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[rector]

Hello all, I have a 323 revb1. Problem is when I turn it on it is invisible to the network on 2 windows 7 pcs. When I say invisible to network  I mean that it doesnt show in network and sharing, explorer or any other file manager.

I can ping it ok (static ip outside router pool)
I can FTP it and move stuff
I can access it via "netscanner" and use it to move files to/from

If I run dlink easysearch on 1 pc, and enter the config, go into any section, save changes (having made none) and exit easysearch the nas is then available on the windows network on BOTH pcs including explorer and my file manager. Once access has been achieved the nas works perfectly. I know I posted about this earlier, but i have now replaced the old xp pc with a win7 one. Have also tried booting the nas before the pc and vice versa but no change. Have also booted pc with firewall/antivirus disabled.

Funny thing is the 323 is available on my networked media player, whilst invisible to both win7 pcs?
Hope this new info helps?

I also have a buffalo nas which shows on the network as expected, and is always visible when on.

Any ideas please?

[dosborne]

This seems to be the most asked (and most answered!) question. It is most likely a master browser name server issue. It simply takes a a few minutes for the NAS to 'announce' itself on the network.

Best way around it is static IP address and host files.

[rector]

But would 8 hours be considered long enough to show? because it still doesnt appear after being on that long.

The nas has a static ip ouside of the router pool.

Could you explain host files please?

[fordem]

The problem is that Windows does not know where your NAS is - the easiest solution is to map a drive letter to it using it's ip address , for example \\<static-ip>\Volume_1 so if you have given it 192.168.0.32, you would find it at \\192.168.0.32\Volume_1.

The host file is a way around this - it's a file that the OS checks before attempting to resolve an address using DNS and in that file you can link a "friendly name" to an ip address for example 192.168.0.32 MYNAS, and that will allow you to map the drive to \\MYNAS\Volume_1

The hosts file is in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

[99gecko]

Newbie to the dlink forums here.

Firstly thank you all for ideas in the forums on how to fix this problem. Mine was very similar to the OP:
Windows 7 laptop lost connection to dns323, but XP desktop still was still seeing the NAS, and able to read/write. I will post my experience and solution to this problem, in the hopes it helps others later. Unfortunately, I have never liked the interface of W7, and thus haven't spent any time to become more familiar with it than general purpose computing.

Set-up:
Windows XP desktop, hardwired to Linksys WRT54GS router v7.2.06
Windows 7 laptop connected via WiFi to network, added to network 2 years after adding the NAS (I may not have mapped the NAS to a drive letter on this laptop) 
Dlink DNS-323, v7.0, DHCP enabled, raid 1, was used successfully for about 3 years.

Recently Mrs. 99gecko installed some software for work on the laptop, noticed then that the NAS was not accessible. NAS is only used seasonally, not during the summer months, so I had no clue as to whether it was a recent development or not. I had no idea if the new software was the culprit, so before trying to restore to previous Restore Point, I headed to these forums. It appears to be a common issue.

Resolution process (FYI on my level of competency - I am not a computer expert, but have assembled my own systems years ago, but not since Windows XP):
Tried all different methods of boot sequencing
Disabled windows firewall, and uninstalled antivirus.
Did factory reset on the NAS
Determined that the NAS was visible via ping and could log into NAS from both PC's via IP address (that was a huge relief (because it meant the NAS was able to communicate through the router to the W7 laptop)
Tried using the Easy Search Utility - Could see the NAS and could select the drive volume but would never allow me to map - sometimes it would ask me for the NAS username and password, but would still fail mapping.
Set NAS to static IP
Updated NAS firmware to 1.10
Repeated all of the above.
Tried the static IP and found how to modify the Hosts file as described in this thread.
I did find an interesting solution, suggesting that it was a master browser issue: http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=14522.0, however the solution seemed beyond my capabilities, as I have no experience with LINUX, which is what I believed I needed to learn in order to deal with the problem as described in that thread properly.

So I tried another obvious solution found here:
http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=7609.0

Presto! it worked, although the process was slightly different for my W7 pc (I think that was for XP) and I did not have to do the "Connect using a different user name" step (or whatever the equivalent in W7 was).

I am posting this solution in this thread, as the other one is 4 years old, and perhaps new eyes to this thread will see the solution that worked for me, and help them.

I do not know whether the problem is a master browser conflict as described in the other thread, and I may never know. However, for my level of competency this was the best fix.

thanks to all members who have offered solutions in the different threads.

cheers,
99gecko

[JavaLawyer]

ShareCenter FAQ Board:

• DNS ShareCenter - Mapping a Volume using Windows
  
• DNS ShareCenter - Mapping a DNS ShareCenter Device (IP vs. Volume Name)