Unable to use network sharing with 2 PCs on Windows 10

If you try and access another users documents even on the pc as admin you cant if you want to access another users docs you would have to add the acount so it has permissions

Alicia, I had this same problem and know exactly the problem you're describing. I have one question, though... which may lead to a much simpler solution. On the computer to which you want remote access... the computer you can only seem to access media libraries on... is there more than one user account that can be used to log into Windows (on the Welcome screen)? If so, check out the instructions I've listed towards the end of this post.

In the event you are like me and have only one user account (your own), I'd like to offer my suggestion for you to consider. Just keep in mind that there are more than a couple other ways to achieve this, and I'm simply sharing my method as one of the optional alternatives.

Now... personally, I didn't want to create any other user accounts that would end up being visible on the login screen, so I decided to use the built-in Administrator's account. This account is not visible on the login screen, and, technically, can be renamed so the default name that almost everyone knows will no longer be ... well... default. The only real obstacle about using this account is that it is disabled on most systems (again, by default), but enabling it isn't all that complicated. Here's how you can enable the Administrator's account:

Open an Elevated Command Promt
Hopefully you're familiar with how to do this, but if not, no worries. There are several ways to do this, as well. I find the easiest way to do this is to right-click the start menu and locate the Command Prompt (Admin) at about the middle of the list. Unfortunately, sometimes you won't find this... if the option to replace Command Prompt with PowerShell is enabled. Don't fret :P


An equally simple way to run the Command Prompt as an Administrator... navigate through your start menu towards the bottom where you see those all-too familiar Windows Accessories, Windows Administrative Tools, etc. and look under the Windows System folder. Most of the time, it should be the first thing listed under that folder. From here, its a simple matter of right-clicking, mouse-over the More -> option, and Run as Administrator.


If you still have difficulty beyond this, try using Cortana or press the Windows Key + S to search for 'cmd', not forgetting to right-click and 'Run as Administrator'. Once you have the command prompt window open, it only takes a short, simple command to enable the Administrator's account. So.. to cut to the chase, the command is:

net user Administrator /active

Be sure to assign a strong password to this account ASAP should you decide to follow this method. To revert the Administrator's account back to 'disabled', you can type the following command in the same command prompt window:

net user Administrator /active:no

To be sure the desired status of the account is in effect, type net user Administrator to check the account's details. Look for Account Active: to make sure it is the way you want it (yes or no).

Once you have an active second account on the computer you wish to access remotely, its a fairly simple process which a setup Wizard/GUI will guide you through. Before doing this, however, there's one more command you'll need to enter on the Command Prompt unless you already know the computer's IP address. Type ipconfig and look for the IPv4 Address, which you'll need in the process of mapping a network drive.



Taking note of the IP address, you can now go to your main computer, the system you want to use and have access to your other drives. The user-friendly approach to connecting your computer to the remote computer is to open File Manager, where you see your C: drive, etc. Click on 'This PC' and you will see the option to map a network drive along the top menu bar.



Now, all that's left to do is choose a drive letter, enter the IP address you noted from the other computer earlier, add the default share name of the C: drive, and enter the Administrator account's username and password (or the newly created user account, if you did this instead). Sorry I didn't mention this sooner, but by default, all Windows 10 systems have the C:\ drive as a 'hidden' share to the network, though it isn't very hidden if its a default everyone knows about. So all you need to do to connect to the other system's C:\ drive is enter the IP address and the share name in this format/context:

\\192.168.1.2\C$

It actually shouldn't matter whether you check the option to connect with different credentials or not... it should still prompt you to enter a username and password to connect. If you get an error message stating the destination could not be found, I still have a fairly good idea about what your issue could be. Hopefully, you will be able to connect without an issue, but if you get the error message... it would be helpful to get a bit more information from your end.

Specifically, what is your LAN setup? If you have problems accessing your other computer even using an active account's correct username and password (making sure its an Administrative account) then it is likely you have another router besides the modem/router supplied by your internet service provider. If you know of other devices on the network (wifi router, etc.), it may be configured in a way that blocks your access to other systems on the LAN.

