Can't get two ethernet networked computers to communicate

Hi,

The laptop shows the desktop under Network, but when I try to access it I get a message "Enter network credentials. Enter your credentials to connect to Desktop." and asks for a password. I didn't think I needed a password to connect, but in any case I don't know what it is. (I've tried the password to the router, but that didn't work.)

- you might want to consider Option 1, subsections 8. 9:
Share Files and Folders Over a Network in Windows 10

coffent said:

The laptop shows the desktop under Network, but when I try to access it I get a message "Enter network credentials. Enter your credentials to connect to Desktop." and asks for a password. I didn't think I needed a password to connect, but in any case I don't know what it is. (I've tried the password to the router, but that didn't work.)

Create a password-protected admin user account on both computers with the same name and the same password on both of them. When you get asked for network credentials, use that account.

You will only need to do this once [or maybe it's once on each computer] as long as you set the box for Remember credentials.

Denis

coffent said:

Try3: I already have user accounts with the same name on both computers, though as far as I know, neither is password-protected. How can I tell if they are, and if so, recover or delete the password? Or delete the accounts and start all over again? (I've found how to delete other accounts (though there aren't any), but not how to delete my own, if that's necessary.)

I have never thought about how to prove that an account already has a password. Do these checks on each computer

1 Is your user account a local account [i.e. one that exists on the computer only] or an MSAccount-linked one? To find out you can go to
Right-click on the Start button, Settings, Accounts
Underneath your profile picture [or the blank thing it displays if no picture has been set] it will either say Local account or it will not [which means MSAccount]. While you are there please make another note - does it also say that the account is an 'Administrator' as that will be important later on.
- If it is an MSAccount, it definitely has a password. {And if the same MSAccount is on both computers then they must already have the same password because that's how MSAccounts work}
- If it is a local account, you might have chosen to set a password or you might not.

2 If the question is unanswered, because it is a local account, how do you log in to the account? {Forgive the following stupid questions please - I just wanted to take one step at a time}
- Does it boot up to a sign-in screen that you have to enter both a username & password in to log in? This means you have already set a password.
- Does it boot up to a sign-in screen that you merely enter your username in then hit the Return key to log in? This means it definitely has no password.
- Does it automatically pass through the sign-in screen so all you have to do is boot up then wait for your desktop to appear onscreen? This means the question of a password remains unanswered because that can be set up for both password-protected and password-less accounts..

3 If the question is unanswered, because it passes through sign-in automatically, I'd have to ask you to deliberately sign-off the account [Start button, user icon, sign-out] and then sign back in again and see if it demands a password or not. But I am loathe to suggest that yet without knowing all the other answers because I do not want to leave you up the creek just for the sake of these tests.

One of the other posters might chip in with a better set of checks. As I said, I've never considered the subject before.

Please do note that passwords are never retrievable. They can be changed, they can be reset but they cannot be retrieved.

All these checks are just to make assess where you are starting from. Whatever happens, I'll be suggesting what I said before -

Try3 said:

Create a password-protected admin user account on both computers with the same name and the same password on both of them. When you get asked for network credentials, use that account.
You will only need to do this once [or maybe it's once on each computer] as long as you set the box for Remember credentials.

I should also ask, for completeness, if there is more than a single user account on each computer but this is not going to affect the interpretation of the results of these suggested checks above so I won't trouble you about it until you are ready.

Denis

the laptop now doesn't show the desktop under Network at all! This is not the first time this has happened - it's very inconsistent!

I agree- sometimes it takes 30 mins or so from having turned on or resumed one PC for it to discover the other.

Some have suggested disabling and enabling the relevant services- I've not tried it.