Computer Stuff

NetBIOS node type
Another related and surprisingly frequent problem beside disabled NetBIOS over TCP/IP is the setting of an unsuitable node type for Windows networks (which use NetBIOS). If you don't see other computers in Network Neighborhood or My Network Places, then this computer may have the wrong node type. If you get error messages when you try to access another computer, then you may have to walk over to that other computer and perform the following steps there.

First check the node type by the command ipconfig /all

This command reports the node type, among other information. It should be Hybrid or Unknown, but not Point-to-Point (p-node, actually a mistaken interpretation of Peer-to-Peer), because that would work only when a WINS server is present.

If the node type is P-t-P, you can use regedit.exe to go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
\System
\CurrentControlSet
\Services
\Netbt
\Parameters

and delete any of the two values NodeType and DhcpNodeType if they exist, forcing Windows to fall back to its default node type, which should be Hybrid. Repair the connection (or reboot) to make the change effective.
Additional information about these values:

Value Name: DhcpNodeType
Value Type: REG_DWORD - Number
Valid Range: 1,2,4,8 (B-node, P-node, M-node, H-node)
Default: 1 or 8 based on the WINS server configuration
Description: This optional parameter specifies the NBT node type. It is written by the DHCP client service, if enabled. This parameter determines what methods NetBT uses to register and resolve names. A B-node system uses broadcasts. A P-node system uses only point-to-point name queries to a name server (WINS). An M-node system broadcasts first, and then queries the name server. An H-node system queries the name server first, and then broadcasts. Resolution through LMHOSTS and/or DNS, if enabled, follows these methods. If this key is not present, the system defaults to B-node if there are no WINS servers configured for the network. The system defaults to H-node if there is at least one WINS server configured.

Value Name: NodeType
Value Type: REG_DWORD - Number
Valid Range: 1 - 8
Default: 1
Description: This parameter specifies the NBT node type. It is an optional parameter that, if present, will override the DhcpNodeType parameter. See the entry for DhcpNodeType above for a complete description.

More details can be found in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article.

Default Node Type for Microsoft Clients
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/160177/

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