Solved Win 11 PC not showing up in list of Network devices

Redbird14 · Dec 27, 2023

I have 2 desktops, 1 running Windows 11, 1 running Windows 10. Both are current ( 22631.2861 for Win11...I inadvertently cut it off in my screen cap). I have the Advanced Sharing & Services.msc settings set per all instructions I can find related to this. The issue is that the Network devices folder includes the Windows 10 machine on both desktops and excludes the Windows 11 machine on both. How do I get Windows to recognize the Windows 11 machine in the devices listed in the Network devices folder? The '8940' and '8950' designators you'll see in the screen caps refer to Dell XPS 8940/50 desktops, the 8940 running Win 10, the 8950 Win 11. Both devices are set up for Wifi which I generally keep disabled and both are hardwired into my fiber modem. I did try Wifi as the connection for both machines but the results were the same.

Dell Pro Support won't handle this. I tried Microsoft twice. The first guy changed some UMB settings and instructed me to get back to them if that didn't work which it didn't. Since changing those settings required a reboot, the chat session terminated. When I got back to them, the second guy was weird and I suspect kept closing out the Quick Assist session before he could start looking around. 3 times we started up Quick Assist, 3 x it crashed as soon as he took control. The first guy had no problem with Quick Assist and those two chat sessions were at most an hour apart. That's why I'm trying here.

In advance, thanks for any troubleshooting guidance anyone may be able to provide to me.

BamaInArk · Dec 27, 2023

Same "Workgroup" name used?

Redbird14 · Dec 27, 2023

Yes. I never set it on either PC so 'Computer Description' was blank on both and 'Workgroup:' is WORKGROUP on both. I just tried setting the Computer Description to 'Work Group' on both, rebooted them and it didn't change anything. The only difference is the 'Full Computer Name'. One is MZ8940 the other MZ8950 for the corresponding Dell model #.

glasskuter · Dec 27, 2023

Your issue is not uncommon. We've seen it a lot here. Review the suggestions in this thread. Most of us have used a workaround by accessing by computer name. I created a shortcut to each computer on my network and pinned it to my quick access. Network in Windows Explorer not showing 1 computer

MisterEd · Dec 27, 2023

I don't depend upon what's in Network because it is unreliable. Instead I created a folder called My Network with shortcuts to all the computers in my home network.

Note the shortcut to a computer is \\ + computername. For example, the shortcut to computer DarkMatter is \\DarkMatter

Redbird14 · Dec 27, 2023

WOW! That works. Created a shortcut to the 8940, cloned it, changed properties and voila I can now access files on either computer from either computer. Thank-you for posting this!!!

BamaInArk · Dec 27, 2023

As some have mentioned this is apparently an ongoing issue for some/many. I read the other topic attached but no real answers there. Honestly I think this has something to with something called the Master Browser. I've ran into what you're seeing multiple times throughout more recent years. I don't think it was as much of an issue using SMB Shares but has since that's been deprecated my MS.

I forget how it all works. If it happened to me again I'd have to go Google Master Browser to refresh my brain. But basically ONE computer is set as the Master Browser, which will then identify other computer within the same network. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the Master Browser system gets changed to another system and that might muck things up. One time I even tried making my main Router the Master Browser to see if that helped. But ran into other issues to dropped that idea. Currently my daily driver is the Master Browser on my network, especially it is typically on during my waking hours.

Although in your case it might be simpler with 2 systems. I also tend to use the Network icon to access network resources vs using File Explorer.

MisterEd · Dec 27, 2023

Redbird14 said:
WOW! That works. Created a shortcut to the 8940, cloned it, changed properties and voila I can now access files on either computer from either computer. Thank-you for posting this!!!

Note I only had to create the shortcuts on one computer. After I did I just copied them over the network to the other computers.

On Tenforums someone created a batch file called FDResPub.bat with contents:

net stop FDResPub
net start FDResPub

If you run it on a computer it will cause that computer to show up in FileExplorer > Network
Note must run with Command Prompt (as Administrator).

This works but it is a pain to run on every computer just to get them to show up. I prefer to just use shortcuts.

Redbird14 · Dec 27, 2023

BamaInArk said:
As some have mentioned this is apparently an ongoing issue for some/many. I read the other topic attached but no real answers there. Honestly I think this has something to with something called the Master Browser. I've ran into what you're seeing multiple times throughout more recent years. I don't think it was as much of an issue using SMB Shares but has since that's been deprecated my MS.

