Find Missing Computers in My Network Places

I'm trying to open a file on another PC on my network, but it doesn't show up in My Network Places . This is driving me crazy!

This is a really common problem, and one that is not always easily solved. First, a remote computer may not appear in My Network Places if it doesn't have any files or printers shared.

Shared folders on remote PCs can show up in two places in the My Network Places folder: shortcuts to previously accessed folders sometimes appear right in the My Network Places folder itself, but for a complete list, navigate to \ Entire Network\ Microsoft Windows Network , open your network (e.g., MSHOME ), and then open any PC to show its shared folders and printers.

Also, you may or may not see a PC that is in another workgroup in the Microsoft Windows Network folder in My Network Places . If you don't see the other workgroup, and you have control over the other PC, change its workgroup name to match the rest of the PCs on your network.

Open the System control panel (or right-click My Computer and select Properties), and then choose the Computer Name tab. The name of your PC, as well as the workgroup to which it belongs, is shown here (see Figure); click the Change button to rename the PC or join a different workgroup. All the PCs on your network should belong to the same workgroup, but no two PCs should share the same computer name.

If the workgroup matches but the PC still doesn't show up, one trick that often works is to type the name of the PC directly into Windows Explorer's address bar. (If you don't see the address bar, select View Toolbars --> Address Bar.) Erase the text in the address bar, and type two backslashes followed by the missing PC's name, like this: \\misterx
where misterx is the name of the remote PC. Press Enter, and with luck and about 510 seconds of patience Windows should list the shared folders on the remote computer.

If you still can't see the PC, make sure the network is functioning on both the remote computer and the local PC (the one you're sitting in front of). If they're both connected to a router that provides a shared Internet connection, for instance, open a web browser on each PC to test the connection. If you can load a web site, the network is working.
Often, you can force stubborn computers to show up by setting a static IP address for each PC on your network. Then use the ping command to test connectivity. Select Start --> Run, type cmd , and click OK to open a Command Prompt window, and then type:

ping 192.168.1.107

In this example, 192.168.1.107 is the IP address of the remote PC; replace this with the appropriate address. If you get a reply like the following from the remote machine, it means your computer can see and successfully communicate with that machine on your network:
Reply from 192.168.1.107: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=64
If, on the other hand, you see a timeout message like this, the connection is broken:

Request timed out.

File sharing will not work as long as ping returns this error, so your best bet is to check your hardware and IP address settings instead of toiling with the My Network Places folder.

If the network checks out but you still can't see the remote PC, try restarting both computers and resetting your router (refer to your router's instructions for the reset procedure).

If all else fails, it's likely a problem with the hardware. Try replacing the cables if you have a wired network