Windows 7 Can't see workgroup PCs
As the title says I can't see any computers in my workgroup. My network card seems to work fine, and I can connect to the internet just fine. Its on a wired LAN 100mbps and I check the workgroups and they are setup correctly. I tried searching for devices but askes for a address like //location/folder but what does that mean? How would I type my workgroup dir so it would search it, //MSHOME/ ? That didn't work for me. I tried having Windows 7 search for any problems with the network and its says theres one issue with NAT devices and I need to contact my ISP, but I didn't have this problem with Windows Vista. I'm also using all Windows 7 drivers from Microsoft, should I go download the Vista drivers for all my hardware?
March 18th, 2009 11:17pm

Hi, I suggest that you enable Network Discovery. Click Start->Control Panel->Network and Sharing Center, click Change advanced sharing settings. Enable the option. If the issue persists, try to access another computer by entering \\computername in the Start Search box. Let us know if it works properly.Arthur Xie - MSFT
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March 20th, 2009 11:59am

Howzit Folks?I have the same problem as WNxSpike and have Network Discovery enabled but still can't see Workgroup computers. Do I need to make any changes to the firewall?BTW, I'm using Windows 7 RC1.Any help appreciated.CheersBruceTCP/IP Configuration:Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : blah-blah-blah Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/1000 MT Desktop Adapter Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1E-8C-18-08-4B DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::9853:4a1f:bc67:2409%11(Preferred) IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.200(Preferred) Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 234888844 DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-11-99-92-D5-00-1E-8C-18-08-4B DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 194.46.192.141 194.46.192.142 192.168.1.1 NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled Tunnel adapter isatap.{8D18779E-AEBC-4599-ABBB-36A26AA45818}: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 9: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:d5c7:a2d6:452:1336:3dd1:44d3(Preferred) Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::452:1336:3dd1:44d3%13(Preferred) Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : :: NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled
May 13th, 2009 2:35am

I have the same problem.I have got the network discovery working and am not in a homegroup.I can'y force a connection by typing \\hostename\sharename.I am spending a disproportionate amount of my leisure time trying to make windows 7 do what mac osx, windows xp windows vista and ubuntu can do without meopening a help file.Has anybody got their copy to see a workgroup?If so how?This is not a good way for Microsoft to pursuade me to buy their next OSFrank
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May 19th, 2009 12:46am

I have the same problem, W7 7000 worked as it should W7 7001 does not. Is there anyone here with a working network in which you can see the other computers. The other computers are running Vista. I have the firewall disabled.
May 19th, 2009 12:27pm

For some strange reason it is working now, spent hours trying last night.
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May 19th, 2009 12:48pm

I found that if I try to connect to my workgroup PCs via IP Address, i.e. \\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx\sharename, the system is able to authenticate and connect. Trying to connect by names, even when creating a purely Windows 7 Homegroup, still fails miserably. Network discovery is on and is finding the PCs, just can't connect. So it appears that perhaps MS is trying to finally move away from NetBIOS. Has anyone tried Windows 7 workgroup access via an FQDN with a DNS server on their network?
May 19th, 2009 2:58pm

Nantallen, your solution worked fine....from Windows 7. I can even map workgroup shares as network drives that way.Inevitably the other workgroup computers still can't see the windows 7 shared folders. (they can see there is a computer of that name but can't access it).I have set up folder sharing, disabled the firewall, added the identities fromn the other workgroup computers to the logins of the windows 7 and enabled guest access. All users have read/write/full control of the Users/Shared folder and I am trying to access it from another computer authenticating as the Win 7 administrator. I can't.Perhaps this would be a good time for a Microsoft staffer, who must be monitoring these Release Candidate forums, to get one of the programmers to offer a solution. Quite a few people are posting similar problems throughout the Networking forum.
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May 20th, 2009 1:36am

Hi all! Have the same bug. After clean install Windows 7 RC1 build 7100 - Network Discovery didn't work, but Net access is normal. (Home LAN have 4 mashines (Workstations), 1 fileserver (simply PC), and one PC as Gateway. Simply Workgroup - I think there's no reason for Domain strukture). So, Win7 PC have normal access to Internet, all mashines have access to shared folders on Win7 PC, but not vice versa. And, naturally, in the Network folder Win7 PC can see himself only. On the next day (Win7 PC is not shutdowned) in the Network folder suddenly appears all Workgroup mashines. Well, I'm glad... At last I can use my Favorites folder and My Document folder, which are placed on the fileserver. (Using My Document folder is other song))) But today (third day of installed Win7) problem with access to other mashines in the home LAN appear again. All tricks with enable\disable Network Discovery don't work properly. Forcing connections with typing computer names\folders names don't work too. Must say that in all of the Beta Builds I haven't any problem with networking in home LAN area. Only in the RC1 that bug appear. P.S. Maybe that is not Bug? Maybe that's a feature? LOL P.P.S. Oh, yes! The Troubleshooter say that "Your broadband modem is experiencing connectivity issues" and "The network gateway is accessible, but Windows couldnt receive network traffic from the Internet." What a ____ i need from Internet? I just don't have any kind of modem ! I simply want to have access to My Doc's, Favorites and other files I have INside my own home network! But when I'm boot XP SP3 - there is not any problem. So - trouble is in RC1...
May 20th, 2009 4:54pm