I forget how it all works. If it happened to me again I'd have to go Google Master Browser to refresh my brain. But basically ONE computer is set as the Master Browser, which will then identify other computer within the same network. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the Master Browser system gets changed to another system and that might muck things up. One time I even tried making my main Router the Master Browser to see if that helped. But ran into other issues to dropped that idea. Currently my daily driver is the Master Browser on my network, especially it is typically on during my waking hours.

Although in your case it might be simpler with 2 systems. I also tend to use the Network icon to access network resources vs using File Explorer.

Thanks for posting this. In my initial post I referred to what I now know are the SMB settings as UMB settings. 'SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support' to be more precise. When I went to revert it back to its default, I couldn't find it. Thanks to your post I could.

Redbird14 · Dec 27, 2023

MisterEd said:
Note I only had to create the shortcuts on one computer. After I did I just copied them over the network to the other computers.

Lol...I was so excited to have something that actually worked that I didn't even think of this. I was just anxious to see it work on both computers. IMO, this (using shortcuts) is a very creative solution.

MisterEd · Dec 27, 2023

Redbird14 said:
Lol...I was so excited to have something that actually worked that I didn't even think of this. I was just anxious to see it work on both computers. IMO, this (using shortcuts) is a very creative solution.

All your computers have local Internet addresses. Examples for me are:
DarkMatter = 10.0.0.2
Starship = 10.0.0.7

People ping a computer's IP address to make sure the local connection is working.
For example, from Startship to ping DarkMatter

That shows the network connection between the computers is good. If that didn't work then there is a network problem that needs to be fixed.

A lot of people just create shortcuts to a computers local IP address. However, I prefer shortcuts to computer names.
Note if pinging a computer works then any shortcut to it will always work.

BamaInArk · Dec 27, 2023

Redbird14 said:
Thanks for posting this. In my initial post I referred to what I now know are the SMB settings as UMB settings. 'SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support' to be more precise. When I went to revert it back to its default, I couldn't find it. Thanks to your post I could.

I think eventually on Win11 MS removed access to SMB1.0. It is off by default on all my Win11 PCs but oddly by daily driver, which was upgraded from Win10 to Win11, still has it active. I must have not turned it off. You can find the settings for it under Control Panel --> Programs --> Programs and Features then under "Turn Windows features on or off"

MisterEd · Dec 27, 2023

BamaInArk said:
I think eventually on Win11 MS removed access to SMB1.0. It is off by default on all my Win11 PCs but oddly by daily driver, which was upgraded from Win10 to Win11, still has it active. I must have not turned it off. You can find the settings for it under Control Panel --> Programs --> Programs and Features then under "Turn Windows features on or off"

SMB 1.0 is disabled by default in both Windows 10 and 11. I just checked and it is still available in Windows 11 23H2. Just search for Optional Features. Then select More Windows Features. You can enable it there.

It is a waste to even think about SMB 1.0. It serves no purpose I can think of in Windows 10 or 11.

Redbird14 · Dec 31, 2023

MisterEd said:
Note I only had to create the shortcuts on one computer. After I did I just copied them over the network to the other computers.

This doesn't work for me. I get a pop up error box titled 'Destination Folder Access Denied' with the message 'you need permission to perform this action'. I can't figure out how to give the Windows 10 computer permissions to create files on the Windows 11 computer and vice versa. I can't set up a user with the name \\8940 or \\8950 because the '\'s aren't allowed in user names. Any ideas how to troubleshoot this?
In fact all I can do is open files in 'read only' mode from the other machine. I can't update existing files nor create new ones. Even right clicking in a folder on the other computer and selecting New {anything} results in the same error message.

MisterEd · Jan 1, 2024

Redbird14 said:
This doesn't work for me. I get a pop up error box titled 'Destination Folder Access Denied' with the message 'you need permission to perform this action'. I can't figure out how to give the Windows 10 computer permissions to create files on the Windows 11 computer and vice versa. I can't set up a user with the name \\8940 or \\8950 because the '\'s aren't allowed in user names. Any ideas how to troubleshoot this?
In fact all I can do is open files in 'read only' mode from the other machine. I can't update existing files nor create new ones. Even right clicking in a folder on the other computer and selecting New {anything} results in the same error message.

