In Windows 10 Version 1803, the HomeGroup feature has been removed. We also saw how to share files and printers without HomeGroup in Windows 10. After updating to v1803, many users face a problem where the computers/devices in the home network are not seen when you open This PC -→ Network.
When you open This PC and click on Network in the left pane, none of your networked devices may show up. This article tells you how to fix network devices discovery problem in Windows 10.
Fix: Network computers not showing up in Windows 10
In some of our systems, we could access the networked devices using IP address UNC path (\\IPAddress\sharename) initially. Only after some time, the host name method (\\ComputerName\ShareName) worked out. It took a few minutes for the network discovery to function correctly. Give it a couple of minutes for the network discovery to work. If it still doesn’t work, you’ll need to check your Windows 10 Services configuration. Read further.
Set “Function Discovery Resource Publication” to Automatic start
Function Discovery Resource Publication is a networking service that enables network discovery in a home network (LAN).
Service description: Publishes this computer and resources attached to this computer so they can be discovered over the network. If this service is stopped, network resources will no longer be published and they will not be discovered by other computers on the network.
While this service is set to Manual start in Windows 10, but the Operating System (Windows 10 v1803) may not start the service when needed. Changing the service startup type “Automatic” or “Automatic (delayed start)” seems to work for many users. Follow these steps:
- Right-click Start, and click Run.
- Type
services.mscand click OK. This launches the Services MMC. - Scroll down and find the “Function Discovery Resource Publication” service.
- Double-click on the service to open its properties.
- Set the service Start type Automatic.
- Click OK and close Services MMC
- Restart Windows 10.
Turn on network discovery in Control Panel
- Open Control Panel → All Control Panel Items → Network and Sharing Center → Change Advanced sharing settings
- Enable Turn on network discovery and Turn on automatic setup of network connected devices.
- Also, enable Turn on file and printer sharing, and click Save changes.
That should resolve the network discovery issue. If that doesn’t do the trick, follow this advice from Microsoft support engineer Justin.
Microsoft is aware of reports that devices running Windows 10 version 1803 cannot connect to other devices on their home network and is investigating the issue.
You can resolve this problem by setting some services to Automatic (Delayed Start) and restarting Windows:
- Press the Windows Key and R at the same time to bring up the Run dialog.
- Type
services.mscin the Run dialog and press Enter. - For each of the following services, locate the service in the list, right-click the service and select Properties. Then set the Startup type to Automatic (Delayed Start) and select Apply.
- Computer Browser (Browser)
- Function Discovery Provider Host (FDPHost)
- Function Discovery Resource Publication (FDResPub)
- Network Connections (NetMan)
- UPnP Device Host (UPnPHost)
- Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRPSvc)
- Peer Networking Grouping (P2PSvc)
- Peer Networking Identity Manager (P2PIMSvc)
- Restart Windows.
Computer Browser service missing in Windows 10?
Windows 10 v1803 removes Computer Browser service as Server Message Block 1.0 feature is disabled by default in v1803, perhaps only on fresh installations. Computer Browser needs SMB 1.0 to work, but Microsoft suggests keeping SMB 1.0 disabled for security reasons, in the wake of ransomware attacks (like WannaCry) exploiting SMB 1.0. Refer Microsoft blog post Stop using SMB1 | Storage.
Note: If you require SMB 1.0, you can still enable it by opening Windows Features (OptionalFeatures.exe) and ticking on the option “SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support“. On our Windows 10 systems, only the sub-option “SMB 1.0/CIFS Server” was enabled.
Hope this guide helped you resolve the problem of networked computers/devices not showing up in This PC → Network (Neighborhood).
One small request: If you liked this post, please share this?
One "tiny" share from you would seriously help a lot with the growth of this blog. Some great suggestions:- Pin it!
- Share it to your favorite blog + Facebook, Reddit
- Tweet it!
I have done all the things suggested.
After a restart the PC can again connect to all the network devices.
However, if the PC sleeps or hibernates everything is lost until it reboots again.
I wonder if some other OS would be better, Windows 95 or Millennium might be easier to use, at least they worked.
Excellent!
Hi Ramesh,
On PC1 (ie. a Win8.1 box), I needed SMB 1.0 to see files on an old piece of network equipment. When I no longer needed SMB 1.0, I uninstalled it. But after that, the other PCs on the network could no longer see (discover) shares on PC1 natively in Explorer. That said, if I type in “\\PC1\sharename”, Explorer would make a connection and show the share(s). Your article here made me take a look at the “Function Discovery Resource Publication” service: It was set to Manual and not running. I set it to Auto and received instant joy : )
Thank you!
Regards . . .