I have the same problem as others (network works, but the Win7 computer does not show in the workgroup (on other computers) and I cannot see any other computer on Win7). The Network Discovery (and "File and printer sharing" and "sharing so anyone with network access can...") are all enabled. I am running Win7 RC (7100). I can find the Win7 computer from other PCs (all running WinXP) (by using Search and searching for \\computername\share name), but not vice versa. Eventually, I added shortcuts to "My Network Places" pointing to a share on Win7. Interestingly, i was able to browse to them. In short the connectivity works, but Win7 runs ins a "stealth mode". Any ideas?
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May 20th, 2009 6:21pm

I always see people having this problem. It was common between XP and 2000, with XP and Vista, now with XP and 7. I don't understand. I have NEVER had this fail.I have ALL machines on the same workgroup. I use HOME. All machines have the same logins/passwords. All machines have drives (or folders) shared with the permissions set correctly. I use FULL CONTROL for EVERYONE. You have to set the permissions! The machines all have to be on for a few minutes to appear everywhere. I can see every machine in the house. Wired, wireless, makes no difference. Every machine can see every other machine and shares. This has never failed for me. If you can't see other machines in Network Neighborhood (or whatever) you have it setup wrong. This is not a Win 7 problem, it is a setup problem.
May 20th, 2009 9:34pm

I was running W7 under virtualization and using NAT, now uses BRIDGED and i can see all the computers now.
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May 21st, 2009 12:32am

I don't know if this will help. I have the same problem with Windows 7. I found a temporary solution by opening the network connections on another (slave) pc in my workgroup. This found my Windows 7 machine and when I dragged some music files into my user name shared file It brought up all my network pc's and I was able to transfer files between the windows7 and other pc's. Unfortunately it only lasted until I shut down Windows 7 but it did allow me to transfer the files I wanted and I was able to recreate the connection a second time. I was not able to locate my network printer though.
May 21st, 2009 10:35pm

I found a solution that worked for me - disable IPv6 in adapter properties. This was a similar fix for XP\Vista networks when Vista was first released.
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May 23rd, 2009 12:32pm

...(share some folder onall pc's)1. open network and sharing center2.open change advanced sharing center3.check under home or network properties, if you have turned on network discovery and file and printersharing 4. if off turn it on, save changes, exit center then check it again. if appears off again find on win7 help which services must be started for network discovery. (start those services)Network discovery requires that the DNS Client, Function Discovery Resource Publication, SSDP Discovery, and UPnP Device Hostservices are started, that network discovery is allowed to communicate through Windows Firewall --> from windows help5.you can try also change adapter settings on active adapter -> properties -> TCP/ IPv4 ->properties -> advanced -> wins -> use enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP6. sory for my english i hope you will understand
May 24th, 2009 5:06pm

I have been fighting this for over a week, and still no joy. I can see and copy to/from the W7 system from other computers on the LAN, but W7 will NOT access the other computers. Tried everything suggested in several of these threads, plus some things not mentioned. IPCONFIG is good EXCEPT that: - Node Type is Hybrid instead of Broadcast - IP Routing Enabled is No instead of Yes W7 DOES: - get Internet - see the other computers and list them under Network and in Network Center - ping them - shows them with NET VIEW It just flat refuses to connect to them.
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May 31st, 2009 8:47am

So what is the error when you doI ASSUME you have users / shares setup on the XP boxes..\\pcname\\ipaddress
June 1st, 2009 12:56am

Address bar changes the backslash to forward slash and says File not found. Net Use \\computername gives error 234 -- same for \\ipaddress Clicking any of the shown networked system icons gets me "Windows can not access \\computername". I was getting a logon prompt at first (it refused to accept it), but when I changed it from a home to a work network, I have only gotten the access error since, even after changing it back to home (NOT HOMEGROUP network. That's nuked, along with IPv6) I got an Error 53 from Net View \\computer name BUT Net View by itself shows all the computers btw, it's a 3 system lan. W2Ksp4ru1, XP sp2, and w7rc. And it was working fine with w7beta Thanks
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June 1st, 2009 7:09am

Easy Fix. Control Panel > System and Security> System "See Name of this computer" > Change Settings......... and there ya go. Change the name of your workgroup from "WORKGROUP" to what every you use. The old XP default was MSHOME. Restart and your done.
October 31st, 2009 8:00pm

I also had an easy fix.I tuned off the IP 6.0 setting in the network adaptpr properties, and resolved to the shared folders uisng the IP address, now I can see the other files in my work group. Easy fix
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November 5th, 2009 5:01am

Easy Fix. Control Panel > System and Security> System "See Name of this computer" > Change Settings......... and there ya go. Change the name of your workgroup from "WORKGROUP" to what every you use. The old XP default was MSHOME. Restart and your done. That should be the right point...
January 13th, 2010 7:07pm

Sorry but I clicked the 'propose as answer' to the reply above - and the answer above was exactly what NEVER worked for me! I had 3 XP machines and 1 Vista laptop all with 'WG2' as the workgroup - and they all talked to each other just fine. Then I added a Win7 machine. I set him in a home network and his workgroup to WG2 just like all the other guys. But then all the other guys could see him but Win7 couldn't see anybody else! Tried all kinds of things but nothing worked. Finally I did 2 things today. First I followed the suggestion to turn off IPV6 but that didn't seem to make any difference. When I kept trying things and tried to change workgroup names on the XP machines and told them I was on a business workgroup, each machine took my previous WG2 and changed it to WORKGROUP - so kind of for the ____ of it I went around and changed all the workgroup names from WG2 to WORKGROUP and bingo - everyone now sees everybody else! Seems like Win7 wants everybody to belong to WORKGROUP and you're on your own if you want to call it anything else.
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January 19th, 2010 1:10am

