up in Windows Explorer with the IP address. My other devices are an XP machine, a Brother network printer, and a Synology Diskstation NAS. My router is a Comcast, but I had the same problem with a Vonage router. Both computers are up-to-date with Windows Update.

Initially my Win7 could see them all fine. Then one day it stopped (probably a Windows Update, but I don't know), so I know it's a Win7 problem. The XP can see the NAS and printer fine. Usually XP can see Win7 fine. I tried rebooting, changing the workgroup name, ensuring NetBios is on, shutting down all firewalls.

I would be so grateful if anyone could help.


--Dan

 

[thiggins]

Check the Win 7 machine's Network and Sharing Center, Advanced Sharing Settings. Make sure Network Discovery, File and Printer sharing and Public Folder Sharing are enabled and Password Protected Sharing is disabled.

See if this Microsoft article helps.

 

[stevech]

and ensure all PCs have Workgroup mode (not domain mode) and all have the same workgroup name. Also I found that I had to disable WIn 7's ill-conceived "HomeGroup" function as is widely discussed on the 'net. Esp. if some of the PCs are XP.

 

[thiggins]

Also I found that I had to disable WIn 7's ill-conceived "HomeGroup" function as is widely discussed on the 'net. Esp. if some of the PCs are XP.

How do you do that, Steve?

 

[danock]

I've tried all these things previously; no joy. I tried shutting down all firewalls and virus scanners.

For some reason, I can access my wireless Epson printer. The ONLY thing that doesn't work is access by host name; I can easily access by IP. Age of Empires works. It USED to work fine. Then one day it stopped. The XP machine works fine; it's just the Win7.

I've done many Google searches in vain. It seems this is a common problem, with several causes and solutions.

Thanks for your suggestions; keep them coming! Something must fix this!

 

[danock]

I've considered upgrading my XP machine to Win7, but still I could not access my Brother network printer or my NAS. It's not an XP problem; it's a Win7 problem. Something to do with host name resolution on a local network. I've rebooted the machines many times in different orders; I don't think it's the master browser conflict. It happened with 2 different routers.

Sometimes in Windows Explorer I can see the other devices, but it's intermittent. When I can see them, and click on them, I get the error below. Clicking 'diagnose' does not good. Also see my ping results below.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Error
Windows cannot access \\SERVER
Check the spelling of the name. Otherwise, there might be a problem with your network. To try to identify and resolve network problems, click Diagnose.
Error code: 0x8007035
The network path was not found.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

C:\Users\Daniel>ping 10.0.0.6

Pinging 10.0.0.6 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 10.0.0.6: bytes=32 time=4ms TTL=128
Reply from 10.0.0.6: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 10.0.0.6: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 10.0.0.6: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 10.0.0.6:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 4ms, Average = 1ms

C:\Users\Daniel>ping bones
Ping request could not find host bones. Please check the name and try again.

 

[danock]

I figgered it out, thanks to NufSed on sevenforums.com.

I had to delete HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBt\Parameters DhcpNodeType

then everything worked perfectly!

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/903267

Thanks for everyone's efforts.


--Dan