As we mention in "Understanding How Microsoft Networks Use the Browse Service to Manage Resources," it's worth your while to configure less desirable candidates to never participate in browser elections. Doing so will allow you to streamline the browser election process and reduce unnecessary network traffic.
Both Windows NT Workstation and Windows 95 have different ways of setting browser options. In this article, we'll show you how to disable the browsing capabilities of each operating system. You can combine the techniques in this article with the information in this month's other browse service articles to create a browsing environment that's right for you.
Windows NT WorkstationYou'll find the browsing options for Windows NT Workstation in the Windows NT Workstation Registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters, as shown in Figure A. To prevent a Windows NT Workstation system from ever becoming a browser, double-click the MaintainServerList subkey to open the Edit String dialog box and type No in the Value Data text box, as shown in Figure B.
Windows 95
A Windows 95 system that has either file or printer sharing enabled can and will participate in browser elections. If you don't want a particular Windows 95 system to participate in browser elections, you can disable this capability. To do so, open Control Panel's Network applet. Then, scroll through the components list and select the File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks component, as shown in Figure C.
Now, click the Properties button to open the File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks Properties sheet. At this point, select Browse Master in the Property list box and Disabled from the Value dropdown list, as Figure D shows.
