File sharing between select computers on a home network password protected

Question

I'm trying to set up a network through my home router which will allow computers on the network to share files easily. The computers are connected by ethernet to the router on the same (private) network, but there are also devices connected by wifi. This would be a secure and password protected connection.

I know this is possible to do because I have succeeded in connecting to a laptop which is on wifi. The laptop shows up on the sidebar of the file explorer under Network (which also seems to contain pritners). I don't know how I was able to do this since I was trying to set this up and it popped up without me having changed any settings that I know of. I have also been able to connect to this laptop from the another desktop in the same way.

I think this has to do with sharing, but I don't know how where to look for sharing settings which let me explicitly connect two computers since each computer has network discover and sharing settings on already. I also thought this might have to do with Workgroup, but I haven't been able to set that up except to change the name of the Workgroup which doesn't seem to affect what can connect to what.

I have found some guides online on related subjects, but most of them seem to require turning off a variety security settings, and I don't want to change those unless I know they are necessary for this sort of connection, or I know what is the actual effect of turning of the setting.

***Move from Windows / Windows 11 / Internet and connectivity***

Answer 1

Hello ,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community forum.
Here are some steps and recommendations to help you implement secure file sharing between connected computers:

1. Make sure all computers are connected to the same private network and are all in the same workgroup.
2. On each computer, go to "Control Panel" -> "Network and Sharing Center" -> "Change Advanced Sharing Settings".
   Make sure to turn on Network Discovery, File and Printer Sharing, and Password Protected Sharing
3. Select the folder you want to share, right-click on it, and select "Properties".
   In the "Share" tab, click the "Share" button and select the users you want to share. and set the permissions, then tap "Share".
4. You are asked to enter your credentials when accessing the shared folder, making sure to use the username and password (formatted as computer nameusername) of the target computer's local user account.
5. Make sure Windows Firewall or any other firewall allows file and printer sharing
6. In File Explorer, click on "Network" and you should be able to see the other computers. If not, try entering the path to the shared folder directly.
7. Try not to turn off security settings while making sure that file sharing is working properly. Keep password-protected sharing turned on to ensure that only authorized users can access shared files.
8. After the setup, you can try restarting your router and computer to make sure all the settings are in effect.

I hope the information above is helpful.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.

Regards,
Jill Zhou

Answer 2

Hi,

Thank you for the help. I have followed your instructions but the situation hasn't changed. All settings are on on each computer, firewalls don't seem to be a problem and all computers are have the same workgroup name, but each ethernet computer can still only see the wifi computer and not each other (the wifi computer can see neither desktop). Entering the path in the bar of File Explorer does not work either. All computers have been restarted since the settings were changed.

Answer 3

First of all, I'm very sorry that I missed your reply.

Thank you for your feedback.

According to your description, you may need to further check the following issues:

1. Check the router settings

Some routers enable the "client isolation" or "AP isolation" function by default. This setting prevents communication between wired and wireless devices, or even prevents communication between devices of the same type (such as two wired devices). Please log in to the router management interface (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1) to confirm whether the "client isolation" (AP Isolation) function is enabled. If so, please turn off this option.

2. Check the IP address and network segment

Make sure that the IP addresses of all devices are in the same network segment (such as 192.168.1.x). Open the command prompt on each computer (press Win + R to enter cmd) and execute ipconfig to view the IP address. If the IP address is inconsistent, you can try to reconnect to the network.

3. Enable SMB protocol

Open "Control Panel" -> "Programs" -> "Turn Windows features on or off", and make sure "SMB 1.0/CIFS file sharing support" is checked.

4. Add network credentials

Open "Control Panel" -> "Credential Manager", add the target computer's IP address (such as \192.168.1.2) and the corresponding username and password.

5. Test the connection

On one computer, execute the command prompt to ping the target computer's IP address (such as ping 192.168.1.2) to confirm whether the two computers can communicate. If the ping fails, there may be a firewall or network configuration problem. If the ping succeeds but the share is still inaccessible, the problem may be in the Windows share settings.

Please follow the above steps to check the settings. If the problem is still not solved, please let me know the test results at any time and I will assist you further.