In registry key:

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services \Browser\Parameters

with this you can make one computer as a master browser and prevent the others from becoming master browser with IsDomainMaster="FALSE" MaintainServerlist="FALSE"

and make the machine you choose to become Master Browser with

IsDomainMaster="TRUE" MaintainServerlist="TRUE"

Answer from Marco A. Cruz Quevedo on Stack Exchange
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Windows 10 Forums
tenforums.com › network-sharing › 98341-registry-hack-disable-master-browser.html
Registry Hack to DISABLE Master Browser - Windows 10 Help Forums
November 18, 2017 - But on all seven machines, that key had NO subkeys until I went to Windows Features and looked at (did not change) the check marks · that were already there for SMBv1, clicked Ok. Wait one minute, go back into the SAME reg key and all the sub keys were magically there! ... Master Browser is used by Homegroup and it also enables when you are making a request, then stops when another computer for a request for something from your machine. The only thing that you need to disable is SMBv1.
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Windows 10 Forums
windowsphoneinfo.com › windows 10 forums › windows 10 network and sharing
Windows 10: Registry Hack to DISABLE Master Browser
November 17, 2017 - Discus and support Registry Hack to DISABLE Master Browser in Windows 10 Network and Sharing to solve the problem; I'm sick and tired of loosing network sharing browsing. I have seven wired Win10 machines on my network that are not always on. I want to disable the...
Discussions

Disabling SMB 1.0 with NAS browsable in Windows 10 ' ...
Hi! Come and join us at Synology Community. A place to answer all your Synology questions. Ask a question or start a discussion now. More on community.synology.com
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October 21, 2018
How to Turn off Master Browser with GPO
Find answers to How to Turn off Master Browser with GPO from the expert community at Experts Exchange More on experts-exchange.com
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July 12, 2005
How to Turn off Master Browser with GPO - WML Cloud
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Stop Master Browser Election
Hi there, I have a new additional DC that is multihomed. How do I prevent it from ever becoming a master (or backup) browser? Thanks in advance, Glenn BEng MCSE CCA More on tek-tips.com
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March 24, 2006
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Microsoft Learn
social.technet.microsoft.com › Forums › en-US › 3101aeef-115f-4b6e-94c1-c3d0f575b116 › master-browser-restored-to-windows-10
Master browser restored to Windows 10? | Microsoft Learn
June 24, 2021 - It was SMB 1.0 which was removed, not the computer browser service. If you really want to have XP as your master browser you can disable the computer browser service in Windows 10 from Computer Management>Services.
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Boristheengineer
boristheengineer.co.uk › networks › master_browser.htm
Windows 10 and Master Browser settings
Considerations on the use of Windows networking in windows 10, and the problems with network discovery
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Synology Community
community.synology.com › enu › forum › 1 › post › 120043
Disabling SMB 1.0 with NAS browsable in Windows 10 ' ...
October 21, 2018 - Hi! Come and join us at Synology Community. A place to answer all your Synology questions. Ask a question or start a discussion now.
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Scottie's Tech.Info
scottiestech.info › home › networking › how to determine the master browser in a windows workgroup
How to Determine the Master Browser in a Windows Workgroup | Scottie's Tech.Info
December 27, 2018 - Latest 1 March updates for Windows 10 seem to have fixed the Samba issues that busted LANscanner. So, it finally works again! UPDATE (1 May 2016): Version 1.64 is out. Fix for puters with multiple network adapters resulting in multiple/incorrect MAC addresses and Master Browser in output
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Experts Exchange
experts-exchange.com › questions › 21488701 › How-to-Turn-off-Master-Browser-with-GPO.html
Solved: How to Turn off Master Browser with GPO | Experts Exchange
July 12, 2005 - I want to disable the master browser on our client machines. I know where the registry settings are, etc, but we have about 400 client machines and I would like to do this using a GPO. I've done it before with a script as well, but I'd like something more permanant and reliable......
Find elsewhere
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Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › troubleshoot › windows-client › networking › settings-for-minimizing-periodic-wan-traffic
Settings for minimizing periodic WAN traffic - Windows Client | Microsoft Learn
February 12, 2026 - In Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, and later versions, the Browser service is generally no longer used. We recommend that you disable the service on all computers in your enterprise, if it is possible. If you can't do this, we recommend you turn down the communication intervals of the service. The primary domain controller (PDC) is always the domain master browser.
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Tek-Tips
tek-tips.com › home › forums › software › mis/it › operating systems - hardware independent › microsoft: windows servers
Stop Master Browser Election - Microsoft: Windows servers
March 24, 2006 - It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. ... Not open for further replies. ... Hi there, I have a new additional DC that is multihomed. How do I prevent it from ever becoming a master (or backup) browser?
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Renderosity
magazine.renderosity.com › article › 5783 › windows-networking-problems-try-the-master-browser
Windows Networking Problems? Try the Master Browser - Renderosity Magazine
September 4, 2020 - According to the support link above it can take up to 48 minutes for a new Master Browser to see everything but usually in half that time. For me, it was almost instant but it’s a small network with a few computers. Some research pointed to disabling the Master Browser as prevention for any pc to be enabled as one.
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Spiceworks
community.spiceworks.com › software & applications
NetBios - Master Browser - Software & Applications - Spiceworks Community
April 15, 2016 - I’ve come across some errors regarding “master browser” in a client machine. The computer names that are being referred to, are other client machines about browser election. I’m still Googling about what the master brows…
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/techsupport › "this computer currently thinks that it's the master browser :\'2nd computer name'
r/techsupport on Reddit: "This computer currently thinks that it's the Master Browser :\'2nd computer name'
March 8, 2025 -

Hello,

I currently build a new PC and upgraded to Windows 11. My old PC, I installed 6TB onto and am using for the home server.

