Network Discovery and File Sharing - Can't Turn On

On my desktop computer, when I go to Network & Sharing Center and select Change Advanced Sharing Settings, Turn off network discovery and Turn off file and print sharing are both selected. I click on the Turn on options and then click on Save Changes but when I come back to this screen, they're turned off again.
Any ideas? I can't print from my (wireless) laptop now.

Click on the link mentioned below to try running the network troubleshooter to try fixing the issue.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Using-the-Network-troubleshooter-in-Windows-7

Try running a System File Checker Scan to check if there is any corruptions and try to fix it automatically.
Follow the link mentioned below to see how to run the scan:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833

If you made any changes to the default settings of the Windows firewall it can also cause this problem to occur.

Thanks for those tips. I'd already tried Network Troubleshooter which found nothing amiss. Didn't know about System File Checker Scan (a good one to keep) so I ranit and it came back clean.
The Firewall tip, though, proved to be valuable. I turned it off briefly and, lo and behold, the laptop suddenly appeared in the Network folder.
So, now my question is, which Firewall setting is the culprit (and how did it get changed - this was all working a week ago).

gmosley said:

Thanks for those tips. I'd already tried Network Troubleshooter which found nothing amiss. Didn't know about System File Checker Scan (a good one to keep) so I ranit and it came back clean.
The Firewall tip, though, proved to be valuable. I turned it off briefly and, lo and behold, the laptop suddenly appeared in the Network folder.
So, now my question is, which Firewall setting is the culprit (and how did it get changed - this was all working a week ago).

Yes messing with certain firewall settings will cause this problem and in most cases which ever anti virus software you are using is the culprit but I have no idea what else could have changed those settings.

You should try to find the default firewall settings button and return it to default settings, after that your services should be working again.

OK. Tried restoring Firewall to default using Restore Defaults option from left column of panel resulting from selecting Windows Firewall on Control Panel. Accepted warnings and seemed to complete - i.e. no error messages. Still no change in terms of being able to enable Network Discovery and File and Printer Sharing.
So went to Advanced Settings (left column...) and under Actions (right column) selected Restore Default Policy. That resulted in an error popup saying "Could not restore the default policy. Error: 3".
Completely stuck, still.

There seems to be numerous ways to fix this problem which seems to be rather common. :)

The solutions appear to be different depending on what caused the problem in the first place.

can't turn on network discovery and media streaming in windows 7 - Microsoft Community

Can't "turn on Network Discovery" in Homegroup conection, - Microsoft Community


http://www.walterdevos.be/cannot-can...y-on-windows-7

This is a late post, but someone needing it may find it.


So you are trying turn on Printer and File Sharing in Change Advanced Sharing Settings,
and every time you turn it ON, it reverts back to OFF.


If you are using work groups, then before getting blinded with science, there are two services which should be turned on.


If you right click Computer on the desktop & select Properties and find that 'Computer Description'
and 'Work group' are stating NOT KNOWN then this is probably your answer.

Go to START / RUN and type Services.msc or
Go to Control panel and select Administrative Tools, then select Services.

Look for 'Security Accounts Manager'. You will probably find it is switched off and set as Manual or disabled.
Set it to 'Automatic', and select 'START' to start the service.


The startup of this service signals other services that the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) is ready to accept requests.
Disabling this service will prevent other services in the system from being notified when the SAM is ready, which may in turn cause those systems to fail to start correctly.
This service should not be disabled, and should be set as automatic.



Next, just down a bit further, you will find the service called 'Server'

Do the same by Setting it to 'Automatic', and select 'START' to start the service.


This service supports file, print, and named pipe sharing over the network for this computer.
If this service is stopped, then these functions will not be available.
If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start.
This service will not start if the service 'Security Accounts Manager' (SAM) is not running.
Both should be set to automatic.

You should now find your file and network sharing functioning.

I'm assuming you have set the necessary permissions for the shared folders.

If it happens again, or keeps happening, you will need to find what is causing it, but at least now you know how to reactivate it.


Hope this helps someone


Cheers


Kiwiozzie