Win 11 File Explorer Showing Some But Not All of Network Drives

Question

I have a TP-Link Deco BE85 home network. I have 6 network attached storage (NAS) devices connected to the network via Ethernet cables (Synology DS418Play, DS620Slim1, DS620Slim2, DS620Slim3, DS620Slim4, and Lenovo IX2). Also, I have a Dell XPS 9520 laptop connected to the network via a wireless connection. When I open Windows 11 File Explorer on my Dell XPS 9520 laptop, I can see all 6 NAS devices under the Other Devices heading. However, under the Network heading, I can only see 4 of the 6 NAS devices but not the Synology DS418Play and the Lenovo IX2. I am looking for help to get the Synology DS418Play and the Lenovo IX2 NAS devices to show up under the Network heading so I can access the files on these devices.

Answer 1

Hello Rump,

Hope you have a lovely day!

It sounds like you're encountering an issue where not all of your NAS devices are visible in the Network section of File Explorer on your Windows 11 laptop, though they appear under Other Devices. Here are some steps and tips to troubleshoot and hopefully resolve the issue:

1. Check Network Discovery Settings:
   • Ensure that Network Discovery is turned on. Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi (or Ethernet, depending on your connection). Click on your network and ensure the "Private" network profile is selected, as Network Discovery is generally enabled by default on private networks.
   • Go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Advanced sharing settings. Verify that 'Turn on network discovery' is enabled.
2. Ensure Workgroup Settings are Consistent:
   • Verify that all devices, including the Synology DS418Play and Lenovo IX2, are on the same workgroup. This setting can be checked and changed in the network settings of each NAS.
3. Restart Devices:
   • Sometimes a simple restart of the NAS devices and your computer can help refresh the network connections and make all devices visible.
4. Check NAS Network Settings:
   • Access the admin settings on your Synology DS418Play and Lenovo IX2 to ensure they are configured to be accessible over the network. Check that any necessary network services, like SMB/CIFS, AFP, or NFS, are enabled.
5. Update Firmware and Drivers:
   • Ensure that the firmware on your NAS devices and the network drivers on your Dell XPS 9520 are up to date. This can resolve many connectivity issues.
6. Map Network Drives Manually:
   • If the NAS devices still aren't showing up automatically, you can try to map the drives manually. Open File Explorer, click on 'This PC', then 'Computer' tab > 'Map network drive'. Enter the network path for the NAS devices (e.g., \\DS418Play\sharedfolder).
7. Check for IP Conflicts:
   • Ensure that there are no IP conflicts on your network. You can log into your router's admin panel to see the list of devices and their IP addresses.
8. Use Command Line to View All Network Devices:
   • Open Command Prompt and type net view to list all network devices. If the NAS shows up here but not in File Explorer, it might be an issue with Windows Explorer itself.
9. Windows Services:
   • Make sure services like Function Discovery Provider Host and Function Discovery Resource Publication are running as these are essential for seeing devices on the network.

If after these steps the devices still do not appear, it may be helpful to consult the support forums or documentation for your specific NAS models or contact their customer support for more device-specific guidance.

Best regards

Rosy

Answer 2

Hi Rosy,

Thanks for all of your excellent suggestions. While waiting for a reply in this forum, I was able to start a chat session with Microsoft Support on April 30th. The 1st agent had me open a Quick Assist session. He made lots of changes in the MS Services area but the problem persisted. He was moving so fast that I could not keep up with all of the settings he changed. Next, he escalated my problem and another agent got back to me during the afternoon of May 1st. The 2nd agent had me open a Quick Assist session. He also made several changes to my laptop's configuration. Sadly to say, he was moving too fast for me to follow what he was doing. However, whatever he did, he had me reboot my laptop and all of my NAS devices are now viewable in File Explorer. I can open each NAS device and access the folders and files After the chat session ended, I did a backup of my settings.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions.

Answer 3

Hi Rumpl,

Thank you for updating us on your situation. I'm glad to hear that the issue with your NAS devices is resolved, albeit the process seemed quite frantic! It's great that the changes made by the Microsoft Support agents eventually led to a positive outcome.

Since the changes were made quickly and you couldn’t track all of them, it’s a good idea to keep the backup of your settings secure, as it might help in future troubleshooting or in case you need to revert any changes. If you encounter any more issues or if you need further clarifications on the changes made, feel free to reach out again. We're here to help!

Best regards,

Rosy

Answer 4

I am no way an expert but I have been having very similar issue with Network not showing all devices. Windows 10. Lost connection from my main PC ( PC1) to backup device NAS1.

Seems to have been creeping in over win10 updates over the past 6 months.

I have followed so may suggestions I have possibly upset some of my PC's and yes every time I rebooted some showed in Network and others did not. If a device showed and I managed to map a network drive that appeared to stay connected as a network device even after a reboot should the Network not show the actual device.

Configuration:

3 PC's, 2 NAS. Other devices but I am not really worried about them for now.

In File Explorer when selecting This PC a NAS may show as a storage device but only as a media device.

PC1 would only show NAS2 and Laptop 1

PC2 would show PC1,PC2, Laptop1, NAS2, also showed mapped drives for NAS1 and NAS2

Laptop1 would show Laptop1 and NAS2. Even though NAS 1 had a mapped drive.

I stubled across an article that gave instructions to find out what is shared on the PC you are working on.

File Explorer> type \localhost into the address bar. This worked as I could see the shared folders.

I then typed into the address bar the name of the PC I was working on \"systemname" and it appeared in the Network list. So following on I then enetered each PC on the network and the missing NAS and everyone appeared so I quickly mapped the drives from each device.

I then repeated this exercise on each PC and every device/share worked.

So all of the commands suggested that achieved nothing maybe are not needed. Just enter the system name \systemname and maybe it works.

It would be good if others try this and confirm.

Next day after PC's went to sleep or were powered off/on.

Back to only showing the initial list in File Explorer>Network BUT the mapped drives all in place and by entering the \systemname in the address bar the systems reappeared in Network.

So the discovery process is still suspect but this is quicker and safer, if it works, than changing settings and destabilising a working system.

My next test when time permits is to make sure I have not left my systems open to vulnerabilities with the setting changes in Network Setup and Firewalls.

What has also caused some issues is the way the Network Credentials are setup. As I have been forced to rebuild systems due to the updates gradually slowing systems and also demanding more memory and faster discs I have been changing to SSD's. The build process ended up taking an email address and a password as the credentials. Found the credentials and luckily had a record of microsoft passwords which worked with the access.

To get yout Network Credentials on a device ( User name to log into the remote device ) I used CMD and ran netplwiz. I did not find any way to show the password.

Answer 5

I have Win11 home on a Dell Desk top and two HP laptops running Win10 home.

I have always used file/drive share w/o problems until all these updates were installed on my computers almost every week. I cannot share files or see my drives anymore even though all my file share settings are correct. This is an incompatibility issue with Microsoft and it sucks. I gave up trying to fix it and I now use a USB drive to share my files. Sometimes my shared files/drives show up but most of the time they are dead to the world around my PC's.

I have dealt with MS security issues at work and when you need the IT guy from three different companies to install software on a MS computer..........OMG.

This will most likely be my last MS computer as I'm not an IT professional, just a novice user trying to get something to work that I bought and paid money for. I give up Microsoft. Too much time wasted trying to get something to work that worked before all your freek'in updates. I realize security is a big issue but ..... When you come out with new software do you test it before releasing it to the public or do you let people like me test it for you? I feel like an MS guinea pig.

Oh, next year my two laptop will be no good due to being incompatible with win11........ Most likely I will not be purchasing MS computers being as they are my home computers and not work related.