Why is Windows 7 computer not visible in network?

I have just added a Windows 7 Pro computer to a network. All other computers are XP Pro and the Win-7 computer is supposed to be a file server.

At first, Win-7 set the network as "unknown network", because I don't have a dedicated Gateway. After just entering the IP of any of the other computers as the Gateway for the W7 computer, the network is now "workplace network", and file sharing should be possible.

But the computer is not visible to other computers and it cannot see other computers in it's network area.

I can ping back and forth using the IPs, but not using the computer names.

If I enter a IP / computername combination into the hosts file, then a ping to that computer name works, but that's not a good solution.

How can I make the W7 computer visible in the network?

Solution 1:

Open the Network and Sharing Center. On the left side click on Change advanced sharing settings. You probably told Win7 that this is a Work network so click on Home or Work and then select Turn on network discovery and Turn on file and printer sharing. Click on Save changes and you should be able to see it from the other systems and see other systems on the network.