I have this same problem - I have a Windows 7 system on a network with two Windows XP systems. If I browse the network on the Windows 7 system, I would not see the XP systems even though they were in the same work group. What I found was that changing the workgroup seems to force the Windows 7 system to rescan the systems in that work group. For example, on the Windows 7 system, I can change the work group from "WORKGROUP" to something else like "WORKGROUP2" and then change it back to "WORKGROUP" and it will start seeing the XP systems again. The problem is that the Windows 7 system seems to occasionally lose the XP systems and I have to force it to rediscover them again by repeating this process of leaving the work group and rejoining it again. Doing that is a real pain so I hope we can find a solution to this problem.I have network discovery turned on and my firewall is not blocking access...it seems that you have to force Windows 7 to refresh the members of the work group in order to see them.Chuck
January 23rd, 2010 2:26pm

Went through a lot of the above over the past week using a wired VISTA desktop and a wireless 7 notebook. All was well (since setup after Xmas) until the laptop turned OFF the onboard wireless adapter - never to return - but that is another story! I installed an external adapter which gave internet access on both machines but no sharing of files or printer. I could not even see files on the same machine using the network facility on windows explorer. I have unchecked the IPV4 and IPV6 connectivity on both machines, and then checked them on both machines. File and printer sharing is now all systems go. Guess this does some sort of reset? I have also reinstated my default Firewall settings after turning them off and the network is still working. I duplicated my main user account across machines yesterday but have not tried deleting them yet to see if that was significant. There seems to be a lot of misinformation out there and I cannot remember all the tips I have tried unsuccessfully. Mike
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January 25th, 2010 6:01am

Hey all! I was having the same problem. Here's how I fixed it. START>Right Click on COMPUTER and select Properties. Click on ADVANCED SYSTEM SETTINGS on the left. Click on the COMPUTER NAME tab. My Computer Description was blank. I added a computer description, clicked OK - then refreshed the Network folder and Wah-Lah! All of the workstations appeared. Hope this helps!
January 25th, 2010 5:55pm

I too could see the Win 7 laptop in the other computers network neighbourhoods, but you couldn't access it. Also the Win 7 laptop was not seeing any of them, only itself. Also the LAN had a red x on it. The Win 7 was running over wireless, as was all the other ones, and could get onto the internet, just no networking. I was fighting with this for the last few hours, trying this and that, and somehow this last combination finally worked for me after doing some of the following suggestions up above: Of course I had Network Discovery, file and print sharing, public folder, media streaming all turned on. I enabled the 40 or 56 bit encrytion just in case since we have some older puters on the network. I turned off password sharing...stuff that looks more obvious. But I had to finally pick WORK network not HOME network, did not like the HOME one at all. Also I shut off the IPv6 as someone suggested under adapter and I also put in the computer name again under computer description as described above. I also shut off Zone Alarm here and there to see if that made the computers pop up in the network, but that didn't work. Anyway, I might have done a few more things that I have forgotten to put down. So, with all of this done and zone alarm working, it is seeing the other computers finally!!!! HOWEVER, I cannot access them yet if Zone Alarm is on, so Zone Alarm is blocking that part of it now. Boy, I never had this problem with my old Vista laptop, gawd I missed her today, and we have Win 98 and Xp computers also on this network, also never any problem with networking. This Windows 7 setup was super annoying and stressful, not user friendly at all in this instance. Otherwise I like Win 7 so far... now back to see why Zone Alarm is restricting access to the 'puters on the net. *serenity now* *serenity now!*
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January 27th, 2010 8:45pm

I have two Win 7 64 bit computers and one machine sees my computer on the Homegroup, but mine will not see it. If I go to the other computer and type my computer name \\dane-pc at the start prompt it does not find it. Trying the same thing on my computer by typing in the other computer name does find his computer. Sometimes the network map will draw, but it will show my computer in the lower left hand of the map and not "placeable" on the map. Even though the other computer sees me in the homegroup and shows my shared directories, it cannot open any of the directories even though I have granted read/write access to the homegroup. I notice that on the Network and Sharing connections map that I am on a Homegroup but mine has a name (my wireless SSID) where my other computer just says "network". A wireless laptop in my network does see me in the homegroup and I can see i (we both have the SSID as network name even though my desktop is not wirelessly connected (wireless adapter is disabled). It has something to do with the Network name. I have tried the following without success: Updated my NIC to the latest driver per Novack's site reference. Turned on services for "Peer Network Grouping" and "Network Location Awareness" and set to automatic. Edited my registry to set "DisabledComponents" to 0 Named my "computer description" to the name of my workgroup (which is workgroup). Have checked all the Advanced Sharing Setting under Homegroup: Network Discovery is ON File and Print Sharing is ON Sharing with anyone is ON Password protection is OFF IPv6 is on I have set DHCP off and entered all the necessary parameters and set WINS to enable Netbios. Any other suggestions? I cannot understand why this is such a difficult task to get Homegroup to work. THANKS!
May 24th, 2010 7:21pm

