Windows 10: Edit Hosts file to fix network issues after 1803 update

I've been using and learning from these forums for years but this is my first contribution. We have a fairly extensive home network (workgroup) that currently includes four wired PCs and two wireless laptops, all running Windows 10 Pro, connected through a NetGear R7000 router. Until the recent 1709 and, especially, 1803 updates to Windows 10, all machines were sharing and transferring files just fine. Then, we started having many of the same networking issues and frustrations that are being discussed here and elsewhere. After lots of reading and trying numerous suggestions without lasting success, I finally hit upon the following process that, at least for us, is working just fine now. Items 3 and 4 are what did the trick by, I think, avoiding the flaky, erratic DNS issues.

1. Go through "Control Panel \ Programs and Features \ Turn Windows Features On or Off" to uncheck all SMBv1 items, as per MS security recommendations.

2. Run services.msc and set both "Function Discovery Provider Host" and "Function Discovery Resource Publication" to automatic or automatic (delayed start).

3. Change your router setup to assign (reserve) each workgroup PC a specific IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.101, etc.). After resetting the router, each workgroup PC will have a unique Name and IP-address combination.

4. Locate the hosts file in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\ and edit it with administrator privileges. For each workgroup PC add one line with the following syntax:
IP-address Name #any optional comments or info you want
There must be at least one space between each of the line items. For example, two such lines in my hosts file are:
192.168.1.103 ACER #Ethernet: 30:65:EC:AF:A5:87
192.168.1.104 HP8300 #Ethernet: C8:CB:B8:23:73:70
The same list of IPs and Names must be in the hosts file on each PC. The file-editing can be done using Notepad with administrator privileges or automated with a specific Host File Editor (search the web for such programs).

It would be interesting to know if anyone else tries this and whether it helps or not.

:)