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KBAlertz.com: Describes an issue where you cannot view other workgroup computers on the network on a Windows XP-based computer. Explains how to modify the registry to resolve this problem.

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Microsoft Knowledge Base Article

This article contents is Microsoft Copyrighted material.
©2005-©2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use | Trademarks

You cannot view other workgroup computers on the network on a Windows XP-based computer

View products that this article applies to.
Article ID:903267
Last Review:August 9, 2005
Revision:1.2

SYMPTOMS

Consider the following scenario. You are working on a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer for which the following conditions are true:
•The computer resides on a network.
•The computer is a member of a workgroup.
•Either no firewall is enabled or no firewall is installed on the computer.
•The computer can ping other computers in the same workgroup. Also, other computers in the same workgroup can ping this computer.
•NetBIOS over TCP/IP functionality is enabled.
In this scenario, you cannot view other workgroup computers on the network.

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CAUSE

This issue may occur if the computer is configured to use p-node mode for name resolution. To determine whether a computer is configured to use p-node mode, follow these steps:
1.Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2.At the command prompt, type ipconfig /all, and then press ENTER.
View the Node Type section at the start of the output. If the value that appears on the screen is Peer-Peer, the computer is running in p-node mode.

In p-node mode, the computer uses only point-to-point name queries to a Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) server. However, the WINS server is not available for NetBIOS name resolution on a peer-to-peer network.

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RESOLUTION

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=322756/) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows


To resolve this issue, follow these steps:
1.Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
2.Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBt\Parameters
3.In the right pane of Registry Editor, delete the following values if they are present:
•NodeType
•DhcpNodeType
Note If the NodeType value is present, this value will override the DhcpNodeType value. If neither subkey is present and if no WINS servers are configured for the client, the computer uses b-node mode. If at least one WINS server is configured, the computer uses h-node mode.
4.Quit Registry Editor.
5.Restart the computer.
6.Try to view workgroup computers on the network again.

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MORE INFORMATION

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
160177 (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=160177/) Default node type for Microsoft clients
314053 (http://kbalertz.com/Feedback.aspx?kbNumber=314053/) TCP/IP and NBT configuration parameters for Windows XP

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APPLIES TO
•Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition
•Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
•Microsoft Windows XP Professional
•Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

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Keywords: 
kbtshoot kbprb KB903267

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Please also understand that the community feedback system is not warranted to be correct, it's simply a system that we've built to let people try and help each other. If something in a feedback response doesn't make sense to you, or you're not comfortable making changes that the feedback talks about (like registry edits), please consult a professional.

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Del Lawin - dlawin NOSPAM-AT-NOSPAM affirmative.net Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 8/16/2005 12:26 PM
Why are your pages formatted such that they cannot be printed without cutting off text at the right margin?

Anonymous User Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 8/17/2005 3:36 AM
I followed the instructions and my Node Type on both computers is "Hybrid". Any advice? The event viewer on my primary PC (DJPKWT31) gives me this error message: "The master browser has received a server announcement from the DG35J351 computer that believes that it is the master browser for the domain on transport Net BT_Tcpip {743349B-8FB4-4F3B-. The master browser is stopping or an election is being forced."

Mari Yourdon - myourdon NOSPAM-AT-NOSPAM stny.rr.com Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 8/19/2005 5:05 AM
My Node type is hybrid on the host computer and unknown on my laptop.(that's what it says when I go to ipconfig/all in the command prompt.) The HP tech helping me did not think the "unknown" was a problem. But I think that might be the problem. My husband's laptop says hybrid too. When I went to the registry, I didn't have the values that this article says to delete. My NetBIOS over TCP/IP functionality is enabled. (I tried that too, because of the note in this article.) What advice do you have. I am trying to set up a home network where computer and all laptops have XP. I have had my house connected for years. The problem involves a brand new laptop HP pavilion ze2113us. This article describes the symptoms perfectly, but not the correct solution. This is the message I get when I try to open my son's workgroup: When I try to click view workgroups on Ward's laptop it says: Home is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator . . . The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently available. On the home host computer when you click on my son's workgroup computer it says: Wardo is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator . . The network path was not found. When I ping IP address back and forth it works. When I ping computer name it says: Ping request could not find host Yourdon. Please check the name and try again. The windows firewall is disabled. The laptops are networked to home computer with wireless router. As I said, it is set up correctly, because it works on my husband's and daugther's laptops. A tech at HP instant support had me do the following: Click Start > Run and type "\\ ipaddress of other compuer" without quotes and click on Ok button When I did this,I could see the host computer's shared files, but as soon as I closed that box, I was still in the same situation. SP 2 is installed on this laptop. Disabling Norton doesn't help either. (Plus I wouldn't want to do that. It isn't necessary on the other laptops.) I also stopped and started the DNS server. A tech also had me do DNS/flush on the command prompt. Then he tried to get me to start the WINS service. But the 'Enable LMHOSTS lookup' box was already selected. I then lost that tech, so I don't know what he was going to suggest next. They also had me try downloading a new wireless driver. Here's the address of the new driver I downloaded. I restarted the computer after installing and still had the same problem. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?lc=en&lang=en&cc=us&os=228&product=500259&dlc=en&softwareitem=ob-32645-1 I apologize if this is not the forum for a question this large, so I'll understand if you can't respond. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks,Mari Yourdon

Anonymous User Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 8/22/2005 7:14 AM
My home computers all say "unknown". My work laptop was rebuilt and would no longer connect. After seeing this article I checked and found that my work computer said "peer-to-peer". I followed the instructions and my work computer changed to "unknown". Everything works fine now. So "unknown" isn't the problem all by itself, but maybe if "unknown" and "hybrid" don't talk to each other.

Anonymous User Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 9/8/2005 3:18 PM
Thank you. I searched most of this afternoon for an answer. Found many incorrect or incomplete ones on the net. This was the only place with the solution!

cavecat Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 9/13/2005 5:00 AM
I have 2 Windows XP Pro machiens that are part of a wokgroup. I got a new Dell laptop and tried adding it to the workgroup and it would never get added or seen by the other computers. I tried everything I knew and it still wouldn't. I found this article and sure enough my 2 desktops were set to unknown and my laptop was set to peer to peer. Once I changed my laptop settings according to this article, it started working. Thanks!!!

Rain - eric NOSPAM-AT-NOSPAM absolute.lv Reported as Irrelevant  
Written: 9/15/2005 2:42 AM
ok .. I used dhcpnodetype value change for a long time , BUT!!! Is there any possibility to keep both connections , I have notebook, and I'm tired to change node type every day :(((((

arto Report As Irrelevant  
Written: 3/20/2007 10:43 AM
Your suggestion was perfect. I found the DhcpNodeType and deleted it. As with another user I had spent hours on this issue and other suggestions did not work. Thanks.

Technipro Report As Irrelevant  
Written: 2/23/2008 12:43 PM
Your suggestion was perfect. I found the DhcpNodeType and deleted it. Both users had used Network Wizard and I had spent hours on this issue and other suggestions did not work. Thanks.

Dave - feingod@gmail.com Report As Irrelevant  
Written: 4/8/2008 9:27 PM
You are awsome, even the Microsoft site was useless. And it was a free fix to. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

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