Cannot turn on Network Discovery

I have read through all the threads, and just need an answer to my specific
issue:

The Network Discovery option in Network and Sharing Center will not turn on.
It stays as "Custom" whatever I do. I have:

- uninstalled Norton, and only have the MS Firewall enabled
- allowed the TCP and UDP ports specified in this article
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/net.../vista_fp.mspx on my Linksys
Router, and still no luck.

I am running Vista Home Premium.Any ideas?

Have you turned off broadcasting the SSID in your router? If so, when you
are setting up your network in vista select manual. Then enter your network
details,
Network name, encryption details and any shared network key. Then put a
tick in the Connect even if your network is not broadcasting box, or if you
want an easier way open your routers config page, it normally has an address
of something along the lines of 192.168.2.1 by typing this in your browser,
in there turn on broadcasting SSID, and it should show up on the connect to
network page.

Thanks for the reply. I already have SSID Broadcasting switched on (via the
Routher web interface), and it still won't allow me to turn on Network
Discovery (just says "Custom" instead of On or Off). It appears to be Off,
though, as no other attached wireless devices show up in the Networks view,
and if I try to detect other wireless devices, I get the message that
Discovery is not on.

My main PC is Vista, and I have two other XP PCs on the network, which I
can'ty see from the vista machine...

Looks like some system services are disabled or not started.
Click Start and type Services.msc in the dialog box to open the services snap-in.
Then check if the following services are started:
--SSDP Discovery
--TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
--Computer Browser
--Server
If not, set the startup type to automatic and click start to start the services.
I also has a vista ultimate pc and was not able to turn network discovery on. I checked in the services snap-in and found that the SSDP Discovery was not started. With the SSDP Discovery services started, I was able to turn the network discovery on.
You should try this.

[benmess]

Just would like to say a big THANK YOU for the info of looking in the services bit! I've been looking everywhere to see why i couldn't start network discovery and it was because the SSDP was disabled for some reason! So

I had the same problem, but I knew all the services were running, and I finally figured out that the Firewall was blocking the Network Discovery.

Did you try going to network and sharing>under network discovery ensure is
enable, or else just click on the down arrow and turn it on

In my case the windows firewall was blocking it. I had to allow network connections by making blocking an exception in the windows firewall settings. (Go to windows firewall, change settings, exceptions tab, and click network discovery. Hopefully this helps some people who have the same issue.

[HD_Dave]

On Windows 7:

Don't forget "UPnP Device Services" !!!!!!

Once I started that up, I was able to enable Network Discovery (don't forget to save your setting). However, my PS3 was not able to discover my laptop until I turned them both off. Then I turned my laptop back on, verfied Network Discovery was still on, then turned on my PS3 and it had already found my Windows 7 laptop media server.

[NiTRO777]

I had the same problem but an entirely different solution.

After much head-scratching and trial & error, here is what I eventually did to solve the problem:

Start>Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Services

Scroll down to "Internet Connection Sharing". If this is disabled, as was in my case for some reason, right click on 'disable' and choose 'Automatic' and save changes. Then to the upper left, click 'start services'. It should now work.

[ruafreebird]

I have tried all of these suggestion but still cannot turn on Network Discovery. It always reverts back to 'OFF'.

I made sure that all the services were started, but still cannot turn it on.

My HD crashed recently. Everything was working fine at that time. I installed a new HD and the original Vista Home Premium OS. Everything works fine except my network adapter. Actually, it appears as working properly, too. I disabled and reenabled it. I talked with Gateway and they sent me another driver, but when I tried to install it, my system said that the one I already have is the best.

My adapter is an Intel 100/Pro VE Network Connective.

I tried turning the wireless on using the Fn key. Nothing happens so I don't know if it's working or not.

I've updated the drivers

I've tried to turn on Network Discovery to no avail.

Whenever I try to connect I get a message that says my wireless hardware is not installed and configured.

Any ideas?

[void]

To solve this problem, you will just have to turn on two services which are there in the services.msc and that are SSDP and Universal plug and play. After doing that when you go back to network discovery then you will find the issue resolved. I hope that this will help you. Please reply back.