I have a Windows 7 64 bit machine on a home network with a mix of wired and wireless computers running everything from W2k, XP, and Vista. Yesterday all worked great. I do not permit automatic updates or even automatic downloading (after I have had updates applied at shutdown with automatic updates turned off). At the end of the day I shut it down. This morning I could not see any of the other computers on the network. My Computer indicated that network discovery was off when I clicked on the Network. Bizarre. I just changed to a Work network after reading above and now see the Vista machines below the Network but only one of them in the right pane. While typing this, the machine in the right pane also got listed as having shared media (for 2 seconds) then went away. Sheesh this is flakey code. Oh, I am not in a home group (since this is the only W7 machine) and am in a workgroup (not named WORKGROUP) - this is a change I made this morning trying to fix this... Any suggestions? This is frustrating. I have worked with hundreds of PCs over the year and have never been so stymied as I have since Vista came out (it took we 2 weeks to install W7).
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June 13th, 2010 6:24pm

Hey guys, I am trying to get a networking issue between Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit and Windows XP Pro resolved. Here goes.. So I use advanced sharing in Windows XP and I am sharing one folder. I removed the "everyone" permission and added my current user name to the permissions list. I give this user full control. Now when I try to access this from Windows 7, it gives a permission error and I cannot get in. The folder shows up fine on Win 7 and I can ping machines back and forth. This is not a firewall problem for sure. For testing purposes I removed the user in the permissions list on the XP share and I added "everyone." Then I go back to the Windows 7 pc to try and access the share and BAM... it works. Opens in a rapid fashion and all is well. BUT. This is not secure. I want to be able to only allow certain users. When I remove the "everyone" permission and only add the current account name on the XP machine, I am making the share password protected. My xp machine has a user account that needs a password. When I access XP shares from other XP machines, it asks for a user and password to login. Ever since I brought one Windows 7 machine into the network, it gives me a permission error. I want Windows 7 to pop up the same dialogue box that wants a user name and password to access. I also should not need to have my XP and 7 windows have the same user name password. Windows XP was a breeze. Basically I want this: Make the shares on the XP machine to be password protected (everyone permission fully removed). So when I want to access it from the 7 machine, it will ask for the username and pass. (just like xp to xp machines do) I have read far and wide but never found something this specific. Let's get this forum fired up and get security to the forefront .
June 13th, 2010 11:55pm

I did the same thing disable IPv6 and it works great!!!!!!!
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June 15th, 2010 5:53am

Did you get it resolved? I am in the same boat Thanks
June 21st, 2010 7:28pm

Naddy, You are probably right, but if it is a setup problem, WHAT is the problem??? Your answer is useless as stated
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June 21st, 2010 7:30pm

I suggest that you should joined in a workgroup for you to able to see the other computer. Right Click>My Computer >Properties> ; then you will see the basic information about your computer such as the Windows Edition, System,Computer name/domain name and workgroup settings.. Under the Computer name/domain name and workgroup settings there was the: computer name: xxxxxxxxxxx full computer name: xxxxxxxxxxx computer description: xxxxxxxxx workgroup: ????????? on the right side click the Change Settings >System Properties > under System Properties click the Change button to rename this computer or change its domain or workgroup,click Change. it will prompt: Computer name: xxxxxxxx member of radio button : Domain radio button: Workgroup: (you click the radio button on workgroup then input the name of the workgroup, if done click ok. it will prompt a message box that you are welcoming to that workgroup. and a message box again that you need to restart your computer to take effect. close/save the other program then click restart your computer now on the message box. after restart you may now see the other workgroup computer/s.
June 22nd, 2010 1:17pm

I think that this has been answered a bunch of times before, but jtracker said it exactly like it should be.
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June 24th, 2010 3:14am

The WIFI network was working fine. I made no changes. But then I saw network discovery is off... so I turned it on and again it worked. I transferred files etc. Then, nothing, none of the other PC's would show (but I could still connect to the internet). After reinstalling, rebooting etc. it reached the point where I could see other win7 pc's on the network. But not the XP PC's. It's set to "work" and the computer name, description and workgroup name are all set correctly. I could also see my pc on the other PC's but when I tried to access it, it said path not found. I uninstalled network drivers and when I tried to reinstall I got DSOD (something "not equal" and a driver error.) The PC is less than 2 weeks old and I'm already at 40% maint. time. Borg Vomit
June 25th, 2010 4:53am

Hey WNXSpike let me explain you an experience that i made yersterday. first i use windows 7 pro and my boss ask me to put 8 pcs at the same workgroup as name EDUC. first i use standard procedure to add each computer at the same workgroup and i make sure that i leave the homegroup in the shoose homegroup and sharing options Option and i use the same network Location til now everything normally. and after i add two other pcs in the workgroup when i tried to access these two computers via one of 8pcs that tell i cannot access and then i can access all pcs between the 8 pcs. i suggest you to do the samething like me okay. try it ok
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July 14th, 2010 5:43pm

disable your firewalls
July 19th, 2010 5:24pm

Windows 7 has something new called a Homegroup. This makes sharing between other Windows 7 pc's easy but causes problems with non Windows 7 pc's. Google how to turn off and disable your Homegroup and you should be fine.
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July 27th, 2010 2:22am

I was having similar problems with a workgroup using various XP & Win 7 PC's and after quite a bit of wrangling, I think I figured out the problem and it may work for other users (ultimately, my problem hinged on a firewall setting). 1)Make sure all machines have the same workgroup name, ex. MSHOME. 2)As others here have suggested, make sure all Win 7 machines have changed their workgroup settings from "Home" to a "Work" network in the Network & Sharing Center, this enables the XP machines to see and access the ones with Win 7. (Also make sure that that network discovery, file & printer sharing, etc. are turned on as needed in Advanced Sharing Settings). 3)On the XP machines, make sure to check your firewall settings and allow exceptions for file & printer sharing, this allowed my Win 7 machines to see and access the ones with XP. Step 3 is what solved the problem for me. :)
August 1st, 2010 12:11am

