Win10 1803 Loss of Direct Ethernet Link between 2 PC's.

Bob Deb said:

Hi,
Subsequent to 1803 upgrade I have lost the direct ethernet link I had established between my two Win 10 Desktop PC's. Have tried everything to restore it but to no avail. If it is not possible to do so (and I suspect that may be the case), is there any way I can add my 2 PC's to the Media Streaming Options Local Network menu (see attachment for clarification). I'm guessing that because my ethernet link was independent of the home group, the two PC's did not get a mention there. I have found a video showing a possible restoration of inter-pc linking but it is dependent upon both computers being shown in the menu. Would really appreciate any assistance. Many thanks - Bob Deb.

The issue with Windows version 1803, is that for some reason it is not discoverable by default. (go figure, must be a bug)

Here is how to make it all working again:

1. Open Sevices
2. Set Function Discovery Provider Host startup type to Automatic (delayed start) on both computers.
3. Set Function Discovery Resource Publication startup type to Automatic (delayed start) on both computers
4. For now, manually start both the above services on both computers
5. Make sure both your computers connections are set to Private Network
6. Make sure both computers has Network Sharing enabled in Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Network and Sharing Center\Advanced sharing settings under Private Network section
7. Make sure both computers has File and Printer Sharing enabled in Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Network and Sharing Center\Advanced sharing settings under Private Network section
8. In File Explorer, under Network, you should now see both your computers
9. On both devices go to Windows Media Player and click on the Stream button down arrow
10. Select More Streaming options and turn on the service if disabled, in other case you should now see the usual interface

Doing all the above, I get this:

Clicking on either, ASUS-U46SV: U46SVMedia: OR ASUS-UX305CA-PU: UX305Media: fires up, Windows Media Player and I can see all media available and successfully stream data over from one device to the other.


Hope this helps, and please let me know if you need any further assistance.

@Bob Deb

Try this on both computers:

1. Open PowerShell or PowerShell ISE with elevated privileges (Administrator)
2. Type Get-NetConnectionProfile
3. Take note of the index number of the Ethernet connection
4. Type Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceIndex XXX -NetworkCategory Private where XXX = the index number of your network interface

Berton said:

A question for clarification: does the statement "Subsequent to 1803 upgrade I have lost the direct ethernet link I had established between my two Win 10 Desktop PC's" imply that the "direct ethernet link" is using a Cross-over cable and nothing else between the 2 computers, no Router, no Switch?

That is almost certainly the case except it has been years since pcs needed a crossover cable. Any ethernet cable will do on a modern pc.

@Bob Deb

You already have the ethernet link up and running. You should be able to share a folder on for example from PC-3440AN and it should appear in the network view on PC-VM3000 when expanding the PC-3440AN tree.

Then it's just as easy as making sure the computer has at least read access rights, and you can copy the files over.

slicendice said:

@Bob Deb

You already have the ethernet link up and running. You should be able to share a folder on for example from PC-3440AN and it should appear in the network view on PC-VM3000 when expanding the PC-3440AN tree.

Then it's just as easy as making sure the computer has at least read access rights, and you can copy the files over.

Isn't it odd that you can safely connect a non windows tablet or phone via usb3 and that device can be seen as a drive, but if you try to connect two pcs via usb3, you cannot do that AND worse still, you can fry the usb port(s) and/or mobo(s), or even worse - cause a fire!

You can buy special cables that allow direct usb3 to usb3 cable connection.