Win 7 x64 Network Browsing Broken?
OK lets see how good you guys really are! :) Skip to the update at the bottom for the latest short version....
Note: This is not your normal "I can't connect to XP" problem.
Win 7 Pro Network Browser Broken?
Synopsis:
Network discovery on & configured but not working.
Win 7 network set to 'work'.
Win 7 & XP machines are in the same domain.
Had to add host file entry for Win 7 to see AD/DC, DNS to join domain.
Now DNS is working but no browsing.
Still cant see any nodes via browsing.
--------------------------------------------
Full Description:
Name resolution doesnt work on local lan even with WINS & NetBios running. huh?
Day 1 -----------
I have a Windows XP Pro SP3 boxes, Server2k & Server2003, and 1 Windows 7 x64 box networked (on domain) at home.
The existing AD/DC, DNS, Win2003 svr and hosts have been up and running fine for years. The XP machines have no problem networking across the home network behind a standard Linksys router.
Recently I bought a new workstation with Windows 7 x64 Pro. I skipped Vista so much of the changes made recently are unknown to me.
Upon initial power-on and configuration of NIC's IPv4 settings I was unable to see any other PCs. However after a quick google search I discovered the many How-to's on enabling "Network Discovery" and configuration of the related advanced features. Voila! there were my XP boxes & server. (I didnt really pay much attn to exactly which appeared as software installs where the task for the day)
Day 2 -----------
*However* at some point soon thereafter while installing everyday applications such as MS office, Firefox, Photoshop, yadda yadda .. I noticed that my network "tab" no longer showed any other PCs or servers.
It was only showing the local host, my Linksys NAS and the Lynksys router (showing as residential gateway).
Therefore I began to "play" around with the various settings in the "advanced sharing settings" to no avail.
I enabled and then disabled "Home Group" even tho I have no use for it with only 1 Win 7 box. I read 100's (yes 100s) of tech forums on how to get connectivity back.
~ Day 3 -----------
So having been a Sys Admin in my past I started with the basics. Systematically went through WINS, DNS settings, verified NetBIOS over
TCP/IP enabled, reinstalled network drivers, disabled uneeded protocols and rebooted and ran tests every step of the way.
~ Day 4 -----------
Nothing seemed to be able to restore the name resolution problem. Finally I resorted to adding an entry for the DC into the etc/hosts file just so I could trick the Win 7 box into joining the domain. After a bit of a struggle I managed to enable it on the domain. After a few days I noticed the DC even began to recognize the Win 7 box as a proper Win 7 Pro client (Oper Sys tab of Computers Properties in AD Users and Computers). Eventually the Win 7 box seemed to be using the local DNS on the local AD/DC, DNS box so I removed the host file entry for that server and rebooted. Seems that I now have DNS working and can ping all local Svr & XP resources by name now.
However still no network browsing at all. XP machines can not see Win 7 box in domain browse tree either
Here are some of the things I tried and some of the current config:
- All internal Firewalls, off
- Network discovery is on & advanced config is correct
- IPv6 disabled
- enabled "Send LM & NTLM responses" in gpedit.msc
The following svcs are running
--SSDP Discovery svc
--TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper svc
--Computer Browser svc
--Server svc
~ Day 5 -----------
Exhausted and fed up, I resulted to mapping all server & XP shares via \\IP.addr\share instead of host name.
A terrible solution of course.
Can someone please explain what is missing or broken that prevents Windows 7 from seeing the computer names on the network?
Are there problems with NetBios in Win 7? And why would this have worked for 1 day and then failed to the point where it can not be brought back, even temporarily? Very confused....
Also can somebody explain why with IPv6 disabled I still get IPv6 type ping replies when I ping "localhost" or ping my local machine name
Pinging APEX-DT.apexsystems.local [::1] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from ::1: time<1ms
Yet when I ping 127.0.0.1 I get the regular IPv4 format??
Pinging 127.0.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
With IPv6 uninstalled shouldn't it always respond in IPv4 form?
Thanks in advance...
