just to be sure...
is your lmhosts file named 'lmhost' with no file extention and located in '%sysdir%\system32\drivers
are you entries in the form of:
10.1.1.1 fileservername
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Browse All TopicsHow can I get an entry in LMHOSTS (or HOSTS) to be usable in places like Windows Explorer on Windows XP? We would like to set up a name like PRODFS on one workstation that points to the IP address of a server, and be able to browse to \\PRODFS from Windows Explorer on that workstation. Although the workstation can browse to real server names, the local names in LMHOSTS result in an error message box saying the machine name wasn't found. IP-based references (ping, web browsing, etc.) to the PRODFS name all work as expected, Both the server and the workstation are in the same domain.
The network configuration includes Client for Microsoft Networks, File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks, QoS Packet Scheduler, and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). On the WINS tab, "Enable LMHOSTS lookup" is checked. We've tried this both with DHCP and with a fixed IP address. We've tried it with NetBIOS over TCP/IP enabled and with it disabled.
We are trying to set up a test environment for something, so we have some flexibility in the network settings on the workstation (but no ability to change server-based network settings or domain settings).
Any suggestions for what can be tweaked to get LMHOSTS names to be usable in Windows Explorer?
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Thanks for the suggestions, but we've been fairly thorough in investigating the basics.
We have put the name in both the hosts and the lmhosts file in the etc directory, using the right syntax. We have included the #PRE directive in the lmhosts file, and verified using nbtstat -c that the entry has been cached and is correct.
We have also tried putting the name in just the lmhosts file. Since we can ping the name as well as see it in the cache, we are confident that the syntax and file naming is correct.
This seems to be a problem where something is preventing a lmhosts name from operating in the Windows Explorer layers the same way it does in standard TCP/IP layers. (Is there an XP setting that does what the old Windows NT "Use DNS for Windows name resolution" setting did?)
Host Resolution Priority Tweak
http://www.speedguide.net/
I ran across this once before, but never tried it......Backup the reg first if you do try it....
Thanks, johnb6767. I suspect simply shifting the priorities lower won't resolve the problem, but perhaps changing their order might help.
Although that brings up the question of why, if all sources are being searched, is Windows Explorer not finding a name? Is there another list of name providers for Explorer that has omitted hosts/lmhosts?
[As an additional piece of information, we have Novell in our environment, but we've removed it from the workstation we are using, and the server we are trying to reach has never had anything to do with Novell. However, I wouldn't rule out that Novell may have changed something that it's uninstall doesn't revert.]
The Network Connections "Advanced Settings" shows "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks" and "Client for Microsoft Networks", both with "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" as the only binding.
On the Provider Order tab, the Network Providers listed are "Microsoft Windows Network" and "VMWare Shared Folders". (Our primary testbed for doing the LMHOSTS config testing is a VMWare slice, but we see similar behavior on standard workstations.)
Any further ideas on how to get Windows Explorer to use LMHOSTS (or HOSTS) lines to find a server?
Other than that, I am out of ideas....
Did you try the link above, but changed the order of the entries in the registry?
Host Resolution Priority Tweak
http://www.speedguide.net/
LocalPriority = 005 (5) - local names cache
HostsPriority = 006 (6) - the HOSTS file
Maybe you could move HOSTSPriority above LocalPriority? (without it reverint gback to alphabetical order?)
It sounds like you are configuring LMHOSTS correctly. and if nbtstat -c shows the correct address, you may want to Investigate the Node Type. This determines the method used for NetBIOS name resolution.
Also, are you using WINS at all?
Have you tried to connect to this computer using the IP address? \\w.x.y.z
Followup on a couple of previous comments...
The host resolution order/priority didn't have any effect.
WINS Proxy is not enabled, but our default configuration uses primary/secondary WINS servers. We've tried a ton of different configurations including getting rid of the WINS servers, without success.
IP address connections have worked, but aren't a solution (the reason we wanted to use the name is to override where a server name is pointing -- temporarily point it at a test server to validate some new software, and then remove the name override to have it point to the real server without reconfiguring the name it is using).
Thanks for the ideas. I am convinced that there is something in our Windows environment that is preventing the name override from working, but we don't have time to continue our battle to remove that restriction. I'll split the points.
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by: AELustigPosted on 2007-05-09 at 12:10:54ID: 19059544
When it is for only one PC:
etc\hosts on the local machine
Open with notepad %windir%\system32\drivers\
At the and type:
<IP-ADDRESS> PRODFS
Save file and try. (sometimes you have to reboot)