Error 'Network path not found' - causes and solutions

The most obvious reason for the inaccessibility of a computer running Windows is the lack of a working network interface on the service we need, expressed in the message "The network path was not found". In our case, this service is the Netbios service. According to the specifications of this standard, each device on the network must have a name and membership in the workgroup. So, to localize the problem (in the case of an ordinary peer-to-peer network), you need to perform some actions.

First, check the ping command with host accessibility from other computers on your local network. To do this, simply click the "Start" button, select the "Run" menu and type cmd in the opened window. A command window opens, where you need to type ping IP_ADDR_REMOTE_PK. Repeat this action several times and make sure the host is inaccessible, the system will produce an error "Network path not found". If the machine is not available only from one PC, check the firewall settings and the correct settings for Netbios (protocol support via TCP / IP must be enabled). Refuse the name of the PC in Cyrillic, for its designation, use only English. You should also scan the PC for malware with antivirus software with the latest databases. Otherwise (when the computer is unavailable from all machines), you need to make sure the network adapter is working correctly.

The most effective way to do this is to download a Linux distribution of the type live, like Knoppix or Puppy Linux. The necessary equipment (namely the network card) will be detected by the kernel. Do not forget to set the IP device and remember it. Now we again check the ping command with the remote system. If the packets do not pass, the system still says: "The network path was not found", - replace the network adapter. If the hardware is OK, then check the firewall settings on the remote machine.

But there are some subtleties in the elimination of this problem. Let's talk about some of them. It is possible that you have a wireless connection over Wi-Fi and installed Kaspersky KIS or NOD. Lower the Kaspersky security level, because it blocks traffic, acting as a firewall. When NOD is installed, also take a close look at the firewall settings. The problem can also vary depending on the version of Windows. One of the reasons for the error is tunneling through the 6 version of the IP protocol. You can try to remove this protocol from all computers. Often the cause of the problem can be a router with a built-in firewall, so be sure to verify the correctness of its settings in relation to the LAN.

There is another version of the problem specific for a certain version of the OS, "Network path not found" - Windows 7 in 64 bit version, the only version of the operating system where this error appears. For the solution, add the address of the network gateway (router) as WINS. You can also check if the computer is using the host method in the network interaction (which excludes the Netbios protocol). Simply type ipconfig / all in the Windows console and specify that "Peer-to-peer" is not set in the "Site type" field. If this is the case, use the Regedit command to start the Registry Editor and follow the path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ NetBt \. There we find a pair of parameters called NodeType and DhcpNodeType and safely remove them. After this operation is completed, we restart the PC. We again try to connect to it using the Netbios protocol.

There are also "people's" ways of dealing with the problem "The network path is not found," excluding the definition of its cause. One of them is the removal of all hidden network devices (you can see them if you select them in the Device Manager in the View menu> Show hidden devices) and then reboot. After that, the system will again find all the remote devices, and the problem may be solved.

If you have mixed networks with different versions of the operating system, for example, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 7, "Network path not found" is the most common error when connecting to shared network folders. Be sure to try all of the above options to solve the problem.