Hide a Server from the Microsoft Computer Browser Service

by Daniel Petri - January 8, 2009
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You can configure a computer so that it does not send announcements to browsers on the domain. If you do so, you hide the computer from the Browser list, which can help reduce network traffic.

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Editing the Registry

Open the registry editor and go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters

From the Edit menu, choose Add Value and type:

Hidden

Note: This value is case sensitive and must begin with a capital H.

In the Data Type field, choose REG_DWORD and choose OK.
In the Data field, type 1 to enable hiding and choose OK.
Restart your computer.

Using the NET CONFIG SRV command

This setting can also be changed using the following command:

net config server /hidden:yes|no

To hide the computer from the Browser List, type net config server /hidden:yes at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.
To unhide the computer from the Browser list, type net config server /hidden:no at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

Note: It may take up to 30 minutes for the server to disappear from the Browser lists.

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