I have a simple home network with a router (DLINK DIR825) and a Comcast SB5210 Cable Modem. I also have a simple DLINK 12 port switch. I have both wireless network's active on my router though most of my network is connected via wired ethernet. I have 6 pcs, two TVs and two DVD players that are also connected via wired ethernet. Wirelessly I have one printer a PS3, WII, XBOX 360, 3 iPhones and 2 iPads. My issue revolves around one PC. It has a Gigabyte motherboard with two 1G Ethernet ports on it. When I connect the PC to the network, it can access the internet with no problems. It often can access other PCs through Windows Filesharing (not Homegroup) I haven't figured out a pattern that describes whether it will be able to access the other networked PCs yet. It cannot access the TVs, DVD players and from the TV/DVD it's the only PC that doesn't show up as a networked device. I can strem video using Airserver and it works through the firewall for access outside the lan. I can also access the stream from other PCs. I can often see the computer on the network from other PCs and usually I can get files/place files from/on the PC. So you may be asking what the problem is? Well, there are a ton of little things that require network access that I would have never thought were necessary. For example, iTunes (the single worst piece of software I can think of in my opinion) refuses to see other networked itunes installations. Some media applications/network file management applications don't work. It's not possible to share files with the TV or DVD players. You can't do remote access on the PC and then there's the really weird issue that I can't resolve. If you look at the network icon in the system panel of the taskbar, you see your standard network icon. However, hovering over it shows "NO NETWORK CONNECTED" The same is true if you open Network and Sharing Center...It simply says, "you are not connected to any networks" If you try to install an app that looks for network access, it fails the install and says, "you need to be connected to a network to install" (even if you are installing it across the network at the time) If you open the network adapters and get the properties of the wired ethernet adapter, you can see clearly that you have an ip address and it all looks fine. If you disable/reenable doesn't help. If you disable in the bios and try the other jack, same difference. If you install another network card, disable the onboard network jacks, same thing happens. However, if you install a wireless USB dongle, you will have access to the network and a network will show up when you hover over the network icon (not the Homegroup still), but only so long as both the wired and wireless connections are running. If you disconnect the wired connection, you lose access to the network completely (no internet, lan, nothing). The homegroup never sees this pc connected to any network ever. So I can't join a homegroup. I can't even leave the homegroup that it was once joined to. (this is the case with all of the PCs on my LAN because the homegroup provider PC went belly up and for some reason, none of them can leave the homegroup without the homegroup provider...don't know why either. The other PCs are all on the same homegroup (whether in the same workgroup or not). I have been asking for help in the regular windows forum for about 9 months and though I have tried everything from manually rebuilding my TCPIP stack to upgrading to Windows 7 Ultimate and nothing has helped. The troubleshooters haven't helped. I have copied the list of services active on a working PC to verify that all the services necessary are running. I've done the same with the Network Adapters to make sure the protocols/services were correctly bound. Nothing helps. Although it's not critical, it is frustrating and embarrassing that I can't resolve this issue. Any advice? Thanks in advance for your support. Best wishes, Jase

Change your network to a work network with no domain or AD and use "WORKGROUP" as the name and you should be able to see more gear My MVP is for the Windows Desktop Experience, i.e. Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 IT Remote Assistance is available for a fee. I am best with C++ and I am learning C# using Visual Studio 2010 Developer | Windows IT | Chess | Economics | Hardcore Games | Vegan Advocate | PC Reviews

Hi Jase, Thanks for posting in TechNet forum. I'm a little confused about your question. According to your description, since there are different version of operating system, The better practice is using Workgroup. Please refer to this: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Networking-home-computers-running-different-versions-of-Windows Regards, Miya TechNet Subscriber Support in forum. If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.comThis posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. | Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" on the post that helps you, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Hi, How's going? Please feel free to give us any update. Regards, Miya TechNet Subscriber Support in forum. If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.comThis posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. | Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" on the post that helps you, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

As this thread has been quiet for a while, we assume that the issue has been resolved. At this time, we will mark it as 'Answered' as the previous steps should be helpful for many similar scenarios. If the issue still persists, please feel free to reply this post directly so we will be notified to follow it up. You can also choose to unmark the answer as you wish. BTW, we'd love to hear your feedback about the solution. By sharing your experience you can help other community members facing similar problems. Thanks for your understanding and efforts. Regards, Miya TechNet Subscriber Support in forum. If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.comThis posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. | Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" on the post that helps you, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Miya Yao, I do apologize for the terrible delay in my response; I have not been receiving alerts and wasn't aware that anyone had replied. I would like to clear up a couple of things: All of the computers on my network are running Windows 7 Ultimate. I have tried to configure the network as a domain, as a workgroup, as a segmented workgroup, as a peer-to-peer network and an SBS2008 client/server network. The problem remains unchanged. By looking at the event logs, I am getting a ton of errors in the peer name resolution protocol family and the occasional MasterBrowser error coming from the PC in question. I am unable to remove any of the computers from the now defunct homegroup, nor can I change the homegroup password or start a new homegroup. I have tried different hardware (both physical Ethernet ports, a PCI-Express Ethernet card, a wireled USB Ethernet adapter, and numerous wireless adapters (USB). If I install a wireless USB Ethernet adapter, the wired Ethernet port works and two clients show up on the router. The computer still says "no connections available, you are not connected to any networks" but the network icon is not greyed out on the taskbar. One simple test that I use to determine if the problem is resolved is that I open the menu on my Samsung TV and browse my network. All of my PCs show up as both Media Servers and DLNA devices. All are browseable and capable of streaming audio/video to the television. All of them, that is, expect this one computer. It never shows up. Other computers can see it and it can see other computers, but it still says "No network connection available" and "not connected to any network". It can still access the internet and the lan, but it doesn't want to admit it. And though you can use LogeMeIn to loginto and logout of the machine, you cannot use TeamViewer or Remote Access. It can run a 3rd party video server and clients will receive/stream the content with little or no problems. I can't help but feel like this a problem stemming from the fact that the homegroup service provider is no longer available. I'm kind of at wits end, though I do appreciate your help. Again, I apologize for the delayed response. Thanks for any suggestions/ideas, best wishes, Jase