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Can't Access Shared Drive On Another Computer on Same Network

I'm trying to share a Drive on my laptop (Win11 Home) through my Network so my desktop (Win 11 Pro) can rename files and do some file management on it. Both are on the same network and what I've done so far is mess around with settings to the point where I can see the other device in the Network tab (but not the drive though!) in Windows Explorer, but once I click on it, a Windows Security pop up appears telling me to Enter Network Credentials asking for a username and password, which I have no idea what to put there. Both are on 2H12.

Some more context and info on what I've done so far:

I right-clicked on the Drive went to properties, clicked on Security, and selected the Group "Everyone" and every permission except for "Special Permissions" is checked under "Permissions for Everyone." Then I clicked on the Sharing tab also in Properties, clicked on "Advanced Sharing" checked the box that says Share this Folder, then clicked OK. There's a section under that titled Password Protection which links to "Network and Sharing Center." I clicked that link and it brings me up to a Windows 11 menu titled "Advanced sharing settings" where I turned on pretty much everything under the private networks tab (which is what my Ethernet connection is configured to). This means "Network discovery" is turned on, "Set up connected devices automatically" is checked, and "File and printing sharing" is also set to on.

Then also under the "Advanced sharing settings" is a section labeled "All networks." I turn "public folder sharing on", didn't touch the File sharing connections options (left it at 128-bit encryption), and then selected "Password protected sharing" to be off. That's pretty much all the options in "Advanced sharing settings," so I exit out, restart the laptop. When I turn it back on, I go to my desktop, I can see the name of the laptop under the Networks tab in File Explorer, but when I click on it I get the enter network credentials pop up. There's really no other setting that I can think of left to touch, so let me know if I'm missing anything.

Hi Limited Edition. I'm Greg, 10 years awarded Windows MVP and Volunteer Moderator, here to help you.

Here's how to manage Enter Network Credentials in file sharing:
https://windowsreport.com/enter-network-credent...

Windows 11 File Sharing troubleshooting steps:

1) First try setting up Nearby Sharing for faster file sharing to nearby devices:
https://screenrant.com/enable-nearby-sharing-fa...

2) Try setting up File Sharing again:

https://www.ubackup.com/windows-11/windows-11-f...

3) More about how password protected sharing works in Windows 11:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questi...

To turn off password protected sharing in WIndows 11:

https://gearupwindows.com/how-to-turn-off-passw...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w8ngPviFWY


4) If any problems troubleshoot file sharing here:

https://itechhacks.com/fix-windows-cannot-acces...

https://10scopes.com/fix-windows-cant-access-ne...

https://windowsreport.com/windows-11-cannot-acc...

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/fix...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSVY4JwuZNA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLIsfR-pV2I


5) If nothing else works you can more easily share files by placing them in the OneDrive folder, right click to Share and email the share to have read or edit rights as long as it remains in the folder. You can also move your User folders into the OneDrive folder using OneDrive Backup for easier sharing and safest backup: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/turn-on-or-off-on...

Feel free to ask back any questions. Please report back results for all steps given so I know what else to suggest if necessary.

______________________________________________

Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.
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Retired 2023, thirteen year daily forums volunteer, Windows MVP 2010-2020

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Hey Greg, thanks for the assistance. Some of your links are outdated from Win 11 2H22 and they didn't necessarily fix my issue, but I appreciate the attempt, and some the resources were good in that it set up the preliminary steps before arriving at the fix.

As for my original issue, I finally it to work by making sure all of the options in the shared drive or folders were marked as Shareable (you can use some of Greg's links to learn how to do this). For whatever reason, even after turning off the "Password protected sharing option" (note that this was moved in 2H22 to be inside of Windows settings under "Advanced network settings" rather than in Control Panel), Windows was still asking for Network credentials when clicking on the device in the Networks tab in explorer.

To solve this, open up command prompt as an Administrator, and enter "whoami". It should return a string that looks something like this: [name of device]\[first couple of characters of your username] . In the network settings prompt, enter what you saw with the two forward slashes at the beginning so it'll look like this \\[whatever command prompt returned]. The password is your Microsoft account password. That should allow you to access your network drives now.

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Thanks for letting me know about outdated link. I thought I had gotten rid of most Control Panel links by now, I've been giving Settings almost exclusively for the last five years.

Thanks also for letting others know how to find their Microsoft Account password.

Let me know if I can help further. I'll stay subscribed to this thread in case you need anything else, until the system locks it in a few months.

Also if any particular post provided the solution, please mark it as Answer or Helpful to help others who find this thread.
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Retired 2023, thirteen year daily forums volunteer, Windows MVP 2010-2020

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Last updated January 15, 2024 Views 3,852 Applies to: