Why is Windows 10 Host not appearing as a connected device

Gee Wong 1 Reputation point
2021-04-15T18:59:07.707+00:00

Following instructions, I set up File and Printer sharing on my Windows 10 host LAPTOP-6420U. When I browsed in Explorer on other machines and from the local machine, I could not find LAPTOP-6420U listed. When I search through my ISP's cable modem, I could not find LAPTOP-6420U listed as a connected device. I was able to find other Windows 10 host such as DESKTOP-Z420 listed as a connected device. Searching through IPv4 addresses, I discovered my device was listed with what appears to be MAC ID ff:fd:ac:d0. Thus it seems no direction for installing File and Printer sharing will work since the Window 10 host fails to appear as connected device for network discovery.

Windows 10
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A Microsoft operating system that runs on personal computers and tablets.
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Windows 10 Network
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Windows 10: A Microsoft operating system that runs on personal computers and tablets.Network: A group of devices that communicate either wirelessly or via a physical connection.
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Windows 10 Setup
Windows 10 Setup
Windows 10: A Microsoft operating system that runs on personal computers and tablets.Setup: The procedures involved in preparing a software program or application to operate within a computer or mobile device.
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  1. Gee Wong 1 Reputation point
    2021-04-15T19:47:45.85+00:00

    The issue had nothing to do with the Windows Firewall. I had both "Network Discovery" and "File and Printer Sharing" enabled. I also disabled the Windows Firewall to see whether it made any difference. Eventually, I discovered the issue originated from hardware. The laptop allows both Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections to be simultaneously on. The Windows 10 Host name got registered under Wi-Fi and the MAC ID got registered under Ethernet. Both the computers I was having the issue on and the external test computer I was using were connected to the Ethernet network. There didn't seem to be any way for someone with a normal user account to remove entries from the connection tables for Ethernet and WiFi which basically enhances DNS.

    I corrected the issue by doing 2 things: 1) Reconfiguring the device to allow Wi-Fi only when EtherNet is not used. 2) Changing the Window 10 Host name to allow the ISP's cable modem to recognize a new host name to add to the Ethernet connection.

    Now I discovered a new issue which I'll need to take elsewhere since it doesn't appear to involve Windows. Both Ethernet and WiFi networks are on the same subnet 10.0.0.x. But devices on the WiFi network do not see the presence of devices with File and Printer Sharing on the Ethernet network. I wonder whether DNS is being enhanced by separate tables on the WiFi and Ethernet networks.

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  2. Sunny Qi 10,906 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2021-04-16T02:46:17.677+00:00

    Hi,

    Good to hear that you have solved this issue by yourself. In addition, thanks for sharing your solution in the forum as it would be helpful to anyone who encounters similar issues. You could accept the helpful answer to end up this thread.

    For the issue related to DNS, if the DNS server was a Windows server, I would suggest you could post a new thread in our DNS forum and we will continue to assist you on DNS issue.

    Best Regards,
    Sunny

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