Network display in Windows 7
 

There's a useful little feature in Windows 7 that allows display of the complete network map, with connected computers, printers, etc (apart from Apple stuff, which is stealthy). It allowed me to check that remote stuff elsewhere in the house and workshop is connected and doing its thing.

Then I got the replacement laptop. If that's connected via a wired link, the network display works OK on both laptop and desktop. If the laptop is only connected via WiFi, then both machines give an error message and won't display.

If the laptop is switched off altogether (so everything is as it was until the laptop arrived in the house last week) the error message still displays on the desktop PC. When the old laptop was in service, there was no problem.

Can anyone suggest what's wrong?

A little in the dark here as you have not said what the error message is! However, for starters have you set MAC address filtering on the router?

Some WiFi hubs also have settings that isolate connected clients from each other, i.e. trying to make it behave like a switch.

I've continued to puzzle over it.

If the laptop is on and connected by cable to the router, then all works correctly. If the laptop isn't on, or is connected by WiFI, then I get the error message.

The various devices all have fixed IPs on the router, but that's been the case forever, and the old laptop was the same.

The iThings don't appear at all in the (Windows) display and have never done so, but that doesn't surprise me.

This is the error message as it appears:
http://jillings.org/neterror.jpg

I don't think there's any problem with the router allowing the devices to see each other - the laptop and the desktop appear in each other's Explorer displays, and I can copy and move files to and from either with no problems.

I had a tinker with changing the fixed IP address for the wireless connection, or leaving it to DHCP. That made no difference.

I tried with a plug-in WiFi dongle, but for some reason that rejected the WiFi password so got no further.

Here's the detail from IPCONFIG:

http://jillings.org/network.jpg

I can't see anything obviously wrong in that, but it's not my field so comments are welcome!

Hmm. That's weird - has to be something to do with the wireless, I guess, but does it hapen with the 'new' lappie unplugged rather than 'switched off'? Are you saying it does or does not occur with the 'new' lappie switched off but wired? What OS is the lappie running cf the desktop?

The closest I can get with a wifi only problem is this

"Looks like I found the cause of my problem. The Cisco WRVS4400N Router supports different wireless modes - "G-Only", "N-Only", "B/G-Mixed", "G/N Mixed", "B/G/N-Mixed". When I was having the problem, the mode was set to "B/G/N-Mixed" (which is what I would really like to have). When I changed to "G-Only" or "B/G-Mixed", problem disappeared!! Something different in the "B/G/N-Mixed" mode. Note that while I was having this problem, I did not experience any network connectivity issues between PCs - they could all talk to each other - it was an issue for the Network Map creation only .
BTW, I have the latest FW version for the router."

No solution to the network map issue, but a suggestion - NirSoft (purveyor of many useful free utilities) has Wireless Network Watcher, which lists all connected devices. Would this help?

Secondly, beware that Windows 8 appears to have dropped the network map facility... :sad:

The network map uses Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) or UPnP. So I would focus on those settings first.

UPnP devices (not supporting LLTD) are shown in a list below the main map. I have not addressed UPnP here.

Read entire post before fiddling please:-)

Go to
Control Panel \ View Network Stats and tasks \ Change Adaper settings

When I get there it is called in the address bar:
Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections

Right click on a network interface e.g. "Wireless Network Connection"
Click Propeties

Compare the settings between a working interface and a non working one.

"Link-layer Topology Discovery mapper..."
"Link-Layer Topology discovery Responder ..."

Look potentially interesting in your context

Then:

#### This section likely irrelevant
Click on "Internet protocol Version 4"
Click on "Properties"
Click on "Advanced"
Click on "WINS" tab
Compare NetBIOS settings between working one and non working one. Adjust as needed.
#### end irrelevant

I am thinking more on turning on things that are off rather than the converse. I would not turn off anything that is on in case it affects something you are using. It could be irritating for example to discover in three months time that your network scanner would not work and to have no idea why:-)


It also might be some Windows firewall issue I would think.

Have a look at these:-

Use Network Map to manage and troubleshoot networked devices (from Windows Vista Inside Out)

You can turn discovery on and off globally for each network profile, Public, Work and Home here -
Enabling or disabling network discovery - Windows Help

If no joy, please post screenshots of what you are seeing working/not working and full text of any other messages.

Good luck and a Happy New Year.

Thanks for those.

I'd found the B/G/N/Mixed one and tried that. It made no difference.

Both machines are running Windows 7 - the laptop is Ultimate 32-bit and the desktop is Home Premium 64-bit. The old laptop, which ran Home Premium 32-bit didn't have the problem.

Connecting the Cat 5 cable from lappie to router means the network map works. If I then switch off the lappie and leave the cable in, the network map stops working.

I've installed NirSoft Wireless Network Watcher, and it does the job well - thanks. The advantage of the Windows one was that it gave a quick check on what was or was not on line - usually the printer, but in earlier days the laptop when it was out in the workshop and supposed to be monitoring something.

