Remote users cannot see a Windows Small Business Server 2003 computer in My Network Places

When you connect to a Microsoft Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 domain as a remote user, the SBS 2003 server does not appear in the browse list in My Network Places. Instead, you can see only your own computer and the computers of other remote users.

This problem occurs because the NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) protocol is disabled for the Routing and Remote Access service on the SBS 2003 server. Therefore, the remote client cannot browse the network through My Network Places because network browsing requires the NetBT protocol.

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: View shared items

Follow these steps to view any shared items that are on the SBS 2003 server:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type \\SBS_Server_Name in the Open box, and then click OK.
   
   Note SBS_Server_Name is a placeholder for the name of your server.

Method 2: Map a drive to a shared item

You can also map a drive to a shared item that is on the SBS 2003 server. To do so, follow these steps:

1. On the desktop, right-click My Computer, and then click Map Network Drive.
2. In the Drive list, click a drive letter.
3. In the Folder list, type \\SBS_Server_Name\ShareName, and then click Finish.
   
   Note SBS_Server_Name is a placeholder for the name of your server, and ShareName is a placeholder for the name of your shared item.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

When you use remote access to connect to the SBS 2003 domain, and then you type the nbtstat -c command at a command prompt, the command results show that SBS_Domain_Name <1E> is registered to the external IP address of the SBS server.

Note To access the command prompt, click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then click OK.