Not all computer display in Neighborhhod

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I have seen a similar post but it was no close enough. I will give as much details as I can.

1. I have 3 computers networked through a cable modem and linksys router. All have internet access.
2, Bart is running win 98SE(athlon 2100), OLD is running win98se (Celeron 400) , Nyk is running XP Home (Celeron 900)
3. All three are using domain TEST.
4. Old and NYK show up in all network neighbor hoods on any computer, Bart does not..
4. If I Right click and use Find computer I can locate BART from Bart, and it is listed under the Domain name, Not under network neighborhood. Bart cannot be found from any other computer.
5. As soon as I close NetNeigh and reopen it, Bart is gone.
6. It is driving me crazy since Bart in my Main computer.
Any ideas would be helpfull
Gaddy

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Are they all a part of the same workgroup? Bart might be set to use a different workgroup. To find out: In Windows 98, right click Network Neighborhood, click Properties, then click the Identification tab. The workgroup name should be the same on all computers.

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They are all in the same Workgroup. (not domain).
After more tweaking, way beyond what I could keep track of, Bart now shows up on Bart, Lists in itself correctly but will not show up on any other machine’s network neighborhood.
Thanks,
I am thinking it amy be a firewall issue although I don’t believe I have one installed, I use the router.

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Forgive me, but this is what I would do step by step.
Leave all computers on but close Network Neighborhood,
Wait 15 minutes
Go and open the Network Neighborhood on each computer
Is Bart found?
If no then
Check all cable (Cat5) connections by unplugging and replugging them in on all three machines and the Hub or Switch.
Next make sure the workgroup is spelled the same and has the same capitals (punctuation) as the other two machines.
Then Make sure all machines have the same protocols installed. With TCP/IP be sure all three machines are either assigned an address or all three are automatically assigned not a mixture of the two.
Since Bart sees the internet I would lastly check the NIC in the System Information box. Make sure it is not in Forced Hardware or DOS configuration.

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All Fixed.

I must thank the tech support Nick, at cox.net for clearly testing, determining my problem ( a Winsock error) and walking me through the reset.
How it happened remains a mystery best left for future generations.

The steps that worked,
1. (after backing up registery) Removed registry settings for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetServices winsock and winsock2,
and
under Vxd, DHCP, MSTCP, and winsock2.
2. Network neighborhood properties, I Removed the MS network client logon, and the TCP/IP protocol for the NIC card, applied, and rebooted,
3. To reinstall, I went to control panel, network and added the MS Network client and the TCP/IP protocol. (It will ask for the original (* setup disk.)
4. After rebooting one more time Using winipcfg, I renewed the IP and was good to go.
Thanks for the suggestions I have no idea how I would have figured it out.
Gaddy

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Just an FYI, what all those steps did was reset your computer browser settings. When a computer is part of a network, it ‘browses’ the network to find who is out there. (NetBios over TCP/IP needs to be set for this to happen (I think…sorry…a little tired right now.)). However, for computer browsing to work properly, it was designed to have one computer on the network act as a ‘Master’ computer browser. So instead of searching for all machines out there, possibly clashing a bit, a computer just has to find the master browser, and talk with that machine specifically. That way, when a new computer says ‘hello’ to the ‘master’ browser, the Master Browser can turn around and let everyone on it’s list know there is a new computer online.

However, it’s the ‘choosing’ a master browser that gets flaky. There are various settings that can determine the methods of setting up a master browser. Essentially the process is a mass vote between computers. Everyone sends out broadcast messages ‘waiting’ to be elected. (Sort like a Florida Ballot process…. ). One computer is eventially determined to be the Master browser, and whalla, you have a list in Network neighborhood. There are a few quirks though. If a computer goes offline, and it’s the master browser, the other machines have to vote, to determine who’s the new mb. If the old mb comes back up….again an election is forced (I think…..).

Anyhow, it’s a complex process, that is prone to problems…especially in a Workgroup environment. When you have a Domain running, the Primary Domain Controller is, and always is the master browser (unless it goes offline, then a backup domain controller acts as master until the PDC comes online again….there’s no ‘voting’, it just does it). There are also services that can be run from an NT Server OS (4.0, 2000), such as DNS, and WINS which can help the computer browsing process along.

If you noticed, you didn’t have a problem actually communicating with your devices…they just didn’t show up in the NN list. That’s because the NN list is generated from computer browser communications. Where as most ‘network’ comms could care less about what the computer browsing system knows. As far as I know, it’s only real function is to provide a list for Network Neighborhood. (Wierd eh).

Of course all of this knowledge is off the top of my head, from just various tech support calls (some from work…some from family (gotta love being the computer geek in the family…at least when someone at work calls, they try to keep it short, cause you’re gonna charge em! )) What really throws the computer browsing for a loop is when a typically ‘always on’ machine is the Master browser…so everything runs happily along. Then it goes offline long enough for another machine to become the Master Browser. That’s when it usually goes arye.(SP?) Because you have a machine that has been the MB for so long…I guess it just doesn’t want to concede the election…..(is it me, or does this whole post sound like a gripe about the 2000 Pres election? Honestly didn’t mean that to happen….I wonder if the programmers involved in the computer browser protocols live in Fl. It would make much more sense then.)

If this is too confusing, or you want iron clad information, Microsoft’s Knowledge Base has tons of articles on Computer Browsing.

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Does Bart have any folders shared out??? If not, that could be the problem. Try sharing out a folder..

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