After trying everything including all of the suggestions in this post, I finally got it to work for me. It wanted my mypcname\sharename and then password. For example the name of the workgroup computer that I was trying to connect to was, CHIBURN. I first typed \\chiburn in the run box and hit enter, when the box openend at the top left of the screen for username and password, I selected other and typed in my pc name, e.g. mypcname\CHIBURN and then entered the password in the next box. Hope this helps.
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August 5th, 2010 10:14pm

Hey all! I was having the same problem. Here's how I fixed it. START>Right Click on COMPUTER and select Properties. Click on ADVANCED SYSTEM SETTINGS on the left. Click on the COMPUTER NAME tab. My Computer Description was blank. I added a computer description, clicked OK - then refreshed the Network folder and Wah-Lah! All of the workstations appeared. Hope this helps! This fixed it for me as well! It was bizarre, as I was able to browse by computer name for the past year, suddenly the past week or so I have not been able to. I believe it may have been from a recent Microsoft security update?? I also just added a computer description, clicked okay, now I can browse by computer name. Before I did what was mentioned above, I was able to browse by ip address just fine.
August 16th, 2010 7:50pm

I have been wrestling with this night and day. Here are the specifics of my system: 1) Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit (Networking Win 7 Ultimate: 6-core, 4-core, Xerox MFP Phaser Printer, Internet) 2) Gigabyte motherboard with on-board LAN 3) D-Link DGL 4100 router - Configured properly with both computers and Printer showing IP's (DCHP) and MAC addresses A) Printers recognized by both the Quad and the 6-core computers. B) Internet connected, on and accessible from both computers C) Cisco NetworkMagic and Win 7 both report Network and Internet Access (lower right corner of screen) D) Occasionally (key word) both computers are mutually visible to each other - and then suddenly not visible E) Occasionally directories are visible to/from both computers - and then suddenly not visible F) File sharing so opened up that a groundhog in the next county could access anything In an attempt to eliminate variables and re-check everything: 1) Re-did the Workgroup setup procedure per http://windows.microsoft.com/e.....-workgroup (USELESS, COMMON SENSE) --- Every setting checked and double checked 2) Deleted/Uninstalled MSE - Now only have ESET AV/Firewall 3) D-Link DGL-4100 Gamer Router configured properly. 4) Still have BitTorrent installed and running - just no downloading or seeding at the moment Note: A) I am NOT interested in networking to Win XP, Vista, etc. - Only within Win 7 Workgroup B) No, I will not use HomieGroup - because of its many limitations. So that's it. No reliable network, file sharing or file transfer possible. Like a bad date, at best it's on again, off again. Help please. Rant for the day: Why has the ease of networking in Win NT 4.0 been replaced by the convenience of networking in Windows 7? Thanks, IncurableGeek (@yahoo.com)
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August 20th, 2010 7:55pm

did you resolve? i have the same issue
October 20th, 2010 9:48pm

BTW: Had the same problem (Not finding workgroup PCs) This worked for me ... The d! description field ??? really MSFT? That should stop PC's from being visible on a network LOL! Thanks for the help. I was pulling hair out on this one!
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November 1st, 2010 12:14pm

Hey guys, I am trying to get a networking issue between Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit and Windows XP Pro resolved. Here goes.. So I use advanced sharing in Windows XP and I am sharing one folder. I removed the "everyone" permission and added my current user name to the permissions list. I give this user full control. Now when I try to access this from Windows 7, it gives a permission error and I cannot get in. The folder shows up fine on Win 7 and I can ping machines back and forth. This is not a firewall problem for sure. For testing purposes I removed the user in the permissions list on the XP share and I added "everyone." Then I go back to the Windows 7 pc to try and access the share and BAM... it works. Opens in a rapid fashion and all is well. BUT. This is not secure. I want to be able to only allow certain users. When I remove the "everyone" permission and only add the current account name on the XP machine, I am making the share password protected. My xp machine has a user account that needs a password. When I access XP shares from other XP machines, it asks for a user and password to login. Ever since I brought one Windows 7 machine into the network, it gives me a permission error. I want Windows 7 to pop up the same dialogue box that wants a user name and password to access. I also should not need to have my XP and 7 windows have the same user name password. Windows XP was a breeze. Basically I want this: Make the shares on the XP machine to be password protected (everyone permission fully removed). So when I want to access it from the 7 machine, it will ask for the username and pass. (just like xp to xp machines do) I have read far and wide but never found something this specific. Let's get this forum fired up and get security to the forefront . Same exact situation as you, and yes, you are right. It's been suggested in this forum to give "EVERYONE" full control, which we both know is a terrible "fix". It's infuriating actually - more so when my Mac has no issue with this whatsoever - it'll correctly asks you to define the user and password for the XP share. "EVERYONE" + FULL CONTROL is definitely not an answer, nor a fix. It gets you to make things work, in the wrong way - which is unfortunately what MS presumably wanted to get away from. So this maybe a simple lack of knowledge for me on Win7, so I'll ask specific questions related to making Windows 7 properly access Windows XP shares (share/permissions are set, workgroups are set and visible, this is specifically about access, not discovery): There seems to be some auto-login going on. Win7 doesn't even ask for credentials to access a share with specific user permissions. What/how is this configured properly? - to pop a login, and not try to access "automatically". To everyone reading this that is why "EVERYONE" + full control works. Your share has absolutely no security whatsoever. It's allowing EVERYONE access to it - yes, read, write, delete. You, your neighbor, your guests, EVERYONE . You can of course only allow READ (suggested) to protect from modifications, but not access.... Hope there's a specific answer to this - answers like "give EVERYONE full control" is likely the opposite result MS wants its user base to do - hence all the hoops to jump around with networking and trying to apply "secure by default". Obviously its not working and without clarity, your users will do what they will do - making all this security effort a waste.It's ____! http://dailycrapola.spaces.live.com/
November 1st, 2010 1:10pm

