Local computer not appearing in Explorer "Network" view under Windows 11

Gary Nebbett 5,721

Hello All,

Does anybody see the local computer in the list of computers in Explorer's "Network" view?

The reason that I am asking is that I think that I have discovered why it does not appear in my list and, if the idea is correct, I would not expect any Windows 11 system to show the local computer.

I think that there has been a long-term problem/bug in evaluating Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) filters for loopback traffic that had been disguised by default settings in Windows 10. A default has changed in Windows 11 and this has allowed the problem to become more visible.

The "missing" local computer is just an easily verifiable manifestation of the problem and not a big problem itself, but I think that some other problems that I have seen in forums might have the same root cause.

Update: I have written about the suspected problem and its causes in more detail at: https://gary-nebbett.blogspot.com/2022/04/windows-filtering-platform-loopback.html

Gary

Dennis Enderson 0 Reputation points

2023-05-15T05:19:44.09+00:00

After many months of trial and error, I believe I have discovered a reliable workaround for this incredibly frustrating issue, and it was right in front of me all along. For the many years I have been using Microsoft peer-to-peer networking at home, going all the way back to the early versions of Windows, I have always made sure that all of my systems were assigned to the same workgroup. I recently updated my wife's desktop system to Windows 11, at which time it could "see itself" in the network folder. Following my old practice, I changed that system's workgroup to the same name as the other 3 computers, and it promptly disappeared from the network folder. Recalling that I had long experienced this problem with one of my other systems, I switched it to a different workgroup, and it reappeared in the network folder. Several back and forth experiments verified that this works every time. I hope this works for others experiencing the same problem. (By the way, this issue seems to occur only on systems connected to my router via WiFi. My Ethernet-connected desktop computer has never exhibited the problem.)
groucho777 6 Reputation points

2023-06-04T13:43:27.94+00:00

How exactly (step-by-step) did you “switch it to a different workgroup”? Thanks.

6 answers

Limitless Technology 39,411 Reputation points

2022-04-15T05:09:58.113+00:00

Hi @Gary Nebbett

You make an interesting point. I don't see my local PC in the Network List on Windows 10.

This is an interesting document:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fwp/windows-filtering-platform-start-page

This was first introduced with Vista, so maybe the issue has existed since then?

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Gary Nebbett 5,721 Reputation points

2022-04-15T08:30:19.127+00:00

Hello @Limitless Technology ,

What I believe to be the underlying problem (failure to correctly match loopback interface traffic against ALE multicast flows) may well have been present since WFP was first introduced in Windows Vista.

It was the change of "sublayer" of some built-in app isolation and Windows Service Hardening filters in Windows 11 which has made the "problem" apparent (easily detectable) in Windows 11.

The local PC should be visible in Windows 10 - if it is not visible there then that is for a different reason (perhaps the start-up ordering of the FDResPub and LanmanWorkstation services, as discussed in https://gary-nebbett.blogspot.com/2021/05/network-discovery-and-name-resolution.html).

Gary
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Local computer not appearing in Explorer "Network" view under Windows 11

6 answers