- Bill
~ Day 7 -----------
** Update ** Domain UID & PWD?
After having the Win 7 box in the domain for a while and after manually mapping drives via *IP* and forcing some WINS and DNS updates on the server side things have marginally improved. I am now able to map via UNC name instead of IP to SOME of the other nodes on the network.
Mapping from Win 7 to XP or SVR2003 via UNC is working but it's still not working to the Win2K server. BTW the SVR2003 box is the DC & DNS box. Really odd that the only new variable here has been time.
Network browsing via Network icon in Win 7 GUI is still completely **non-functional.** This means the Network section of "My Computer" is still empty except for the local Win 7 host, router & my NAS. No Domain resources appear.
If from start/run I type in \\servername\share the list of avail shares never shows on the Win2k svr. Instead it will prompt me for a UID & PWD. It is asking for domain credentials and I am the Domain Admin. I can log into all PCs as Domain Admin.
Similarly if I go the GUI route and right click on "Network" in Win 7 and then type in a UNC name (not path) eg: \\ServerName\ and then I click the "browse" button. On the XP/2003 boxes it will show all the shares but on the Win 2K box it will not connect. Instead it again prompts for domain credentials. weird?
So now this is even more confusing as I thought "Browser" svc is what allowed the shares to appear when you tried to map via UNC. Yet that same "browser" svc does not allow the GUI to dsiplay any PCs in the domain?
Summary:
GUI Browsing still broken.
XP/2003 boxes will now map in Win 7 via UNC/share via cmd line and GUI.
win2K box is still unable to map via UNC. Can only map via IP. Can ping Win2K box by name however.
Win XP & Svrs can still not see Win 7 box in domain while browsing. However they can map to Win 7 shares via explicitly typed UNC path.
Anyone?
January 10th, 2010 1:00am
Please post the results of ipconfig /all from the win7 box and a domain controller.Kerry Brown
MS-MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 10th, 2010 2:04am
OK here are the 2 ipconfig results. It's too late to reconfigure anything but I'm virtually positive that NetBios over TC/IP was not showing as "Disabled" earlier when I was looking through these configs. But it's obvious this is where the problem lies. Just double checked NetBios setting in IPv4 config and it is set to "Enable TCP/IP over NetBios". I believe I changed it from the default which was "Use NetBIOS from the DHCP server".
So I guess the obvious question is..why is "IPConfig /all" in contradiction with the GUI IPv4 settings?
--------------------------------------------------
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : APEX-DT
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : apexsystems.local
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : apexsystems.local
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : zoominternet.net
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-26-18-EF-0C-37
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.112(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, January 09, 2010 2:03:05 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, January 10, 2010 11:56:05 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled
Domain Controller / DNS box
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : apex-main
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : apexsystems.local
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : apexsystems.local
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0D-60-B3-75-05
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100
Primary WINS Server . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100
January 10th, 2010 8:30am
What device is at 192.168.1.1? If it's a router it shouldn't normally be the DHCP server. The connection specific DNS setting indicates it's your router. You should be using an Active Directory authorised DHCP server.The DC is using WINS. The client is not. Is there a WINS server running on the DC. It's pointing to itself. If it is a WINS server set the clients to use it in the DHCP scope with option 44 set to 192.168.1.100 and option 46 set to 0x08.At a guess I'd say somewhere in all the troubleshooting you've tweaked something to do with NETBIOS.Kerry Brown
MS-MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 10th, 2010 6:06pm
Kerry,
First off...Thank you for helping out. It's been a while since I did Sys Admin stuff on Windows and I have 0 experience with Vista/Win 7 so your input is truly appreciated.
Yes, 192...1 is my Linksys router. I've used the router for DHCP for years as others have laptops outside the domain that use it. It's worked well and I don't wish to change that aspect of the network. Keep in mind this is just a home network and therefore I try to keep it simple for those non members of the domain. All machines inside the domain use fixed IP's.
"Is there a WINS server running on the DC. It's pointing to itself"
Yes, just to review, the main server (.100) is a DNS, AD/DC, & WINS Server on SVR 2003. And yes TCP/IP cfg is pointing to itself on the (.100) DC/WINS box as it should be.
