[SOLVED] Unraid (and other computers) not showing in Windows Explorer Network

[TheWombat]

As I've been re-building my HTPC I came across an issue where computers (e.g. UnRaid, Synology etc) on my home network where inconsistently not showing in the 'Network' section of my Windows 7 (64bit Pro/Ultimate) File Explorers however the machines always remained contactable and connectable when typing \\[unRaid Machine Name] or \\[unRaid IP Address].

 

Searching on this forum and several hours on Google proved frustrating with the variety of solutions being proposed. It became clear as I investigated further that the only reason why some of the solutions worked were because they resulted in the network connection being reset albeit this was not necessarily the intent. As I have now solved the specific issue I was having I have put together a basic guide for others in case they come across this same issue.

 

Generally the issue is caused by one of the following items:

[*]Workgroup name not consistently set across all machines

[*]Firewall on a machine blocking access

[*]Master Browser not correctly working

 

In my situation it was the 3rd point that was the cause - i.e. the Master Browser, which meant sometimes I could see the unRaid/Synology devices in the Network section of Windows Explorer and sometimes I couldn't. Adding/removing/re-installing and tweaking settings sometimes resolved the issue temporarily as it meant a system reboot which at times meant my machine (Alex-PC) became the Master Browser.

 

Scope - To troubleshoot and solve the issue where Unraid, Synology and/or other machines inconsistently appear in the 'Network' section of Windows Explorer on Windows 7 (and most likely prior Windows versions). The information below assumes that the user has a single home network with multiple devices/machines and is using Workgroups. It is assumed that anyone with multiple networks, VLANs, Active Directory servers probably has sufficient knowledge to not need this guide.

 

For background I've provided an overview of the key systems on my network

 

WNDR3700 - Netgear Router (192.168.1.1)

ALEX-PC - Windows 7 (192.168.1.20)

SPY-PC - Windows 7 (192.168.1.21)

HTPC-01 - Windows 7 (192.168.1.41)

HTPC-02 - Windows 7 (192.168.1.42)

NAS-01 - Synology DS210j (192.168.1.61)

NAS-02 - Synology DS208 (192.168.1.62)

NAS-03 - UnRaid 5.0rc1 (192.168.1.63)

 

All Windows machines are Windows 7 64bit Ultimate and use Realtek network cards with the latest driver (7.058)

Synology devices are using DSM4.0-2228

 

My network is set up as Workgroup 'ZENZOO'

My netgear router is set up as the DHCP server with IP addresses set for each of the MAC addresses of the various machines to ensure they always have the same IP address.

 

Items to check

 

Log into each machine and see if you can:

[*]ping the router (CMD prompt: 'ping 192.168.1.1') with the IP address and confirm you receive a ping response

[*]ping each other machine  with the IP address and confirm you receive a ping response e.g. for me this would be CMD prompt: 'ping 192.168.1.20', 'ping 192.168.1.21', 'ping 192.168.1.41', 'ping 192.168.1.42', 'ping 192.168.1.61', 'ping 192.168.1.62', 'ping 192.168.1.63'

If you are receiving errors with the ping then it probably means your firewall or other settings are causing an issue (or you are using the wrong IP address)

Repeat the above from each machine

 

now repeat the ping commands but this time use the machine name e.g. for me I would type 'ping NAS-01', 'ping NAS-02', 'ping NAS-03', etc

If you are receiving errors (yet the ping with the IP address worked) then it means that the Name Resolution is failing.

Repeat the above from each machine

 

check that all Windows machines, UnRaid and Synology are set up to use the same Workgroup. By default Windows 7 uses the Workgroup 'WORKGROUP', however UnRaid, Synology, Windows XP etc could use other Workgroup names. You'll need to check

 

On each windows machine open the CMD prompt and type 'net view /ALL'. This may work on some machines and results in an 'error 53' on some machines and success in listing network devices on others.

 

Now we want to find out which machine/device is the master browser.