I've had the same problem, and I found that changing the workgroup name on the Win7 computer to something else, and then changing it right back to the original name fixes the problem. It seems that changing the workgroup name is forceing the computer to run a "network discovery" process of some sort. I suppose that the poster above who changed his Win7 description to get it to work in doing so also forced the Win7 computer to run this process. All of this while "automatic network discovery" is set to on. So it appears the Win7 computer doesn't fully try to discover the network automatically in all cases. In my case, I had made what I thought were minor changes to the network - I replaced the ethernet card in the XP machine and had to download a new driver to get it working. Interestingly, although I was unable to see XP files on on my Win7 computer, I was able to see Win7 files on the XP machine. But not vice versa until I changed the workgroup name and then changed back on the Win7 computer. Hopefully, this post will get MS to figure out what is truly happening when you change a workgroup name, that apparently DOESN'T happen even with automatic discovery set to "on". Come on guys - help us out here!!!
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November 10th, 2010 10:27am

Rant for the day: Why has the ease of networking in Win NT 4.0 been replaced by the convenience of networking in Windows 7? Thanks, IncurableGeek (@yahoo.com) Agreed. After reading pages and pages of basically the same issue, dating back to early last year, you would think MS could recognize that they blew this one. Yes I have just been fighting the same problem. My XP and Vista systems can see/access the new Windows 7, but not the other way around. And it magicaaly sees, but still can't access, the other systems once in awhile. This is soooo much fun. It should not be this difficult, and certainly seems like a step backwards.Wayne
November 13th, 2010 10:58pm

I had big problem to add 3 new computers with windows 7 to the existing network with computers who are running windows XP. workgroup name is WORKGROUP. After weeks and weeks hard work finally I have found solution. Start->right-clicking Computer->Properties->Under Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings, click Change settings->Computer Name tab->Change First because default name of Workgroup in Windows 7 is WORKGROUP I have change that to example MSHOME, RESET. Than change again the name of workgroup to WORKGROUP and thats works on all 3 computers. Its maybe silly but its work for me
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November 26th, 2010 9:44am

//mshome/. 7 I believe sets the homegroup name to workgroup instead of mshome
November 27th, 2010 10:05am

This worked for me. I can now see the XP Pro computers, and can transfer files the Windows7 computer to the XPs.
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December 27th, 2010 12:44pm

This is the BEST answer as it solved my problems of mixing XP pc and W7 pc. I knew the W7 was on 'different' track to the other MSHOME network - but didnt realise it was important! Thank you very much!
January 4th, 2011 3:24am

hi! jst follow these steps to configure ur Workgroup to share stuffs in the home network under windows 7 Step #1: make sure ur anti-virus software firewall disabled and windows firewall enabled. Step #2: goto control panel -> Network and Internet ->Networking and sharing their u will find ur active network profile (i.e home or work or public) NOTE: in order to share file all the systems in the network must be configured to either home or work. so, u can choose home or work network profile but make sure all the system in the network are configured to the same network profile (i.e make all ur network pc to either home or work profile) if u configured different network profile for the network pc, u will get weird errors while connecting! Step #3: once all the network system are configured to same network profile then goto control panel -> Network and Internet ->Networking and sharing ->Change advanced sharing setting turn on i)network discovery ii)file sharing iii)public sharing folder and turn off password protected sharing(just for convenience) Step #4: right click my computer goto properties choose change setting option which is under the computer name,domain work group setting. under computer name tab click the change button. by default ur computer will be member of work group with a preset profile naming "WORKGROUP" Step #5: rename tht profile name from workgroup to something like shareme and hit the ok. NOTE: MUST DO ALL OF THE ABOVE STEPS IN ALL THE SYSTEM WHICH ARE CONNECTED IN THE NETWORK. THTS ALL....SO FAR WE HAVE CREATED AND CONFIGURED WORKGROUP! NOW RESTART THE PC AND CHECK OUT THE RESULT! Cheers! hope tht works.. i tested using windows 7 and dlink wifi router!
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January 5th, 2011 9:46pm

WHY HAS THIS POST GOTTEN SO LONG??? THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE AND HAS BEEN STATED MANY, MANY TIMES: CHANGE THE WORKGROUP NAME ON THE WIN7 COMPUTER TO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, THEN CHANGE IT BACK! THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT!
January 6th, 2011 10:14am

well, i agree with ur view! but while i google regarding this topic there was many people had trouble even doing wht u have said. beacause either their antivirus s/w blocks this feature..or people have no idea regarding network profile.... so y i planned to provide complete tutorial dear Todd71!! sorry for my lengthy tutorial.. i m happy u gave the feedback! cheers!
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January 6th, 2011 7:55pm