I don't understand what you doing. The shortcuts are for the network computer names (aka Device name). You show/change the Device name in the settings. In the example below the computer name is Starship. The shortcut is \\Starship

Note the user names on most computers is same user MisterEd of type Administrator. They can be different but this just makes it easier.

I share a folder call XDATA
To allow all the user name MisterEd on my computers to change data in this folder I do the following:
Right-click on folder XDATA
Select Properties
Select Advanced Sharing
Select Permissions
Select Add
Select MisterEd to add to list of Group or user names
Select MisterEd from list
For permissions select All for Full Control, Change and Read
Select OK, etc.

Rollback_Jockey · Jan 1, 2024

BamaInArk said:
As some have mentioned this is apparently an ongoing issue for some/many. I read the other topic attached but no real answers there. Honestly I think this has something to with something called the Master Browser. I've ran into what you're seeing multiple times throughout more recent years. I don't think it was as much of an issue using SMB Shares but has since that's been deprecated my MS.

I forget how it all works. If it happened to me again I'd have to go Google Master Browser to refresh my brain. But basically ONE computer is set as the Master Browser, which will then identify other computer within the same network. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the Master Browser system gets changed to another system and that might muck things up. One time I even tried making my main Router the Master Browser to see if that helped. But ran into other issues to dropped that idea. Currently my daily driver is the Master Browser on my network, especially it is typically on during my waking hours.

Although in your case it might be simpler with 2 systems. I also tend to use the Network icon to access network resources vs using File Explorer.

The Master Browser would be the machine that had first sniff of the network.

Redbird14 · Jan 1, 2024

Thanks for this. I see from your example that I was in the wrong place. I went through the Security tab rather than the Sharing tab. Things got crazy this morning and I'll have to attend to this later today if not tomorrow. I'll get back then with the results. Thanks again for the guidance!

Rollback_Jockey · Jan 1, 2024

Redbird14 said:
I have 2 desktops, 1 running Windows 11, 1 running Windows 10. Both are current ( 22631.2861 for Win11...I inadvertently cut it off in my screen cap). I have the Advanced Sharing & Services.msc settings set per all instructions I can find related to this. The issue is that the Network devices folder includes the Windows 10 machine on both desktops and excludes the Windows 11 machine on both. How do I get Windows to recognize the Windows 11 machine in the devices listed in the Network devices folder? The '8940' and '8950' designators you'll see in the screen caps refer to Dell XPS 8940/50 desktops, the 8940 running Win 10, the 8950 Win 11. Both devices are set up for Wifi which I generally keep disabled and both are hardwired into my fiber modem. I did try Wifi as the connection for both machines but the results were the same.

Dell Pro Support won't handle this. I tried Microsoft twice. The first guy changed some UMB settings and instructed me to get back to them if that didn't work which it didn't. Since changing those settings required a reboot, the chat session terminated. When I got back to them, the second guy was weird and I suspect kept closing out the Quick Assist session before he could start looking around. 3 times we started up Quick Assist, 3 x it crashed as soon as he took control. The first guy had no problem with Quick Assist and those two chat sessions were at most an hour apart. That's why I'm trying here.

In advance, thanks for any troubleshooting guidance anyone may be able to provide to me.

View attachment 82437 View attachment 82438 View attachment 82439 View attachment 82440

Make sure each machine is set to Private Network under advanced sharing settings. Turn ON Password Protected Sharing. I have a Fixed IP assigned to each of my PC's and have each other computer listed in each other's Windows Credentials.

Redbird14 · Jan 2, 2024

MisterEd said:
I don't understand what you doing. The shortcuts are for the network computer names (aka Device name). You show/change the Device name in the settings. In the example below the computer name is Starship. The shortcut is \\Starship

Note the user names on most computers is same user MisterEd of type Administrator. They can be different but this just makes it easier.

View attachment 82827

I share a folder call XDATA
To allow all the user name MisterEd on my computers to change data in this folder I do the following:
Right-click on folder XDATA
Select Properties
Select Advanced Sharing
Select Permissions
Select Add
Select MisterEd to add to list of Group or user names
Select MisterEd from list
For permissions select All for Full Control, Change and Read
Select OK, etc.

View attachment 82828

This worked. I WAS in the wrong place. I tried to figure this out from the Security tab rather than the Sharing tab as your example shows. Again, thank-you for the guidance!!