Trying to share files between two PCs

I have two PCs running the latest Windows 10 software connected to the same network. I really need to be able to have the computers see each other so I can share files between the two. However, that doesn't seem to be the case and I always seem to have problems. For the sake of brevity let's call the PC I am on, PC1 and my other PC, PC2.

PC1 is a brand-new computer I have just installed. If I click on network in file Explorer I cannot PC1 listed, only PC2. On the other hand, if I click on network on PC2 I can only see the name of PC2 listed and not PC1.

For you ask, yes, I have gone into network and sharing and collect all the buttons to enable file sharing and network discovery and also switched off password requirement. I have a feeling I have to go into a file folder and enable sharing. However, which file folder should I use?

Thank you in advance

I often use advanced ip scanner (free). It sees devices which are not detected in windows network. It also shows shares.

I ran IP scanner which gave me a bunch of IP addresses with a cross next to them. However, not quite sure how that's supposed to help to be honest with you. The only one that didn't have a cross next to it was my Smart Hub IP address.

I just can't understand why I'm not able to access files from one computer to another. I've gone into documents and found the "give access to" section and made it "everyone". However, it still won't work.

It takes up to 20 mins for a PC to show up by name but you should be able to connect via IP try connecting via IP is \\192.168.1.10\sharename

I never use "Networking" tab within File Explorer.

I spun up 2 boxes under VirtualBox, named them PC1 and PC2. Went to Settings, Advanced file sharing settings and enabled file and print sharing. I then created a folder on each C drive, called Share. I right clicked on C:\share, and said Give Access To > Specific People. I picked my pat account and clicked on okay.

So, here you can see the 2 computers side by side. PC1 on the left, PC2 on the right, And notice that from PC2, I do not see PC1 inside of Network from file explorer.



But from PC2, if I click on start and type \\PC1 (whack whack pc1) and hit enter, low and behold I see my share.



And here is the result, you can see the shared folder


If you want to share the entire C drive, you could use the admin shares. They are turned off by default on Windows 10. You can turn them back on with a registry setting.
Using Windows 10 Administrative Shares

Now, as long as the user account is in the local admins group, you can run
\\pc1\c$

That gets you to the admin share which is everything on your C drive on PC1.


Once you have something shared, the easiest way to manage your shares is to right click at corner by start and choose Computer Management, open up Shared Folders as shown below. You can see those admin shares listed below as well as C:\share.

I ran IP scanner which gave me a bunch of IP addresses with a cross next to them. However, not quite sure how that's supposed to help to be honest with you. .
I never have seen these crosses. It indicates that your network is not functioning. Do you see the names of both PC's? And are in the Netbios column the workgroups shown? First thing is to check whether the names of the workgroups (including capitalization) in both PC's are identical. Further, although I am able to connect to shares within a public network, in most tutorials a private network is advised. You may try that, if applicable.

If you open a cmd prompt type ipconfig /all. It will give you the PCs IP so you know what to connect to

I just stick shortcuts to the Networked PC's on the Desktops which opens them in networking, quicker than waiting for them to appear, as in shortcut to \\Computer Name. Keeps it simple.