I didn't realise Windows 8 had dropped the facility. That may be an indication of an underlying problem.

I'll leave it at that. Thanks again.

Thanks, jimjim1 - crossed with mine. Will take a look.

Not got that option in the Control Panel. I do have "Network and Sharing Centre"

If I go to "Network and Sharing Centre" and then "Change Adapter Settings" I can see "Wireless Network Connection" and right-clicking that brings up "Properties".

The wired and the wireless connections both have the full set of "following items", all ticked.

Both of those are present, and ticked. There are no configurable options on mine.

TCP/IPv6 and TCP/IPv4 are both set to obtain addresses automatically, in both the wired and wireless adapters.
WINS is set to
"Enable LMHOSTS lookup" and
NetBIOS to "Default"
in both wired and wireless.

Yes, been there, done that...


Yes, Advanced Sharing Settings are all turned on, on both laptop and desktop. I can connect to folders on either machine from the other one (in the shared drives) with no problem, so I don't think the problem's in there.

The only symptom is that the full network map doesn't appear unless the laptop is switched on and the wired connection is plugged in.

Here's the network map as seen from the desktop with the wireless enabled:

http://jillings.org/networkmapwireless.jpg

Nine is the desktop, SANDY is the laptop.

Here's the same map if I disable wireless in the laptop:

http://jillings.org/networkmapnowireless.jpg

If I close down the laptop, then I go back to the "no network map" condition.

Curiously, the printer shows as connected to the laptop, although it has its own IP address on the network.

Puzzled, I am!

You'd have thought that at my age I would have learnt to leave these questions alone.
However, I regard my participation in these threads as free education in the dark arts of those with IT shaped brains. My little brain is not IT shaped. And I've probably forgotten those things that I was good at, such as the gobbledegook written by Milliband's dad.

Keef might be puzzled. I'm totally lost, so am heading back to Mornington Crescent.

Is the network connection set to "Public" for wireless and "Home" / "Work" for wired?

SD

AO, it's a good stimulus for the little grey cells. Mine are due to start atrophying around now, so every little bit helps.

SD - no, they are both (all) Work Network.

I am baffled by the fact that the same PC, wired, displays OK, but that PC via wireless, or not present, prevents the display. I've been trying to work out what setting or combination could achieve that.

Before the new laptop arrived in here, the desktop's "display network" worked. Now that the new laptop has connected, the display won't work without it in "wired" mode.

I just had a thought ... could Windows Media Centre have anything to do with it? That asked me, as soon as the laptop connected, for permission to access the music libraries on the desktop. I told it NO then.

Off to have a play.

EDIT: having played with settings, Windows Media Player is now activated and each device can play music from either device. No effect on the Network-not-displaying though.

I noticed that the printer is shown as being connected via the laptop even though it's directly on the router, so I "removed" it in the laptop control panel. It still showed on the network (as I think it should) but still as via the laptop.

I think that's enough of this game.

I had another play.

I was trying to get some stuff off the old laptop, which chooses whether or not to work on any particular day, and whose display backlight is on the way out.

I persuaded it to boot, and to connect to my network, but the desktop didn't see it (via Windows Explorer). It thought the "new" laptop was still connected. I left it to go for supper.

When I came back, the "new" laptop was gone from the Windows Explorer panel, and the old one was there. The network display worked correctly on both!

I think there's a "timeout" function for stuff connected to the network, and Windows doesn't pick up changes for several hours. I'll see if the display works tomorrow...

Intrigued, I looked at my PlusNet setup. It tells me I cannot go onto a home network and one suggestion is a conflict of firewalls.

This is curious - the no Home setup that is. I'm fairly sure it was set to Home, with the little house picture but now it shows a couple of monitors with Plusnet wirelessC2D4F9 between the PC and planet Earth. However, under the PC image it's got the same Plusnet icon with Home network included in the wording.

I am barred from seeing the 'Full Network' because of not being on a Home Network setting. Grrrrrr

Keef - maybe worth a peep at services when you get the problem again?
Network Discovery - Turn On or Off in Windows 7 - Windows 7 Help Forums

Thanks Flagon One of the first things I note is:



I know my issues are different to the OP's, but at one point there did seem some common ground.

Indeed, Flagon. I've been in there and tinkered with those no end.

Turning off Network Discovery stops Windows Explorer from seeing drives on other computers on the network (and stops me printing, since the printer is on the network). It doesn't affect this particular problem.

LR: if it's your network you should be able to join it. Can you post a screen-grab of what you see?

I'm leery of "Home Networks" after the day of my life spent unscrambling PC and laptop when I disabled the one on the laptop. I'm not going to risk that again! "Work Network" all the way for me!

Mine looks like this:
http://jillings.org/keefnet.jpg

Clicking on "See full map" brings up the error message under discussion.