NetBIOS Tweak May Be Needed for Win10 NAS Access

In response to a question from an old friend and colleague, I started researching what might cause a NAS connection to vanish following an upgrade to Windows 10. It turns out that certain network shares, including NAS-related ones, have been known to vanish from access (and appearance in File Explorer) on some Windows 10 PCs. Further, this problem turns out to be an occasional outcome from the default setting for NetBIOS over TCP/IP in the Win10 environment, which takes its cue by default from the local DHCP server. Here’s a snap of the relevant properties window, taken from the WINS tab of the Advanced TCP/IP Settings:

The path to these properties is pretty involved, but the setting change is easy: check the “Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP” radio button.

The sequence of selections to get here is pretty long and involved. Here’s one way to get there:
1. Type “net” into the search box, then click on Network and Sharing Center.
2. Click on the network interface you use to access the network (for this PC, it’s the Ethernet connection; on most laptops it will be a wireless interface of some kind).
3. On Ethernet Status, click properties.
4. In Ethernet Properties, click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), then Properties.
5. In Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties, click the Advanced button.
6. In Advanced TCP/IP Settings, click the WINS tab. This produces the window shown above, where you’ll want to click the “Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP” radio button.

In most cases, this will enable Windows 10 clients to “see” local NAS servers and the network shares they offer. In certain cases, though, this still won’t be enough to do the trick. In such cases, it may be necessary to research the configuration for one’s local DHCP server, and to make sure that support for NetBIOS is indeed enabled (MS addresses the reverse case — namely, turning DHCP off — in KB article 313314, but this information also sheds some light on how to reverse that process for clients whose DHCP support comes from a Microsoft server of some kind. For other DHCP details, like those for the millions of routers and WAPs that provide DHCP to small-network Windows clients, one must consult their documentation and configuration screens instead).