File Explorer not showing network properly

It sounds like Network Discovery is disabled on the computer, which might mean it's directly turned off or perhaps the computer isn't set to treat the network as a trustworthy private network. If the network type is set to Public (non-trustworthy, such as an airport or coffee shop), the system will block discovery to protect your security.

I would open Settings/Network and make sure the network type is set to "Private", then restart and test if it works after that. Realistically this should be done on all computers so they can all see each other, but since the other ones are working they are probably already set as private.

Thank you for trying to help. All 3 computers are set as private networks, so that's not the problem. All 3 are connected to a TP-Link Deco mesh network. The two Windows 11 computers are connected via Ethernet Cat-8 cables to the same satellite hub, so that's not the problem either. I can map drives from either one Windows 11 computer to the other one, they access just fine through File Explorer, and the mapped drives show up just fine on both computers both under This PC and in the Navigation Panes, so sharing is not a problem either. The Windows 10 computer is connected via Wi-Fi to a different hub, and it shows up just fine both as a mapped drive and as a network device on the Windows 11 computer that has no problem, and shows up as a mapped drive in this PC on the Windows 11 computer with the problem, but not in the navigation pane or as a network device on the problem computer.

Alrighty I'll see what I can find else to check. It's probably not an issue of them being on different workgroups but that's worth checking. Since you can map drives and reach them I would assuming you see shares if you navigate directly to \\computername but it's just not populating the network folder itself, would you confirm?

On the trouble computer is network folder just entirely empty?

Yes, I can see the shares. The trouble network folder shows nothing in the Navigation pane when I try to expand it. The Network view in the main pane shows 2 media devices, the Windows 10 computer and a TV on the network, the Mesh hub the Windows 11 computers are ethernet connected to, and 3 devices under other devices, all 3 TVs with the same network name and ip address. Doesn't show any of the NAS devices or the other 2 computers. All are visible in the main network pane on the "good" computer .

On Windows 10 and 11 I have to remap the one computer (only one shared) to get it to show up again. Just Network sharing programming issues right now.

I have remapped several times, reset my network adapters, run sfc and DISM, nothing helps. I have even done a repair install- no dice. This problem has existed from Windows 10, long before I upgraded to Windows 11. The only thing left to try is a complete reinstall of Windows 11, and it's just not worth the trouble. I think the problem might actually be in File Explorer, rather than anywhere else, because I have had continual problems with File Explorer of various sorts .on both Windows 11 computers since I upgraded

File Explorer has definitely had a number of bugs, some have gotten official attention and fixed, others still remain (whether they've gotten attention that we don't know about, who knows).

Still I sure feel like this should be solvable, although I don't know if it's like a net bios or master browser issue or what.

I'm sure you tried this with what you've been through already, but have you run the "network reset" option? It's in the Setting app and when you run it, it'll do a number of things and then schedule a system restart (I think with a 5 minute warning).

At the same I'm still trying to find other things to look at but I've not got anything at this moment.

Yes, I've tried this a couple of times. I am reluctant to try to fiddle with the network settings, because all my speed tests on both Windows 11 computers (I have tried several different ones) are very similar to one another, and are exceptionally good. Thanks for continuing to try.

Can I have you check some services and make sure they are set to Automatic for me? Or really they just have to be "not disabled", but I think it's very unlikely that these are disabled but would like to confirm they're set well.

1. Right-click Start button, choose Computer Management.

2. Open "Services and Applications" on the left side, and click on the Services section inside it.

3. Scroll through the list and make sure the following services are set to automatic:

• Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper

• Network Connected Devices Auto-Setup

• Network Connections

• Network List Service

• Network Location Awareness

• Workstation

MAJOR CHANGE! All 7 of the services you listed were set to manual (none were disabled). Of the 7, only the last, Workstation, was running. I changed all of them to manual and rebooted. Now, in the main pane in File Explorer, both the "good" and the "bad" computer show (in the computer section) all 3 NAS Devices and the "good" computer. Neither one shows the "bad" computer. Only the "good" computer shows the Windows 10 machine. In the Media Devices section, the "good" computer shows only the Windows 10 computer. The "bad" computer shows both the windows 10 computer and a connected smart TV. Both computers show the same (correct) printers, scanners, and multifunction devices. In the Other Devices section, the "bad" computer shows everything the "good" computer shows plus the three NAS devices.

In the navigation pane, neither computer shows the "bad" computer nor its shared folders. The "good" computer shows the Windows 10 computer and its shared folders while the "bad" computer does not. Both computers show the three NAS devices and their shared folders.

I'm going to check these services on the "good" computer and make sure they are set to automatic and are running.

This was a major improvement. I can't begin to express to you how grateful I am for your help. It is so gratifying to know that there are users in the Windows community like yourself that so unselfishly give of your time and expertise to provide help to others like me in need.