As an example, I have a Netgear wifi router for the mobile devices in my home, and it is setup and configured as an "Access Point". If I change this configuration and make the router act as an actual router... without some more advanced settings being altered, it then blocks my access to computers I have always been able to connect to prior to the change.

Hope this helps... although I think I went into a bit too much depth. This should indicate whether you're able to connect or if there's a bigger problem though... assuming you decide to take this route. Hope my explanation is clear enough to easily understand! Good luck!

Trexx thank you for taking the time to post all that information. I have 3 computers on the network. One main PC, my laptop, and a netbook. There are other devices in the home such as cell phones and a printer and the TV also using this network. I get my internet service thru a Telus smarthub. They use this in rural communities. It is a modem with a sim card and 250GB of data a month.

I didn't really want to create another account on my main PC either, but had done it already before reading your post. I set it up with the same account name and administrative privileges. I can still only see the main PC from my laptop as media files.

I can see my laptop listed in my main PC but I can't see my main PC listed in my laptop, in spite of creating an account on the main PC that is the same as my Laptop. I'm wondering if Windows firewall or my Eset antivirus on the main PC is blocking my ability to view my main PC on my laptop.

Alicia J said:

Trexx thank you for taking the time to post all that information. I have 3 computers on the network. One main PC, my laptop, and a netbook. There are other devices in the home such as cell phones and a printer and the TV also using this network. I get my internet service thru a Telus smarthub. They use this in rural communities. It is a modem with a sim card and 250GB of data a month.

I didn't really want to create another account on my main PC either, but had done it already before reading your post. I set it up with the same account name and administrative privileges. I can still only see the main PC from my laptop as media files.

I can see my laptop listed in my main PC but I can't see my main PC listed in my laptop, in spite of creating an account on the main PC that is the same as my Laptop. I'm wondering if Windows firewall or my Eset antivirus on the main PC is blocking my ability to view my main PC on my laptop.

Were you able to obtain the IP address of the computer in which you're attempting to access remotely? Let's assume, for the sake of confusion, you'll be on the laptop, and the main PC will be the system you're trying to connect to from the laptop. Did you note the IP address for the main PC? I have a proactive question if the answer to that question was "yes" ... what were the first two sets of numbers in said IP address? This may help me to determine if your network is configured to be private. In my experience with the WiFi router I purchased, if it is set up to be the DHCP server rather than the router/modem provided by your internet service provider, it will cause an inability to access any other devices on the LAN.

I'm sure there are ways to bypass this, such as port forwarding or adding a device to the routing table with the proper configuration, though I had no motivation to delve into figuring that out. Instead, I simply set up the WiFi router as an AP (Access Point) thereby reverting back to having the original modem/router configured as the DHCP server.

Before deciding whether this is a potential cause for your issue, the actions you were or were not able to accomplish would need to be clarified. If you obtained an IP address in which to connect, did you attempt to use the 'Map Network Drive' option found on the Menu Bar of File Explorer while having 'This PC' selected? Did you enter the IP address with two backslashes, while also remembering to add the C$ share to the end of it? (i.e. \\192.168.150.150\C$) And if so, were you prompted to enter a username and password?

To address your curiosity about whether or not Windows Firewall or your antivirus software may be blocking the connection, you can ping the IP address of the other computer to determine if you're able to reach it at all. Here's an example in which I used ping to confirm I'm able to reach Google.com and another of myinability to reach some IP address I found with an established connection to my computer via HTTPS:



Again, I hope this helps and is easy to follow and understand. Good luck!

Trexx said:

To address your curiosity about whether or not Windows Firewall or your antivirus software may be blocking the connection, you can ping the IP address of the other computer to determine if you're able to reach it at all.