I've hardwired everything together from the Google TV to the Router and Points and multiple PCs.

Currently, my new PC has been getting frequent and undiagnosed BSoD (this post can be found here. ) and while looking through the events logs, I'm also finding many network errors where it seems that the old PC (the Server) has taken over and declared itself the "Master Browser".

From what I've learned, this is leftover trash from the old networking days. How do I disable this?

The exact errors read:

Browser - "The browser was unable to promote itself to master browser. The computer that currently believes it is the matter browser is 2NDCOMPUTER"

NetBT - "The name "WORKGROUP :1d" could not be registered on the interface with IP address 192.168.xx.xx. The computer with the IP address 192.168.xx.xx did not allow the name to be claimed by this computer"

The Browser's computer name has been changed to "2NDCOMPUTER" because it is the name of the 2nd (the old) computer that I'm using as a server

The NetBT is two different IP address, but I have nothing named "WORKGROUP" on my network. This error happens every 5 minutes.

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Making changes to your system BIOS settings or disk setup can cause you to lose data. Always test your data backups before making changes to your PC. For more information please see our FAQ thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/q2rns5/windows_11_faq_read_this_first/ I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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Getting dump files which we need for accurate analysis of BSODs. Dump files are crash logs from BSODs. If you can get into Windows normally or through Safe Mode could you check C:\Windows\Minidump for any dump files? If you have any dump files, copy the folder to the desktop, zip the folder and upload it. If you don't have any zip software installed, right click on the folder and select Send to → Compressed (Zipped) folder. Upload to any easy to use file sharing site. Reddit keeps blacklisting file hosts so find something that works, currently catbox.moe or mediafire.com seems to be working. We like to have multiple dump files to work with so if you only have one dump file, none or not a folder at all, upload the ones you have and then follow this guide to change the dump type to Small Memory Dump. The "Overwrite dump file" option will be grayed out since small memory dumps never overwrite. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
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Microsoft Learn
learn.microsoft.com › en-us › archive › msdn-technet-forums › 3bd7569d-a88f-480f-9a1c-eaefcd4836b3
Disabling Master Browser | Microsoft Learn
I didn't find out about the effect of disabling Master Brower. We can make sure that the browser servers are singlehomed and enable the browsing service to operate correctly, for detail information, please visit:
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TechRepublic
techrepublic.com › home › topics › operating systems › windows forum › master browser elections
master browser elections - TechRepublic
March 27, 2001 - But if they are occuring too frequently, you may have excessive network traffic that is preventing a computer(s) from locating the master browser, thus elections are being forced. If you are not running a WINs server, I suggest you add one to your network. If any of your workstations are Windows 9x, and they have File and Print Sharing installed, set the Browse Master to “Disabled” on these workstations.
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Tenable
tenable.com › audits › items › CIS_MS_Windows_11_Enterprise_Level_1_v1.0.0.audit:560fcf837c4a095453199ee93f348df6
5.3 Ensure 'Computer Browser (Browser)' is set to 'Disabled' o...<!-- --> | Tenable®
To establish the recommended configuration via GP, set the following UI path to: Disabled or ensure the service is not installed. Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Security Settings\System Services\Computer Browser Default Value: Windows 7: Manual Windows 8.0 through Windows 10 R1703: Manual (Trigger Start) Windows 10 R1709 and newer: Not Installed (Manual (Trigger Start) when installed)
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I wouldn’t mess with the router. You should be able to disable the Computer Browser service without any negative consequences. The service enables each PC to serve up a browse list for NetBIOS name lookups on the local network segment. If you disable it, the machine(s) simply won’t be able to serve up a browse list when other computers broadcast a NetBIOS name lookup request. For more info, check my post here: http://community.spiceworks.com/topic/274268-is-netbios-still-needed

Also be sure that the Computer Browser is enabled and set to Automatic on your DC(s). I think it’s disabled by default for server 2008 and up. If it’s enabled, the DC should win a browser election every time.

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I have a windows network with 2 2008 R2 DCs at main site. I have a small remote office that has 1 XP computer always on the network and 1 XP computer that is sometimes connected to the network. The users at remote site connect to main network through VPN. There is no server at all in the remote office. Users do need to access information on the main network segment. I am getting the error “master browser has received a server announcement from computer Remote1 that it believes it is the master browser” and an election is held. I have been researching what to do about it. KB documents say to turn off the browser service on the romote1 computer or setup the router to not forward UDP packets. It would seem to me that turning off the browser server in the remote computer would be the better option, but are there any unintended consequences likely to result? If I were to stop UDP packets, what consequences would result there? I find it hard to believe that the browser service is the only thing that uses UDP. What is the best solution?

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LibreELEC
forum.libreelec.tv › libreelec forum › help & support › general support
Master browser - can't edit smb.conf - General Support - LibreELEC Forum
March 27, 2020 - Thanks chewitt, I see the problem. Setting local master = no will still not prevent it from being elected master if no one else is available. All my other computers are Windows 10 and they have Master Browser disabled.