Configuring Browser Options for WinNT, Win95, and WFW

Windows NT, Windows 95, and Windows for Workgroups all have their own unique way of setting Browser options. In this article, we'll show you how to configure the browsing capabilities for each.

On This Page

Windows NT
Windows 95
Windows for Workgroups
Conclusion

Windows NT

You'll find the browsing options for Windows NT in the Windows NT Registry at the location HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ Browser\Parameters. The options are

DirectHostBinding

IsDomainMaster
MaintainServerList

as shown in Figure A. DirectHostBinding is a new Windows NT feature. It's a network-specific option that allows WFW computers to communicate directly to a Windows NT Server using IPX/SPX without the NetBIOS component.

Figure A

The Registry contains data Windows NT uses to configure the Browser.

Turning Direct Hosting on and off

You should never change Direct Hosting directly in the Registry. Instead, if you want to turn Direct Hosting on or off, you should do so in the Windows NT Server's Control Panel Network application.

For example, open the Network Settings dialog box shown in Figure B and click the Bindings button. Then, in the Network Bindings dialog box, select Server in the Show Bindings for dropdown list box, as shown in Figure C. Next, select Server-> NWLink IPX/SPX Compatible Transport (which is available if you've installed IPX/SPX) and click the Disable button to dim the option, as shown in Figure D.

Click OK in the Network Bindings dialog box and again in the Network Settings dialog box to accept the changes, and then restart Windows NT. Before disabling the Direct Host option, the Registry contained the DirectHostBinding option, as shown in Figure A. Now, since you've disabled the option in the network's bindings, DirectHostBinding no longer appears in the Registry, as shown in Figure E.

Setting the Preferred Master Browser

The next option, IsDomainMaster, allows you to set the Windows NT computer as a Preferred Master Browser. Double-click this option in the Registry and enter True or False. True specifies that the Windows NT computer is set to be a Preferred Master Browser, and False specifies that it's not.

Participating in Browser elections

In some cases, you may not want a Windows NT computer to be involved with Browser elections. To prevent a Windows NT computer from becoming a Browser, double-click the MaintainServerList option in the Registry and type No. To allow the computer to be a potential Browser, type Auto. Otherwise, to allow the computer to be a browse server (either a Backup or Master Browser), type Yes.

Windows 95

Windows 95 is the reverse of Windows NT when it comes to Direct Hosting. A Windows 95 computer is set up to do IPX/SPX automatically. In the Windows 95 Control Panel shown in Figure F, you can see that communicating with IPX/SPX over NetBIOS is not the default setting; implied Direct Hosting is the standard.

You can't set up Windows 95 to be a Preferred Master Browser, but you can set up options that correspond to Windows NT's MaintainServerList registry string, as shown in Figure G. Windows 95 is a little sneaky about modifying this option, which is located in the Control Panel's Network application under a different name—BrowseMaster. (BrowseMaster sets a variable called MaintainServerList).

After you open the Network application, you need to click the File and Print Sharing... button to display the File and Print Sharing dialog box shown in Figure H. Either or both check boxes must be selected to allow the Windows 95 computer to participate in Browser elections.

Once you check either of the boxes and click OK, the Network dialog box will display a File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks entry in the Network Components list box. Select this entry and click the Properties button to display the dialog box we showed you in Figure G.

In the Property list box, select BrowseMaster, and in the Value list box select either Automatic, Disabled, or Enabled. These options correspond to the Windows NT Server's MaintainServerList options: Auto to Automatic, Yes to Enabled, and No to Disabled.

Please note that the LM Announce feature allows Windows 95 to broadcast its existence to LAN Manager networks. WFW and Windows NT have a similar feature.

Windows for Workgroups

You can add a MaintainServerList entry to WFW's SYSTEM.INI file in the [Network] section. Again, the following entries perform the same function as Windows NT's MaintainServer List options:

MaintainServerList=Yes
MaintainServerList=No
MaintainServerList=Auto

Conclusion

In this article, we've shown you how to set Browser options for Windows NT, Windows 95, and Windows for Workgroups. You can combine these Browser tools with the information contained in our lead article "Don't Take Your Browser To Chance" to design, configure, and monitor Browsers on your Microsoft network.

Figure B

Figure C:

Figure D:

Figure E:

Figure F:

Windows 95 automatically uses Direct Hosting for IPX/SPX.

Figure G

You set up Browser options in the Control Panel's Network application.

Figure H

Checking either file or print sharing enables browsing capabilities.

The article entitled "Configuring Browser Options for WinNT, Win95, and WFW" was originally published in Exploring Windows NT, June 1996. Copyright © 1996, The Cobb Group, 9420 Bunson Parkway, Louisville, KY 40220. All rights reserved. For subscription information, call the Cobb Group at 1-800-223-8720."

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