I had the same issue as AJ, went through all of the tutorials, just to find out that the firewall had been blocking most of the incoming connections between computers. Once the private network had been defined and bidirectional access allowed, sharing worked, for the most part...

I ran the cmd prompt ipconfig and got the IPv4 address. the first two sets of numbers are 192.168 The network on both the PC I'm trying to access and the Laptop I'm trying to access it from are listed as private.

I opened file explorer (is that the same as file manager?) and clicking on MY PC does not show a menu bar with options to map drive. How do I get it to show that? I can't see an option to do so in folder view options.

I should add that my PC is hard wired and my laptop is of course wifi connected. Interestingly I can access my netbook files from my laptop after creating the exact same account name and type as my laptop on my netbook.

I was able to ping the PC I'm trying to access from my Laptop.

Alicia J said:

I ran the cmd prompt ipconfig and got the IPv4 address. the first two sets of numbers are 192.168 The network on both the PC I'm trying to access and the Laptop I'm trying to access it from are listed as private.

I opened file explorer (is that the same as file manager?) and clicking on MY PC does not show a menu bar with options to map drive. How do I get it to show that? I can't see an option to do so in folder view options.

I should add that my PC is hard wired and my laptop is of course wifi connected. Interestingly I can access my netbook files from my laptop after creating the exact same account name and type as my laptop on my netbook.

Can you see the laptop in the Windows Explorer (file manager) on your PC? If you do, can you see folder(s) on the laptop on your PC, after double-clicking on laptop name? And if you do, just right-click on the folder name to map a network drive:



You could also do a "netstat" to see, if the "microsoft-ds" connection have been established on your PC to the laptop. It should look something like this:

Code:

C:\Users\UID>netstat
Active Connections  
Proto  Local Address          Foreign Address        State  
TCP    x.x.x.13:7640         REMOTE_PC:microsoft-ds   ESTABLISHED  
TCP    [IPv6::IP::Address]:3483  REMOTE_PC:microsoft-ds   ESTABLISHED

*-REMOTE_PC should be your laptop's computer name.

I didn't create the exact same account, I just enter known account credentials when asked to do so.

I can't see my laptop from my main PC in file explorer except as a media. I can see my Laptop on my main PC listed under network on my main PC.

Is netstat a cmd prompt? If so, do I do it on my main PC or laptop?

Alicia J said:

I ran the cmd prompt ipconfig and got the IPv4 address. the first two sets of numbers are 192.168 The network on both the PC I'm trying to access and the Laptop I'm trying to access it from are listed as private.

This is precisely my reasoning in asking you for the first two sets of numbers in your IP address. The IP you reported (192.168....) indicates the network is set up as a closed, private LAN. Unfortunately, I never took the time to research any possible alternatives since I knew an immediately effective fix which offered much less hassle; not to mention less grief I'd get from the wife and kids had I began tinkering in the router configuration, likely causing the entire home network to have a sporadic internet connection at best.

Nevertheless, I can still describe and guide you through the "quick fix" I applied which should change your network from private to public, and though it may seem somewhat complicated, it's actually much simpler than some of the steps you've already followed while attempting to establish a remote connection.

The first thing you will want to do is obtain the make and model of the modems/routers installed on your network. Often times, the modem provided by your internet service provider will be in desperate need of upgrading, and may not be capable of broadcasting a WiFi connection, hence the need for a second router, providing your network with WiFi.

Someone almost certainly would've had to purchase this second device themselves, and if I were to venture a guess, I'd have to put my money on Wal-Mart as the retailer. Are you familiar with such a device on your network? Can you obtain the make and model or request assistance finding it from someone that may have knowledge of it?

If you can obtain this info, it would be a simple matter of searching the internet for the User Guide/Manual. This will provide all the details we should need to reconfigure the network to allow you actual networking capabilities, like remote access to other system drives within the household.

Should someone else here be more knowledgeable in configuring your presumed WiFi router to create a connection between your two systems without changing the actual network setup entirely, you may want to attempt that ​instead. Hope things work out for you!