Unable to ping or ssh into Raspberry Pi zero w from a Windows 8.1 PC but could successfully ping & ssh into it via a Windows 10 PC on the same network

Question

I have a Pi Zero w.

it has been set up with a standard rasbpian imager and OS and latest files off the OEM website.

the boot drive also has an ssh file and a wpa_supplicant.conf file with necessary network credentials.

The first time I tried to ping it from my windows 8.1 PC, it returned that "ping request could not find host raspberrypi.local. please check the name and try again".

when I tried it again on another Windows 10 PC on the same network it went through flawlessly and I went on to run it through a standard config and set up a static IP address after which Pi-Hole was successfully set up and deployed.

I still face the issue of being unable to ping it from my windows 8.1 PC.

I have also downloaded the appropriate ssh files and added the directory to the path environment variable.

I've tried a lot of forums and am running out of options.

Answer 1

Your question is almost certainly off-topic, but here's something that may explain the difference in outcomes between your Win 10 & Win 8 PCs:

Briefly, it's called "Zero Configuration Networking". I say it may explain the difference because I know very little about Windows, so this is more speculation, rather than an answer based on direct knowledge.

That said, I recall hearing/reading that Windows did not support "Zero Configuration Networking" out-of-the-box - it required the addition of some software (Apple's Bonjour maybe?). Perhaps it's the case that your older Win 8 doesn't support ZCN, but the newer Win 10 does? Try an Internet search to get further details.

I also suspect that @rtaft's comment/suggestion may resolve your issue - but perhaps at the expense of creating another issue! What am I talking about? We get a lot of questions here from people who attempt to set up a fixed IP address, but bungle it because they fail to read the documentation (man dhcpcd and man dhcpcd-conf). Please don't make that mistake; there's very seldom a sound reason for setting up a fixed IP, but if you do it, please read the docs & do it correctly.