You're staring at NERR_BrowserTableIncomplete with error code 0X0000090F. It means the Windows browser service has a partial or corrupt list of computers on your network. The classic symptom: you open Network in Explorer and half the machines are missing, or you get this error in a script checking the browser table.
I've seen this on Windows Server 2012 R2 and 2016 mostly, but it hits Windows 10 Pro too. Usually after a sudden shutdown or when a machine with the master browser role gets yanked off the network. Don't panic — you can fix this in stages. Start with the quick stuff, only go deeper if you have to.
30-Second Fix: Restart the Browser Service
This clears the in-memory browser cache and forces the machine to rebuild its list. It's the fastest way to shake out a stale table. Do this on the server you're seeing the error on, or if you know which machine holds the master browser role, hit that one.
- Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
- Run these commands:
net stop browser
net start browser
If the browser service won't stop, you might need to kick it harder:
sc stop browser
sc start browser
Wait about 30 seconds, then check if the error clears. Often you'll also want to force a browser election so the network picks a healthy master browser. Do this from any machine on the same subnet:
nbtstat -R
nbtstat -RR
The -R purges the NetBIOS name cache, and -RR refreshes the names. Then run net view to see if the list looks right. If the error's gone, you're done. Most of the time that's all it takes — the table was just stale.
5-Minute Fix: Clear the Persistent Browser Cache and Check SMB
Didn't work? The browser service on Windows keeps an on-disk cache file called Browsers. It lives in the system32\config directory on older systems, but on modern ones it's in the registry. Either way, you can flush it clean.
First, stop the browser service like above, then delete the cache file. The path varies by OS version:
- Windows Server 2003 and earlier:
C:\Windows\System32\config\Browsers - Windows Server 2008 and later: Usually no file, but you can clear the registry key instead.
For newer systems, go into the registry:
reg delete "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters" /v IsDomainMaster /f
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters" /v IsDomainMaster /t REG_SZ /d False /f
Wait — that's not the cache exactly. The real cache is in the Browser service's internal state, not a file. So let's be honest: the reliable way to reset it is to restart the service, which we did. If you're still stuck, the next suspect is SMB1.
This error pops up a lot when SMB1 is disabled (which is good security-wise) but you still have legacy machines that only speak SMB1. The browser service relies on NetBIOS over TCP/IP, and if SMB1 is off, some old systems won't respond to browser announcements. If you've got a mix of old and new Windows, that's your likely culprit.
Check if SMB1 is enabled:
Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName SMB1Protocol | Select State
If it's disabled, you have two options: enable SMB1 (not recommended unless you really need it for legacy gear), or make sure all your machines are on SMB2/3. Most modern Windows versions handle this fine — the error usually means one or two old boxes are missing from the list. If you can't update those old boxes, you might have to live with the error. But at least you know why.
15-Minute Fix: Force a Browser Election and Set Master Browser Flags
Still seeing the error? Time to get your hands dirty. The browser table is maintained by elected master browsers per subnet. If the current master browser is flaky, the table gets incomplete.
First, find out who's the master browser for your subnet:
net view /domain
Or use the Windows Browser service status:
nbtstat -a <computer_name>
Look for the <1F> or <1D> NetBIOS suffix — that indicates the master browser. If you see a machine that's been offline or is a workstation that shouldn't be a master browser, that's your problem.
To force a browser election, you need to bump the IsDomainMaster registry value on a server that should take over. Set it to True temporarily:
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters" /v IsDomainMaster /t REG_SZ /d True /f
Then restart the browser service:
net stop browser
net start browser
This machine will announce itself as a master browser candidate and trigger an election. After 5 minutes or so, check the browser table again:
net view
If the error clears, great. Set IsDomainMaster back to False unless you want this server to stay as the preferred master browser.
Check for Multiple Subnets or VPN Issues
One thing that causes this error constantly is when you have multiple subnets and the browser service doesn't propagate the table correctly. The browser service works per subnet — it doesn't cross routers unless you've configured a domain master browser to collect and distribute the list.
If you have a domain environment, make sure a domain controller is set as the domain master browser. Set this registry key on your primary domain controller:
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters" /v IsDomainMaster /t REG_SZ /d True /f
Also check that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled on all machines. You'd be surprised how often a VPN client or firewall rule kills it.
ipconfig /all | findstr NetBIOS
If it says disabled, enable it in the network adapter properties under IPv4 → Advanced → WINS.
The advanced fix might not solve it in 15 minutes if the issue is deeper — like a broken WINS server or router blocking broadcast traffic. But this covers 90% of the cases I've dealt with.
Last Resort: Disable the Browser Service Entirely
If you're fed up and you don't need the old school Network browsing (who does, honestly — you can map drives with UNC paths), you can just disable the browser service on all machines. That stops the error because there's no browser table to be incomplete.
sc config browser start= disabled
sc stop browser
Do that on every machine. It's a valid approach for modern networks that use AD and DFS. The next time you open Network, it'll be empty, but the error will be gone. You'll rely on DNS or direct paths instead.
I've done this on a client network that had 200+ machines, many of them old XP boxes. The error was constant, and we couldn't force an election because the old boxes kept winning. Disabling the service across the board was the cleanest fix. No more errors, no more phantom machines.
Whatever route you pick, test with net view or a simple PowerShell query:
Get-ChildItem \\network\That'll tell you if the list looks right. And remember — the error is annoying but harmless. It doesn't break file sharing or name resolution. It's just the browser service being sloppy about its list.