Computer Name Missing in the Browsing List When Server Comment More Than 48 Characters

ID: Q231312

The information in this article applies to:
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

When the server comment is greater than 48 characters, the server name may disapear from the browsing list. The server comment may be set by typing the following command at an MS-DOS command prompt:

net config server /srvcomment:"text"
NOTE: This command does not allow you to specify a srvcomment greater than 48 characters. Nevertheless, the problem may exist if the srvcomment size is greater than 48 characters when it set directly in the registry (HKLM\System\CCS\Service\LanmanServer\Parameters).


RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, ensure that the length of the server comment (srvcomment) is not greater than 48 characters.


MORE INFORMATION

The 48 characters limitation of srvcomment is a design limitation. When this symptom occurs, the browsing mechanism seems to work fine from a network capture point of view. The Host Annoucement and Local Master Annoucement are done normally. The full srvcomment is sent inside the network datagram (even if the length of srvcomment is greater than 48 characters). However, this kind of datagram is discarded by the master browser.

Additional query words: browsing browser srvcomment missing 


Keywords          : 
Version           : winnt:4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: July 7, 1999