[*]Type 'nbtstat -a [machine name]' where machine name is the name of your machine e.g. for me it was 'nbtstat -a ALEX-PC'

[*]Repeat the 'nbtstat -a [machine name]' e.g. on my network I tried 'nbtstat -a SPY-PC', 'nbtstat -a HTPC-01', 'nbtstat -a HTPC-02', 'nbtstat -a NAS-01', 'nbtstat -a NAS-02', 'nbtstat -a NAS-03'

You are looking for a response which includes a line with the phrase 'MSBROWSE' as this means that the [machine name] is the master browser e.g. for me I see ' ..__MSBROWSE__.<01>  GROUP      Registered'

 

I found when my PC (ALEX-PC) was the Master Browser then the NAS-01/2/3 all showed in my Windows Explorer 'Network'. When another PC (e.g. SPY-PC) was the Master Browser then the NAS-01/2/3 didn't show in my Windows Explorer 'Network' and I also found the 'net view /ALL' or 'net view' command resulted in an 'error 53' response

 

I therefore wanted my Router to become the Master Browser to see if this solved the issue for all machines. For some very bizarre reason Netgear decided to put the 'Workgroup name' setting on the WNDR3700 under the 'USB Storage->Advanced Settings' page. I changed this to 'ZenZoo' to match the name of the Workgroup being used on my other devices. I also had to set the 'Network Connection  \\WNDR3700' setting on the same page.

 

I then switched off all PCs, Synology and Unraid. I then rebooted my Netgear router after which I then booted up my other machines. On my machine (ALEX-PC) I then went to the command prompt and typed 'nbtstat -a WNDR3700'

 

I received the following response

 

Local Area Connection:

Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.20] Scope Id: []

 

          NetBIOS Remote Machine Name Table

 

      Name              Type        Status

    ---------------------------------------------

    WNDR3700      <00>  UNIQUE      Registered

    WNDR3700      <03>  UNIQUE      Registered

    WNDR3700      <20>  UNIQUE      Registered

    ..__MSBROWSE__.<01>  GROUP      Registered

    ZENZOO        <1D>  UNIQUE      Registered

    ZENZOO        <1E>  GROUP      Registered

    ZENZOO        <00>  GROUP      Registered

 

    MAC Address = 00-00-00-00-00-00

 

YEAH!!! The Netgear router is now the Master Browser. Having done this I found all my Windows machines show NAS-01/2/3 etc under the 'Network' section of Windows Explorer.

 

I know I could have set the Synology to be the Master Browser, however if I did that then it means the HDDs would never spin down and also my Synology isn't necessarily always going to be switched on whereas my router is.

I could also have set UnRaid to be the Master Browser, however once again the UnRaid server may not always be on and this isn't a function I wanted my UnRaid to provide.

 

There are other tweaks and changes you can do e.g. turn of IPV6 in the network adaptor settings, switch of Windows File/Print share, check the network discovery service is running, re-install the network card drivers etc however try the above first as it may save you many hours. You will need to check whether your specific router can have the 'Workgroup' name entered and whether it is able to act as a Master Browser.

 

hth

 

Alex

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GreggP]

Thanks for this info. I was running into the exact problem you described. Now I am trying to figure out how to set my ASUS RT-N56U to be the local master. I can't find anything in the settings that refer to the workgroup name or any other Windows network settings. I would think they'd put this under the LAN page or Administration pages, but I don't know enough about networking to know which setting is referring to the workgroup name. Under the LAN section there's a tab for DHCP Server that has a few fields that might be applicable. Do you know if the workgroup name (in my case it is just the default "WORKGROUP") should be entered under RT-N56U's Domain Name, DNS Server, or WINS Server?

[ednigma]

Thanks Alex,

 

I just started to have this problem where several computers on my network could not see my unraid server in the Explorer Network.  I thought it might have been master browser problem as I encountered it years ago when I had XP systems.  You'd think that Microsoft would have solved it for Win7/8.  Your post about having the router as master browser was spot on, since it is never switched off and you don't get into the master browser election BS.

 

@GreggP

 

I have an ASUS N66u with Merlin firmware and it is under the USB Application / Network share tab--I don't know it your router has this.  I read in another forum that some ASUS routers will act as master browser if DLNA Media Server is enabled.

 

Hope this helps

Ed

 

[Swampy]

Thank you for taking the time to write this up. It was the solution to my problem.

 

Best Regards