Well I have the same problem of losing access to the computers on my lan in a workgroup with a win7 home netbook. Works for about a month then stops seeing the workgroup computers. It's setup for the same workgroup as all the other non win7 computers and nas boxes. I've tried the suggestions of renaming then renaming it back again, adding a discription of the computer, stopping homegroup services from running, turning off the internet prodical 6, etc and none of these have started it working again. I ran LanScan and it shows the netbook is not reporting the workgroup name that is setup in Win7 home. All the other computers and NAS boxes are reporting the correct work group. So it seems Win7 home is forgetting/not reporting the workgroup name in the setup. The only way I have been able to get it to work again is to restore the drive with a backup from a time when it was working with the workgroup. I have a HTPC that is running Window 7 Ultimate and it lost the workgroup for a short time then got it back without me doing anything and it been fine so far. So I'm at a loss for a fix that isn't doing a restore about once a month. Wish I knew what was changing and the cause of the change.
January 11th, 2011 10:22pm

I'm happy to have found this forum. I have 9 Windows Xp, Vista, NAS, all on a home network with the same Workgroup name. I was able to see every device from any of the computers. I recently added a Windows 7 laptop and for a while, I had no problems with invisible devices in the network. Yesterday, for some reason*, the Vista and Win7 computers didn't show all the other computers and devices. The other devices could be accessed via a \\computername. I tried several attempts including adding a lmhosts file and using a WINS server. No attempts worked reliably. The suggestion to disable IPv6 on the Vista and Windows 7 computers works for me. Thanks to the poster and thanks to internet searching. *I wonder if the problem began because I recently had to replace a drive in one of the NAS and I decided to re-initialize the NAS which meant that I had to change its default workgroup name to the one I'm using. UPDATE: The delete IPv6 didn't solve the problem which came back on a later reboot. Trying the change/re-change workgroup name.
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January 12th, 2011 12:02am

I'm happy to have found this forum. I have 9 Windows Xp, Vista, NAS, all on a home network with the same Workgroup name. I was able to see every device from any of the computers. I recently added a Windows 7 laptop and for a while, I had no problems with invisible devices in the network. Yesterday, for some reason*, the Vista and Win7 computers didn't show all the other computers and devices. The other devices could be accessed via a \\computername. I tried several attempts including adding a lmhosts file and using a WINS server. No attempts worked reliably. The suggestion to disable IPv6 on the Vista and Windows 7 computers works for me. Thanks to the poster and thanks to internet searching. *I wonder if the problem began because I recently had to replace a drive in one of the NAS and I decided to re-initialize the NAS which meant that I had to change its default workgroup name to the one I'm using.
January 12th, 2011 12:06am

Well I have the same problem of losing access to the computers on my lan in a workgroup with a win7 home netbook. Works for about a month then stops seeing the workgroup computers. It's setup for the same workgroup as all the other non win7 computers and nas boxes. I've tried the suggestions of renaming then renaming it back again, adding a discription of the computer, stopping homegroup services from running, turning off the internet prodical 6, etc and none of these have started it working again. I ran LanScan and it shows the netbook is not reporting the workgroup name that is setup in Win7 home. All the other computers and NAS boxes are reporting the correct work group. So it seems Win7 home is forgetting/not reporting the workgroup name in the setup. The only way I have been able to get it to work again is to restore the drive with a backup from a time when it was working with the workgroup. I have a HTPC that is running Window 7 Ultimate and it lost the workgroup for a short time then got it back without me doing anything and it been fine so far. So I'm at a loss for a fix that isn't doing a restore about once a month. Wish I knew what was changing and the cause of the change. Edit: Win7 is setup for home network.
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January 12th, 2011 6:18am

Well I have the same problem of losing access to the computers on my lan in a workgroup with a win7 home netbook. Works for about a month then stops seeing the workgroup computers. It's setup for the same workgroup as all the other non win7 computers and nas boxes. I've tried the suggestions of renaming then renaming it back again, adding a discription of the computer, stopping homegroup services from running, turning off the internet prodical 6, etc and none of these have started it working again. I ran LanScan, on another computer when I couldn't see the workgroup, and it shows the netbook is not reporting the workgroup name that is setup in Win7 home. All the other computers and NAS boxes are reporting the correct work group. So it seems Win7 home is forgetting/not reporting the workgroup name in the setup. The only way I have been able to get it to work again is to restore the drive with a backup from a time when it was working with the workgroup. I have a HTPC that is running Window 7 Ultimate and it lost the workgroup for a short time then got it back without me doing anything and it been fine so far. So I'm at a loss for a fix that isn't doing a restore about once a month. Wish I knew what was changing and the cause of the change. Edit: Win7 is setup for home network. Update: I even upgraded it to Ultimate from Home hoping it might help solve the problem. Nope. I have two Win 7 machines. A netbook and a desktop. The desktop lost the workgroup once in a time span of a year or more, but it came back without me doing anything. The netbook is an on going problem. The one difference between the two is the netbook connects to other networks besides the home lan. My work's wifi is the most frequent other network connection I use which is basically a public wifi. Lately when the netbook was seeing the workgroup at home in the evening and morning before work. I went to work, used the public wifi at work and then when I got home I couildn't see the workgroup. Both wifi networks were setup for auto connect. For a few days I was able to get the workgroup back by first deleting with work network from the Manage My Wireless Connects list and rebooting. The next time I got it back by making my home network first in the list. The next time these two actions didn't bring the workgroup back.
January 12th, 2011 6:18am

