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🔍 Name or IP Problem

Ping Works but Shared Folder Does Not Open Name vs IP Test

Ping answers. The PC is clearly alive. Yet typing its name in File Explorer fails every time. This is the classic two-roads problem - and one 60-second test tells you which road is broken.

✍️ Technical Anshu🖥️ Windows 10 / 11⏱️ 7 minute fix
🎥 Watch the complete fix in the video - every screen, step by step

Here is the mental model that makes this problem simple. Ping tests whether the PC answers on the network. The share name tests whether Windows can translate a name into that PC. They are different systems. When ping works but the name fails, nothing is wrong with the network cable, the router, or the share itself - the phone book is broken, not the phone. This guide shows the split test that proves it, then the small set of fixes for name resolution on a home or office LAN: discovery services, NetBIOS, the hosts file, and when to simply stop fighting and map by IP.

Command Prompt - The Split Test (Example)
C:\> ping ACCOUNTS-PC
Pinging ACCOUNTS-PC [192.168.1.10] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.10: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128

C:\> \\ACCOUNTS-PC\Data -> Error 0x80070035
C:\> \\192.168.1.10\Data -> Opens normally

Same PC, same folder. The IP path works and the name path fails - that one result proves the share is healthy and only name resolution is broken.

1

Run the Split Test First

Never guess here. Two lines in Explorer settle the whole diagnosis.

  1. Note the IP from the ping reply, for example 192.168.1.10
  2. In File Explorer, open \\192.168.1.10 - if folders appear, sharing itself is proven good
  3. Now open \\ACCOUNTS-PC - if this fails while IP works, you have a pure name problem; continue below
  4. If both fail, this is not a name issue - use the 0x80070035 fix order instead
2

Restart the Name and Discovery Services

On a small LAN without a DNS server, PC names are found by discovery protocols run by two services that are set to manual start on many PCs - and sometimes never start.

  1. Open services.msc on your PC
  2. Set Function Discovery Provider Host to Automatic and start it
  3. Set Function Discovery Resource Publication to Automatic and start it - do this on the sharing PC too, since it publishes the name
  4. Also confirm DNS Client and TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper are Running
  5. Wait a full minute, then retry the name - discovery is not instant
3

Flush the Stale Name Cache

Windows caches name answers, including bad ones from when the other PC had a different IP address. A changed IP plus a stale cache equals a name that points nowhere.

  1. Open Command Prompt as administrator
  2. Run ipconfig /flushdns
  3. Run nbtstat -R to purge the NetBIOS name cache
  4. Retry \\ACCOUNTS-PC - and if the other PC keeps changing IP, fix that root cause with a DHCP reservation in the router so the name stops breaking
4

Enable NetBIOS Over TCP/IP When the LAN Is Old-School

Some small networks and older NAS devices still rely on NetBIOS name resolution, and the adapter setting "Default" can quietly mean off when the router DHCP does not offer it.

  1. Open Control Panel then Network Connections, open your adapter Properties
  2. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 then Properties then Advanced then the WINS tab
  3. Select Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP, OK everything, retry the name
5

The Practical Finish - Map by IP and Move On

In a small office, name resolution on a peer network will break again someday. A mapped drive pointing at a fixed IP does not care. This is not a defeat; it is what most technicians deploy deliberately.

  1. Give the sharing PC a fixed address with a DHCP reservation in the router, so the IP never changes
  2. Map the drive: net use Z: \\192.168.1.10\Data /persistent:yes
  3. If you truly need names to work, add one line to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts - the IP, a space, the PC name - knowing it must be updated if the IP ever changes
🔴 Honest note: if the IP path works, do not let anyone reinstall Windows, reset the router, or "repair" the share. The folder, the permissions and the network are all proven healthy by that single test. Only the name lookup is sick, and it is a five-minute patient.

🎥 See the Complete Fix in the Video

The whole troubleshooting run, live on screen - the same order a technician follows on site.

▶️ Watch Full Video
❓ Common Questions (FAQ)

Why does ping find the name but Explorer cannot open it?

Ping resolving the name proves basic lookup works, but Explorer also needs the discovery and SMB connection layers. When ping by name works and the share by name fails while IP works, suspect the Function Discovery services and the NetBIOS setting first.

Will the hosts file fix cause problems later?

Only one: it is a frozen note. If the sharing PC ever gets a different IP, the name will break again until you update the line. That is why a DHCP reservation plus the hosts entry is the stable combination.

The name works on other PCs but not mine. Why?

Then the sharing PC is publishing fine and only your PC has the lookup problem - compare the Function Discovery service settings and NetBIOS option between your PC and a working one. The difference will be visible in two minutes.

This guide is based on the Technical Anshu shared folder and printer fix video • Stuck on any step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply there 🙏