How to Fix: Routing error to WINS name without .local

I'm having a weird issue on the network. all windows PCs behind the main router, XP, win 7 and win 8 are routing an adress incorrectly, to what looks like an external ip.

The machine, a netgear readynas 2, all the PCs are trying to reach does not have a FQDN, so there's no TLD in the address, just a WINS name without .local. The name it has is not the factory reset name, but a name given to it. If I add .local however, they find it.

The router is a Netgear FSV318g, also used for VPN and DNS. We also have a windows server 2003 (virtualised) acting as a WINS server.

🛑 Root Causes of the Error

• There are two possible reasons why this error occurs:

• The first reason is that the WINS proxy is not enabled on the client machines. This can cause the client to use the WINS server directly, instead of going through a proxy.

• The second reason is that the DNS suffix for the network is not correctly configured. This can cause the client to use an incorrect IP address when resolving domain names.

🔧 Proven Troubleshooting Steps

💡 Conclusion

By enabling WINS proxy on all client machines and configuring the DNS suffix correctly, you should be able to resolve domain names correctly. If you are still experiencing issues, please check the event logs for any errors or warnings.