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The problem was that devices on the network were not visible in Windows Explorer's Network folder. The devices were accessible using Remote Desktop Connection, and in many cases, the devices could be contacted within Windows Explorer by simply typing their network address into the address bar. But eventually even that failed.

I'm not sure there's any point listing everything I tried as suggested by a large number of posts here and elsewhere, but if someone suggests I list what I did, then I will provide that list.

My point in making this post is to explain what solved my problem and to ask why this solved my problem.

The problem was remedied by turning off all the hubs and routers in the system and after a short period, re-powering them up. After that, the network devices were all restored in the Windows Explorer Network folder.

What is being fixed when this happens? I'd like to understand the underlying issue. Are there other ways to remedy this type of problem without powering down the entire network's connectivity components?

Alan
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It could of been many things, I'll list a few that come to mind.

*Services needed to be enabled/restarted on your local workstation.

*The ARP tabled needed to be flushed.

*DNS Cache needed to be flushed on your workstation, and on any caching server.

*The WINS database might of had to be reset or, the cache cleared.

*A problem host on the LAN could of been feeding too much discovery traffic on the wire.

Sometimes you just never know. At the end of the day if the problem is in the past you just move on, but you also make note of what you did so you can fix it yourself next time. I know it can be frustrating, but sometimes things get fixed with no way to explain how you did it. Par for the course.

A helpful trick is try and visualize the scope of the problem so you don't have to throw arrows in the dark. In this case the issue didn't extend beyond the LAN.

As a professional Systems Admin there are many times in the enterprise you just don't know how you fixed something. You just are glad it's fixed, and your boss is happy, so you can go back to playing solitaire. :)

Marcus Patman
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