Share a folder over a home network without password prompting

WebMaximus · 19 Feb 2019

I just finished putting a new PC together and now I'm trying to accomplish what I would have assumed to be a very simple task. Especially since I can't recall ever having any issues when I was on my old PC.

I have a number of folders on my main PC I would like to share making them accessible from another PC on my home network. Both PCs are running Windows 10.

I have:

enabled sharing for the folders in question
granted 'Full control' to 'Everyone' under the Share Permissions tab
granted 'Full control' to 'Everyone' under the Security tab
turned ON network discovery as well as file and printer sharing for the network profile I'm using (Private)
turned OFF password protected sharing for all networks

Still, when on my second PC trying to access the shared folders located on my main PC using Windows Explorer, I'm prompted to type in a password for my local account on the main PC in order to get access.

Not sure what I'm missing here...?!

Many thanks in advance for pushing me in the right direction!

Samuria · 19 Feb 2019

What folders are you sharing some folders like any inside a profile have different permission and you cant access them even on the pc and when you set ntfs permissions some can get permission from folders above

WebMaximus · 19 Feb 2019

They are both non system folders on a separate disk.

Samuria · 19 Feb 2019

Any folders created by user normally have that users as owner have checked that and folders above

WebMaximus · 19 Feb 2019

Samuria said:

Any folders created by user normally have that users as owner have checked that and folders above

I just checked and the owner which doesn't come as a surprise is the user I logon to my main PC with where the shared folders are located.

This user account is an online Microsoft account.

I wonder if that could be the culprit...that you for whatever reason won't be able to share folders owned by an online MS account vs a local account?

On the other hand, since I've explicitly added Everyone with Full Control both on NTFS and sharing permissions level for the shared folders...I don't see why I'm prompted for a password to connect to these shares?

And even with password protected sharing switched OFF. It just doesn't make sense to me...

WebMaximus · 19 Feb 2019

Just tried switching from a MS account to a local account (which also automatically updated the owner of the shared folders to this local account) but still same issue...whenever I try to connect to my main PC from the second PC I prompted to enter a user and password.

Truly annoying!

Try3 · 19 Feb 2019

There used to be a need for an extra step in some conditions** but I thought that need had disappeared [I still do the extra step routinely so I have not tested its need for several years].

** when using different Windows versions on a network that is connected by an ethernet cable directly between the two computers without any router

You used to have to
1 Set password protected sharing On
2 Create a local Admin account with the same name on every computer and set the same password for each of those accounts.
3 Enter the Admin's password when first challenged [when first trying to access a shared folder across the network].
[4 There was no further call for this password - it was a first-use-only thing.]

Perhaps this is still a useful step? Hopefully, a network buff will chip in soon.

In the meantime, you might check if you have included all the steps in Share Files and Folders Over a Network - TenForumsTutorials and that your Workgroup name is the same on all network computers.

Best of luck,
Denis

WebMaximus · 19 Feb 2019

Finally found the culprit.

Using Credential Manager on the second PC, I found an old Windows credential entry. Removing that one sorted the issue.

Case closed!

WebMaximus · 09 Mar 2021

Boy I'm happy to sometimes find my own, old posts when memory doesn't serve