Network shares stop working

CTrey 40

I work with different offices/clients. None of them are on a domain, just workgroups. Since early this year, I've had issues with workstations losing network connectivity to shared folders. Sometimes it's because Network Discovery just decides to disable itself. Turning it back on usually works. I can connect via IP, but not UNC. Pinging returns the proper IP address. There aren't any special network configurations going on. DHCP/DNS is coming from the router. The only fix I have found is to flush/register the DNS, and rebooting the pc.

Any suggestions that don't require digging around the registry or changing things that shouldn't need to normally be changed?

Any suggestions are welcome.

Suporte - CRCPN Petrolina Suporte 20 Reputation points

2026-02-21T12:57:41.0133333+00:00

426

-----------COMMANDS--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Open REGEDIT as administrator (ADDRESS HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE - Software - Microsoft - MSLicensing - delete everything (only the folders inside MSLicensing) Run PowerShell as administrator and type: set-smbclientconfiguration -RequireSecuritySignature $false set-smbclientconfiguration -EnableInsecureGuestLogons $true
Arnaud Hertz 0 Reputation points

2026-05-11T22:13:49.8566667+00:00

The best advice found on the net to access my SMB server (mycloud home by WD) from windows 11 family.

I deleted with regedit MSlicensing folders and I removed the requirement for securitysignature with powershell. I didn't succeed enabling Insecure guest login : as a matter of fact it was not necessary ! Now it's working well.

6 answers

AI answer

2025-12-04T00:19:17.5066667+00:00
It sounds like you're experiencing intermittent connectivity issues with network shares in a workgroup environment. Here are some suggestions that might help without requiring registry changes:

Check Network Discovery Settings: Since you mentioned that Network Discovery sometimes disables itself, ensure that it is enabled on all workstations. You can do this by going to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change advanced sharing settings and ensuring that Network Discovery is turned on.

Use IP Address for Mapping: If you can connect via IP but not UNC, consider mapping the network drive using the IP address instead of the hostname. This can sometimes bypass DNS issues.

Check Firewall Settings: Ensure that the firewall settings on each workstation are not blocking file sharing. You might want to allow File and Printer Sharing through the firewall.

Update Network Adapter Drivers: Ensure that the network adapter drivers are up to date. Sometimes, outdated drivers can cause connectivity issues.

SMB Settings: Make sure that the SMB protocol is enabled on all devices. You can check this in Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off. Look for SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support and ensure it's enabled if necessary.

Check DHCP/DNS Settings: Since DHCP/DNS is managed by the router, ensure that the router is functioning properly and that there are no IP address conflicts. You can also try assigning static IP addresses to the workstations to see if that resolves the issue.

Network Reset: If the problem persists, consider performing a network reset on the affected workstations. This can be done in Settings > Network & Internet > Status > Network reset.

Use Command Prompt: You can also try using the command prompt to reset the network stack by running the following commands:

netsh int ip reset

netsh winsock reset

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

ipconfig /flushdns

These steps should help improve your connectivity to network shares without needing to delve into the registry.
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Network shares stop working

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