Windows 7 All Windows 7 computer cannot see and access each other

[shinigamibob]

Hi, I decided to join the forum just for this purpose. I hope someone will be able to help me.

Anyway here is my problem:

All my computers are running Windows 7 (2 of them are 64-bit, the other 32-bit). A few weeks ago, all of them could see each other just fine. I could access all of them from any computer. However, a few days ago, all of them disappeared. Now when I go to browse my network, all I can see is the local computer (the computer being accessed from) and sometimes my router.

One of the computers is hard wired to my D-link Telus router, while the others are connected via WiFi to my d-link dir-615 router. The 615 has DHCP disabled (meaning my main router is supplying the internal ip addresses), so thats not the problem. Additionally, when I log onto the admin interface on my main router (the telus supplied one), I can see all the devices that are connected and their names and ip addresses. All the devices have internet access without a problem.

One final problem, my laptop shows a linksys wrt110 as being connected my network, but I have no linksys routers in the house.


Any help is greatly appreciated as I would like to be able to access my network drives from my computers.

Thanks again.

[Edit]
It might be useful to note that all my firewalls allow local access to all devices. Also I have looked at many of the similar posts and tried many of the solutions but to no avail.

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you are encountering network visibility issues on your Windows 7 computers where they are no longer able to see each other on the network. This could be due to various reasons including network discovery settings, network sharing settings, firewall configurations, or even potential DHCP or DNS issues. Let's troubleshoot this step by step:

Troubleshooting Steps:​

1. Network Discovery Settings:
   • Ensure that network discovery is turned on for all your computers. This setting allows your computer to see other devices on the network and vice versa.
   []Network Sharing Settings:
   • Check if network sharing is enabled on all computers. This setting allows files and printers to be shared on the network.
   []Firewall Settings:
   • Verify that your firewall settings are not blocking network discovery or file sharing. Make sure that the necessary network protocols (such as SMB for file sharing) are allowed through the firewall.
   []DHCP and DNS:
   • Since your main router is handling DHCP, ensure that all devices are getting correct IP addresses.
   • Check if the DNS settings on all computers are pointing to the correct DNS server (usually your router or a local DNS server).
   []Router Configuration:
   • Check the router settings to ensure that there are no conflicting DHCP servers or any other settings causing network issues.
   []Device Detection:
   • Verify the devices that your laptop is detecting and ensure there are no unauthorized devices connected to your network.
   []Network Troubleshooting Tools:
   • You can use tools like "ipconfig" and "ping" to check the network connectivity and configurations on your computers.
2. Restart Devices:
   • Sometimes a simple restart of all your devices (computers and routers) can resolve network visibility issues.

Next Steps:​

I recommend starting with the above steps to pinpoint the issue causing your computers to not appear on the network. If you encounter any specific errors or need further assistance with any of the troubleshooting steps, feel free to provide more details for a more targeted solution.