Unable to Browse NT Network from Windows 3.11, NT 3.51, 4.0 and 95 Clients

ID: Q246494

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.51, 4.0
Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.11

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to browse from Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11-, Microsoft Windows NT 3.51-, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0-, or Microsoft Windows 95-based clients on a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network running through a Windows NT Server 4.0-based computer, you may be unable to see resources on different segments of the network.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur when the browse list for the network is incomplete because clients running Windows for Workgroups 3.11 or Windows 95 are winning browser elections on their network segments and then not sharing the browse lists with the primary domain controller (PDC). This prevents clients from browsing for resources on some network segments.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

To resolve this issue, disable maintenance of a browse list on the Windows 95 and Windows for Workgroups 3.11 computers. Follow these steps:

On each of the network's Windows 95-based computers, disable the default browse list maintenance by editing the MaintainServerList value in two registry keys:

Start Registry Editor (Regedit) and locate the first registry key you need to edit:


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VNETSUP

Change the MaintainServerList parameter to zero (0), and then click OK.

Locate the second registry key you need to edit:


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VNETSUP\Ndi\Params\MaintainServerList

Change the MaintainServerList parameter to zero (0), and then click OK.

Quit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.

On each of the network's Windows for Workgroups 3.11-based computers, disable maintenance of a browse list by adding a line to the System.ini file:

Open the System.ini file in a text editor such as Notepad.

Add the following line to the [network] section of the System.ini file:


MaintainServerList=no

Save the changes to the System.ini file, and then restart the computer.

On each of the network's Windows 95- and Windows for Workgroups 3.11-based computers, add entries to the Lmhosts file to designate the PDC of the domain.

Make sure that the WINS Client (TCP/IP) protocol is listed at the top of the binding for the Server and Workstation services on the network's Windows NT 4.0- and Windows NT 3.51-based computers, and that TCP/IP is installed as the default protocol on the Windows 95- and Windows for Workgroups 3.11-based computers.

MORE INFORMATION

By default, when a Windows for Workgroups 3.11-based computer is the master browser of a network segment in a Windows NT-based domain, it does not share its browse list with the domain master browser (the PDC). However, Microsoft has updated files that enable this functionality. For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q147795 Windows for Workgroups Can Share Windows NT Domain Browse List

Q102878 Information on Browser Operation

A networked computer running Windows 95 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11 needs entries in the Lmhosts file to indicate which computer is the PDC of the domain. These Lmhosts entries are not necessary on Windows NT-based computers, which use the NetGetDcName application programming interface (API) to identify the PDC.

The Lmhosts file is located in the C:\Windows folder on computers running Windows for Workgroups 3.11 or Windows 95. If you want to browse for resources on remote Windows NT-based domains, you must add the \0x1b entry for the PDC of each remote domain to the Lmhosts file.

For example, the PDC (master browser) of the domain named GOTHAM has the NetBIOS (network basic input/output system) name of BATMAN. BATMAN uses the IP address of 193.177.60.22. Add the following lines to the Lmhosts file:


193.177.60.22     BATMAN     #PRE     #DOM:GOTHAM
193.177.60.22     ''GOTHAM         \0x1b''     #PRE

When you designate the domain master browser by specifying the sixteenth character of the NetBIOS domain name, it is absolutely imperative that the NetBIOS name of the domain occupy 15 characters before you specify the NetBIOS suffix. There must be a total of 20 characters between the quotation marks (15 characters for the NetBIOS name, and 5 characters for the NetBIOS suffix). Use spaces after the NetBIOS name so that the length of the domain name plus the spaces is 15 characters.

For additional information about using the Lmhosts file, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q180094 How to Write an LMHOSTS File for Domain Validation

Q163409 NetBIOS Suffixes (16th Character of the NetBIOS Name)

Additional query words: nt 4.0

Keywords : nt 4.0
Version : WINDOWS:3.11; winnt:3.51,4.0
Platform : WINDOWS winnt
Issue type : kbprb