"you've tweaked something to do with NETBIOS"
I'm pretty methodical when I approach these types of things. I really don't think I did anything outside of the TCP/IP config changes. Certainly no hacking around in the policies or registry.
I think I need to focus on this NetBIOS disabled issue that I overlooked earlier.
Just checked again that the TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper svc is running.
My old friend 'NBTStat' of course just responds with:
Failed to access NetBT driver -- NetBT may not be loaded
I'm a domain admin and my domain acct is a member of the Win 7 admin group...so it shouldn't be the normal NetBT privilege error causing that. grrrr
I'm going to dig into the event logs and report back. Hopefully there is some info in there if NetBIOS is truely not running.
However the "new" Event viewer layout has me a bit baffled...may take a while.
- Bill
January 10th, 2010 9:15pm
OK I found an error in the event logs:
Initialization failed because the driver device could not be created. Use the string "002618EF0C37" to identify the interface for which initialization failed. It represents the MAC address of the failed interface or the Globally Unique Interface Identifier (GUID) if NetBT was unable to map from GUID to MAC address. If neither the MAC address nor the GUID were available, the string represents a cluster device name.
And here is a link to the Event ID info @ MS:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd379893%28WS.10%29.aspx
To initialize the NBT protocol, disable and then re-enable the network adapter:
Click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Device Manager, expand Network Adapters, right-click the adapter you want to initialize, click Disable, and then click Yes.
Right-click the adapter that you just disabled, and then click Enable.
I have already tried this earlier but I will try again and report back.
- Bill
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 10th, 2010 9:23pm
Do not disbale or remove protocols from your network connection. Removing IPv6 can cause unreplicable results. If you want disable IPv6, use this way: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929852If you want the old computer browsing feature, you must enable and start the "computer browser" service.In a larger network, you should use a WINS-Server.
January 10th, 2010 9:31pm
Well as expected... Disabling and then Enabling the adapter did nothing.
NBT still fails to initialize. I have spent too many hours this AM already on this.
Will need to come back to this later... If anyone has suggestions I'm all ears.
PS - I dont have any other NICS to try and the existing NIC is on-board.
Really would prefer to fix this the right way if possible.
- Bill
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 10th, 2010 9:51pm
Try "netsh winsock reset"Then check and reinstall all protocol stack. Never remove the ipv6 stack.
January 11th, 2010 12:13am
It's far easier to manage Active Directory if you use and AD DHCP server. Most consumer routers can't set all the options that AD wants. If you don't want to go that route then use the advanced settings in the TCP/IP properties to set the WINS server to the address of the domain controller.Kerry Brown
MS-MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 11th, 2010 4:40am
>> you must enable and start the "computer browser" service. As mentioned above, all these services are started and running. >> In a larger network, you should use a WINS-Server. WINS server is running n the .100 box. >> It's far easier to manage Active Directory if you use and AD DHCP server Not having any issues with AD. >> use the advanced settings in the TCP/IP properties to set the WINS server Done. The Win 7 box was configured this way very early in the process. The main issue is still with NetBIOS failure. Even though many support forums recommend removing IPv6, I will take the advice of the 2 here who say not to do this. I will try "netsh winsock reset" even though I think I did this earlier. If no luck I'll try to reinstall the entire default network protocol stack and check again for NetBIOS availability. Thanks all, - Bill
January 18th, 2010 8:52pm
wow never saw a forum that allowed you to answer out of turn (reply) .... please see my most recent responses 4 posts above.
Free Windows Admin Tool Kit Click here and download it now
January 18th, 2010 8:54pm
Yeah the forum software doesn't handle long threads well :)Is it possible to try a different NIC? Do the following commands work?nslookup apex-mainnslookup apex-dtnslookup apexsystems.localIt's a long thread and I don't see that this was covered yet. In the advanced TCP/IPv4 settings on the WINS tab is Enable NETBIOS checked?Kerry Brown
MS-MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
January 19th, 2010 2:16am