Windows 10: Network Discovery not Working

As a part-time IT support person for a non-profit organization I have found that correcting the issues with network discovery over the years on different versions of Windows to be almost impossible and have found ways of living with them. Now that I have managed to end up with a workgroup that consists of PCs that all run Windows 10 build 1909 I thought that things would improve. Unfortunately, it is not the case as nothing appears in the Network list.

I therefore delved into the Web and found various things to try, none of which work. Does anyone know of any source which contains a step-by-step approach to solving this problem? Failing that, are there any diagnostics or logs I can turn on that would point me in the right direction rather than trying various things that may make things worse?

Please note that I have been able to set up shortcuts to the various shared folders by entering the PC names manually.

:)

 

Cannot keep Network Discovery Enabled.

Hi,

Thank you for the response.

I would suggest that you change the settings in the Firewall to allow Network discovery so that the Firewall stays On while allowing the Network discovery to be enabled.

Follow the steps.

a . Open Control panel.

b. Small icons from the drop down.

c. Click on Windows Firewall.

d. Click on Allow programs or feature through Firewall.

e. Scroll the list and check Network Discovery.

If you need additional assistance then let us know.

 

Network Discovery Spotty

Hello,



For each of the machines experiencing this behavior, will you please perform the following:

• 
  Ensure Network Discovery is enabled.
  
  • 
    Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center\Advanced sharing settings
    
    • 
      For each Network Category (Public, Private, Domain) you wish to have the feature enabled, click the arrow to the right of the category to expand it, and select “Turn on network discovery” & check “Turn on automatic setup of network
      connected devices”
      
• 
  Ensure that Network Discovery is allowed inbound in the Windows Firewall (in addition to any other firewall in use).
  
  • 
    [Windows Key + R] > Firewall.cpl
    
    • 
      Click “Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall” in the left pane.
      
    • 
      In the Allowed apps and features scroll box, find “Network Discovery”.
      
    • 
      Make sure it is checked for all of the Network categories that you have enabled.
      
• 
  Ensure the necessary services are started.
  
  • 
    [Windows Key + R] > Services.msc
    
    • 
      Base Filtering Engine
      (BFE)
      
    • 
      Computer Browser
      (Browser)
      
    • 
      DHCP Client
      (DHCP)
      
    • 
      DNS Client
      (DNSCache)
      
    • 
      Network Connection
      (NetMan)
      
    • 
      Network Location Awareness (NLASvc)
      
    • 
      Remote Procedure Call (RPC) (RPCSS)
      
    • 
      Server
      (LANManServer)
      
    • 
      SSDP Discovery
      (SSDPSrv)
      
    • 
      TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
      (LMHosts)
      
    • 
      Workstation
      (LANManWorkstation)
      
• 
  Ensure the network interface that is connected to the network you want devices discovered is in the appropriate network category.
  
  • 
    [Windows Key + R] > Cmd.exe
    
    • 
      Type “PowerShell.exe Get-NetConnectionProfile”
      

In this output you will find Network Category, which needs to correspond to the category enabled through the firewall, as well as when Network Discovery is turned on.

• • • • • 
          For machines with multiple interfaces, you will need to know the name of the interface which is connected to the network with the devices you wish to be discovered
          
• 
  Ensure your Network bindings are correct.
  
  • 
    [Windows + R] > NCPA.cpl
    
    • 
      Right click the interface and select Properties
      
    • 
      Ensure the bindings are bound
      
      • 
        Client for Microsoft Networks
        
      • 
        File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
        
      • 
        Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper I/O Driver
        
      • 
        Link-Layer Topology Discovery Responder
        
      • 
        Microsoft LLDP Protocol Driver
        
      • 
        Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
        
      • 
        Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)
        
    • 
      If any of these are unbound, try rebinding, and if that still doesn’t work, from an elevated command prompt, run
      “NetCfg.exe –d”
      

Hope this helps

 

updates messed up my network discovery and now my other network computers and hp printer not discovered

Hello,

Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

We regret the inconvenience caused to you and We apologies for delay in responding.

This issue might occur due to incorrect settings. I would suggest you to follow the below methods and check if it helps.

For each of the machines experiencing this behavior, will you please perform the following:

Step 1: Ensure Network Discovery is enabled.

• Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center\Advanced sharing settings
• For each Network Category (Public, Private, Domain) you wish to have the feature enabled, click the arrow to the right of the category to expand it, and select “Turn on network discovery” & check “Turn on automatic setup of network connected devices”

Step 2: Ensure that Network Discovery is allowed inbound in the Windows Firewall (in addition to any other firewall in use).

• [Windows Key + R] > Firewall.cpl
• Click “Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall” in the left pane.
• In the Allowed apps and features scroll box, find “Network Discovery”.
• Make sure it is checked for all of the Network categories that you have enabled.

Step 3: Ensure the necessary services are started.

• [Windows Key + R] > Services.msc
• Base Filtering Engine(BFE)
• Computer Browser(Browser)
• DHCP Client(DHCP)
• DNS Client(DNSCache)
• Network Connection (NetMan)
• Network Location Awareness(NLASvc)
• Remote Procedure Call (RPC)(RPCSS)
• Server(LANManServer)
• SSDP Discovery (SSDPSrv)
• TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper (LMHosts)
• Workstation(LANManWorkstation)

Step 4: I would suggest you to run Home Group troubleshooter and see if that helps.

• Click Start and type troubleshooting in the search box.
• Select Troubleshooting.
• Select View all on the top left corner.
• Run HomeGroup troubleshooter.

Let us know the update after you try the above steps.

Thank you.