Windows 7 system freezes: would like to know if they could be related to MrxSmb, Event ID 8003 errors

Question

First, this question centers around a home network. Is it okay to ask here? Or should I go to SuperUser? (I see less answers over there, but I'll go there if that would be more appropriate.)

Network setup: 1 Machine running XP Pro 1 Machine running Win7 Ultimate Comcast router Linksys WRT610N Wireless router

The Win7 machine goes into a total, unrecoverable system freeze frequently. I was tearing out my hair trying to ascertain a cause, but I noticed that it usually seems to correspond with performing operations on the shared folders on the XP machine. The last 2 occasions that the Win7 machine froze, I saw this entry for Event ID 8003 from source MrxSmb in the Event log of the XP machine:

The master browser has received a server announcement from the computer WIN7_COMPUTER that believes that it is the master browser for the domain on transport NetBT_Tcpip_{320B32A7-FED9. The master browser is stopping or an election is being forced.

My question is twofold:

1. Could this cause a Win7 system freeze?
2. If so, what could I configure differently on my network to stop these conflicts over who is the master browser?

Thank you for your help!

Answer 1

From my own experience, I doubt the 8003 event is causing the computer to freeze. I do have a couple of suggestions which may fix the issue.

1. You state that you have both a Comcast router and a Linksys router. Is it possible that one computer may be getting its address from one of the routers versus the other? I would check that either a) you have only one router doing DHCP or b) you have both computers set to static addresses and the same gateway.

2. I have had Windows 7 explorer windows freeze during file copies to/from older systems but the rest of the system remain functional. Turning off remote differential compression, autotuning, and IPv6 (I wasn't using it anyway) on the Windows 7 system has resolved the issue.