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Enable Network Discovery and Bring Back Missing PCs

TL;DR

Set the profile to **Private**, start **FDResPub**, **SSDPSRV** and **upnphost**, then enable the **Network Discovery** firewall group. Check with **Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup**.

Before you start

Requirements

  • Admin rights
  • Two machines on the same subnet
  • 15 minutes
Step by step

Instructions

01

Check the network profile first

On a Public profile Windows blocks discovery by design. A network that Windows marks as Public will never show other PCs, no matter which services run.

Get-NetConnectionProfile | Select-Object Name,NetworkCategory,IPv4Connectivity
Get-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias 'Ethernet' | Set-NetConnectionProfile -NetworkCategory Private
Get-NetConnectionProfile | Select-Object Name,NetworkCategory
02

Start the discovery services

**FDResPub** publishes this machine, **SSDPSRV** and **upnphost** handle device discovery, and **fdPHost** supports the others. All four must be running and set to automatic.

Get-Service FDResPub,fdPHost,SSDPSRV,upnphost | Select-Object Name,Status,StartType
Get-Service FDResPub,fdPHost,SSDPSRV,upnphost | Set-Service -StartupType Automatic
Get-Service FDResPub,fdPHost,SSDPSRV,upnphost | Start-Service
Get-Service FDResPub,fdPHost,SSDPSRV,upnphost | Select-Object Name,Status,StartType
03

Enable the firewall groups

Discovery uses several rule groups at once. Enabling only File and Printer Sharing leaves the browse list empty, which looks like a broken network.

Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup 'Network Discovery' | Select-Object DisplayName,Enabled,Profile -First 5
Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup 'Network Discovery'
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup 'Network Discovery','File and Printer Sharing' | Group-Object Enabled | Select-Object Name,Count
04

Turn on the sharing settings

The advanced sharing settings control discovery and sharing per profile. The registry keys behind them are readable, so you can verify what the UI claims.

Get-NetFirewallProfile -Profile Private | Select-Object Name,Enabled,DefaultInboundAction
Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters' | Select-Object AllowInsecureGuestAuth
Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Select-Object EnableSMB2Protocol,RequireSecuritySignature,EnableSecuritySignature
05

Confirm from the other machine

Discovery is a two-sided protocol. The missing PC may be publishing, while this one is not listening, so test both directions.

net view
Get-SmbConnection
Resolve-DnsName -Name PC02 -Type A -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName PC02 -Port 445
06

Refresh the browse list

Explorer caches the network view. Restarting the workstation service and the explorer process reloads it without a reboot.

Restart-Service LanmanWorkstation -Force
Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force
net view \\PC02
Get-SmbShare | Select-Object Name,Path,Description
Troubleshooting

Common issues

net view shows error 6118

The browse list is not available because the computer browser role is gone from modern Windows. Use \\name directly or a mapped drive.

One PC appears, another does not

The missing one is on a Public profile or has discovery disabled. Check its own profile and services.

Discovery works but access is denied

That is a share and NTFS permission problem, not a discovery problem. Check the share ACL and the account used for the connection.

The firewall group will not enable

A policy controls it, or the group name differs by language. Use Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup with the exact local name.

FAQ

Frequently asked

Should I leave discovery on?

On a trusted home LAN yes. On a network with strangers, set the profile to Public and use a direct path instead.

Why does discovery need so many services?

They serve different protocols: SSDP for devices, Function Discovery for resources, upnphost for device hosting. Explorer uses all of them.

Does this work across subnets?

Not with broadcast discovery. Use a WINS server, a DNS entry or a direct UNC path instead.

How to undo this

Disable the firewall group with Disable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup 'Network Discovery' and set the network profile back to Public if it was Public before.

Changelog · 1 entry
  1. 2026-11-01
    First version
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