Windows 10: Network discovery stopped working suddenly a couple of days ago.

I am not exactly sure when this started but I can no longer see computers and printers on my network. I think it started a day or two ago. I noticed it yesterday when I tried to print something and I got the message that the printer was offline. I then checked my network and found that 2 of my 3 printers no longer show up in the network display. I also noticed that the only computer that showed up in network was the one I was on.


I have 5 HP computers of varying ages on my home network.

I posted screen shots of working and not working network displays.

I got a net view error 53 on one computer and a error 64 on another.

I did the update to 20H2 and that did not help.

I disabled Norton firewall and that did not help.


I removed NordVPN and that also did not help.


I rebooted everything except my oldest computer which runs a weather station and that is where I got a screen shot of my network before the discovery failed.


I spent 35 years in HPC and was also very good at troubleshooting PC problems. I am lost on this one.

Has anyone else experienced this sudden loss of the ability to see the other computers on a private local network?

Thanks for any ideas you may share with me.


Regards.

Tom Huot



This is what the network looked like when it was working. Notice all of the printers and PCs listed.





Below is what I see now.



:)

 

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 will not stay on and Function Discovery wont start

I did see that, but I've gone through it again and tried the suggestion on renaming the computer/workgroup...no help.

 

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