In my workplace there are four computers, namely A, B, C and D.
Computer A connects to B and C, but cannot connect to D.
Computer B connects to C and D.
Computer C connects to B and D.
Computer D connects to C and B.
Computer A runs windows 10, others run windows 7.
All computers are finely connected to internet.
Any idea how to get computer A connected to D?
thank you
Hello ariansman,
What version and OS Build of Windows 10 is Computer A running? Check by looking in Settings -> System -> About or by typing winver in the command prompt.
You should be on Ver 1511 and OS build 10586.218. Earlier versions have had problems detecting and connecting to networked computers.
Dear Ariansman:
Please forgive me for sharing something I just posted to another thread with you as well:
Make sure the network is set to "private network" on all machines on your LAN. If any is public, all kinds of interesting things can happen. Here's how you can tell what's going on: open the network and sharing center on each PC and see what's showing there:
If all are set to private, good! You might then think about setting up a homegroup and making sure all machines join in.
HTH,
--Ed--
Thank you,
yes philc, my computer is on on Ver 1511 and OS build 10586.218. is it a problem?
thank you Ed, computer A is set to private, but others are Homenetwork. will this be the problem? I figured that the connection of computer A to others changes time by time. it can now discover a shared folder on computer B, but another time it cant get access.
thank you very much
Last edited by ariansman; 04 May 2016 at 04:30.
Hello ariansman, you have the latest windows 10 version which is working well for networked devices.
When your network contains computers running different versions of Windows, it is important to put all computers in the same workgroup
To change the workgroup name on a computer running Windows 7
1. Open System by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, right-clicking Computer, and then clicking Properties.
2. Under Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings, click Change settings.
3. In System Properties, on the Computer Name tab, click Change.
4. In Computer Name/Domain Changes, in Workgroup, type the name of the workgroup you want to use, and then click OK. You will be prompted to restart your computer.
Thank you,
The workgroup name for all computers are set to the default name as “workgroup”. You believe I should change this?
Do you think there might be something in computer A, that it sometimes reaches others and sometimes doesn’t? or maybe a firewall in computer B which sometimes blocks the access?
The way I reach a shared folder on a computer is through the ip address such as 192.168.1.12 . is this a normal and good way?
Thank you
It does not matter what the name is so if all yours are set to Workgroup that is fine. Do you turn the computers on in any particular order? Usually the first to be switched on becomes the master browser and controls the network addressing, try switching A on first and see if this makes any difference.
Using IP addresses is also a good method especially if you know the IP addresses are always the same and so they need to be "static" for this to happen. However, most networks assign dynamic IP addresses so the IP addressing does not always stay consistent.
As you are using workgroups rather than a domain your systems actually connect by using shares and users rather than connecting directly via a machine account.
These technicalities mean that there are certain requirements for workgroup networking
- All systems must be on the same workgroup, changing from the default is not needed but can give slightly better security from the outside world
- Identical user names on all systems to allow the shares to work simply (although not actually required this allows for simple and fast sharing).
- Where passwords are used, use of the same password for each user on each system make sharing simpler.
- All systems must have both sharing and network discovery enabled.
- Suitably shared folders with suitable permissions are required on each system that needs to share data, are required
The share permissions allow access to the system in general, but the NTFS permissions control the folder and file access level
Names can be used to access the systems and their shares and does not require any adjustments to the router which I assume actually assigns the IP numbers
thank you guys,
it says; " one or more network protocols are missing on this computer". does this mean the computer A, which is my computer, has a problem needs to be fixed?
what makes me confused is that computer A connects very well and fast to computer B in a time. i can use the printer connected to computer B very great. but in another time i am totally out.
there is only one computer in the group, computer D, which i never get disconnected. i am thinking to compare some settings in computer D with computer B to see what's in computer B which disconnects me sometimes. but i dont know what should i look for and compare.
One "obvious" thing to check, is the system power settings, both the general which may have a power save setting relating to connections, (not likely here but possible that a drive needs to be running to "serve" the Share).
The one that often causes issues is the NIC properties ...
Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network Connections then properties then Configure check the power management that this is set to off or a long time to ensure that the NIC does not shut down if not used
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