I suggest changing your network id control panel>system and security>system>change settings>system properties>network id>select this is a home computer ,its not part of a business domian then restart..
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January 12th, 2011 8:52pm

hi . i did everything as u said , in windows seven installed system everything works perfect i,e. i can view and access my drives files which are shared from XP installed system, but in XP i could not see any workgroup computer on view workgroup in XP it empty nothing shows. i have two system one is xp and windows seven , i need to share all drives to each other, it shows all drives of XP in windows seven but it doesnot show Windows seven drives in xp . even it is not showing computer name in view workgroup on xp. help me please.
January 15th, 2011 1:12pm

Hello all, I see you're all having a lot of trouble connecting workgroups together. I've been working IT at a university and three law firms for the last 6 years, and I've had to deal with this problem quite often. At the most troubled firm, they have a Windows XP Server and both Vista and 7 workstations. I suggest: Disable IPv6. Enable network discovery. Use static IPs on all workstations. Duplicate IPs will prevent you from accessing it. Static IP addresses have always fixed the issue for me. I highly suggest trying it.
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March 9th, 2011 2:55pm

Here's my experience: I tried to add a win 7 home premium (wireless) to a mixed Vista and XP workgroup. Disable IPv6. disable the homegroup, and choose the workgroup options instead. Enable network discovery The new pc must have a description as well as a name. I ended up creating a new workgroup and adding each pc to it, thus restarting each one. This was the first indication of success I had - before this, the new pc did not 'see' the workgroup, and the workgroup did not see the new pc. As I restarted the workgroup members, they became visible to the new pc, and they to it. It might be enough to add the new Win 7 to the workgroup and restart each member of the workgroup.
March 12th, 2011 11:33pm

Goto to control panel on Win 7. Go to system and security. Goto system. Scroll down to "computer name, domain and workgroup setting". click on "change settings." Look for "Change" box at the bottom to to rename computer. Click the "Change" box. Next, click on "workgroup" at the bottom. In the box just type "HOME". Now do the same with yr XP machines. Just go to Control panel, systems, change the workgroup name. Type in "HOME" for all of them (for now). See if that works. For some strange reason some win 7 updates just screws it all up. I had the same probs guys. Careful of yr anti virus firewalls too. I did everything concievable no fix. But after I did this. Perfecto! Try this first before chacking other technical stuff that might make matters worse, especially if it was working previously. Good Luck!
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April 3rd, 2011 6:10am

Naddy69,,,,I'm with you on the Have to set Permissions,,,I went through this once,,I could see them and then they would disappear,,then I messed around with the permissions and I got it to work. But now after a recovery I dont remember how to get the permissions set right. So would you put up a step by step process,,this might help people who come in later and for me to look back on. I would greatly appreciate it. Is there a way to set permissions on xp?
April 26th, 2011 10:24pm

Naddy69,,,,I'm with you on the Have to set Permissions,,,I went through this once,,I could see them and then they would disappear,,then I messed around with the permissions and I got it to work. But now after a recovery I dont remember how to get the permissions set right. So would you put up a step by step process,,this might help people who come in later and for me to look back on. I would greatly appreciate it. Is there a way to set permissions on xp?
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April 26th, 2011 10:24pm

Naddy69,,,,I'm with you on the Have to set Permissions,,,I went through this once,,I could see them and then they would disappear,,then I messed around with the permissions and I got it to work. But now after a recovery I dont remember how to get the permissions set right. So would you put up a step by step process,,this might help people who come in later and for me to look back on. I would greatly appreciate it. Is there a way to set permissions on xp?
April 26th, 2011 10:24pm

I read all the posts in this thread, but no luck. My problem is little bit different. I have 2 win 7 pcs. They are on the same WORKGROUP with different computer names, and they can see each other fine on the network. They have the exact same sharing setting. Network discovery is on. File and printer sharing is on. Public folder sharing is on. Password protected sharing is on. I created another user called access on both computers, and the user has the permission to access the folder. If I turn off Password protected sharing, I have no problem. However, if I turn on Password protected sharing, the computer can't access each other. If I click, it just says: "\\xxx 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 permissions. Logon failure: user account restriction. Possible reasons are blank passwords not allowed, logon hour restrictions, or a policy restriction has been enforced." Isn't it supposed to ask me for a username and password?
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May 7th, 2011 2:16am

All the solutions in this thread has not worked for me. Re-installing win7 x64 from Technet DVD. Will see what happens then, see my own thread on this from yesterday. One thing I kinda notice on another WIN7 PC, there seems to be two different things happening when looking at computers in the network window, first the progress bar move along while finding the local computer, then it pauses and then the progress bar moves along again as the other computers are displayed in the network window. On the WIN7 PC that shows no other computers, the progress bar does not seem to do this second thing.
May 7th, 2011 3:45am

Well, I re-installed the complete win7x64 ultimate from technet DVD on the computer which had been upgraded from WIN7x64 home premium to Win7x64 Ultimate, and lo and behold, I immediately can see all devices on the network. Go figure!
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May 7th, 2011 5:05am

I have a windows 2003 server, vista pc (both wired) and W7 laptop(wireless). The wired pcs could see each other but not the laptop and the laptop could not see the wired pcs. I could connect to all pcs by computer name but nothing I did would get the wired pcs to show up on the laptop until I bridged the LAN and Wireless connection and now every one see every one, no isses.
June 8th, 2011 12:10am

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