Windows 10 Network Alternative?

aeneas1 · 13 May 2021

so are there any 3rd party software alternatives to windows networking or even hardware alternatives, something that i can use to network my windows 10 machines that will actually work reliably?

i have 3 windows 10 machines (1 home edition, 2 pro) on a family network and the network always fails for one reason or another, networked pcs will disappear from view... oddly, the home edition machine is the only one that is always visible on all three machines, at all times, nothing can shake it (windows updates, outages, etc.) it just always works.

at this point i'm not at all interested in troubleshooting my network, i've done that ad nauseam for years and years, instead i'm just looking / hoping for an alternative to windows built-in networking.

thanks in advance.

Samuria · 13 May 2021

What network function do you want to use? If its file sharing FTP server can be low memory and work great

pparks1 · 13 May 2021

aeneas1 said:

i have 3 windows 10 machines (1 home edition, 2 pro) on a family network and the network always fails for one reason or another, networked pcs will disappear from view...

What about if you hit start, run \\servername\sharename? I've been running windows networking at home for 20 years and it's been totally reliable for me.

I never go into the network browser to find anything.

Watchman34 · 03 Jan 2023

pparks1 said:

What about if you hit start, run \\servername\sharename? I've been running windows networking at home for 20 years and it's been totally reliable for me.

I never go into the network browser to find anything.

Forgive me but at the ripe old age of 88 I am finding it difficult to comprehend the meaning of 'run \\servername\sharename'. Please could you offer an example of such as I have been struggling for months to get my Windows 10 networking to cooperate between the three PCs in my household. These are identical models but I just cannot rely on them to work in harmony with each other. Sometimes one may cooperate with another but this is inconsistent. Your help will be much appreciated.

dalchina · 03 Jan 2023

Well, there is 'Nearby sharing'. Not directly comparable, slower, limited by distance...

Turn On or Off Nearby Sharing in Windows 10

bro67 · 03 Jan 2023

No there is no alternative to Windows Networking. The issue is that Home does not have all of the features that Pro does when it comes to shares. With the way that SMB works for Windows, the Master Browser Round Robin can be a PITA when you have your setup. You would be best to share through Onecloud or Google Cloud storage if you have a fast enough internet connection. If not, then make sure that you have the shares correct and all machines have the same username and password.

dalchina · 04 Jan 2023

SMB1 is only needed if you have a legacy system on the network (pre-Win 7) or - I'm told- certain NAS.

It should be disabled for security reasons and to avoid the 20-30 min discovery time for new devices to the network - an extra service runs if SMB1 is enabled, and means the 'master browser' is in force. Win 10/11 - no need for any of that normally.

Try3 · 04 Jan 2023

Watchman34 said:

Forgive me but at the ripe old age of 88 I am finding it difficult to comprehend the meaning of 'run \\servername\sharename'. Please could you offer an example of such as I have been struggling for months to get my Windows 10 networking to cooperate between the three PCs in my household. These are identical models but I just cannot rely on them to work in harmony with each other. Sometimes one may cooperate with another but this is inconsistent. Your help will be much appreciated.

It is File explorer's Network section that has become unreliable rather than Windows networking itself.

Try these measures to circumvent the problem:

Create a shortcut on one computer, as its target put in the computer name*** of one of the other computers using this syntax

Code:

\\COMPUTERNAME

Test it.
Do it again for a shortcut to the other computer.
Do the same on all computers.

If these shortcuts work then your network is fine. Use the shortcuts to look between computers and don't worry about File explorer's Network section.

Once you are used to this way of working, you can go further. You can create shortcuts to individual shared folders if you want. For example,

Code:

\\ComputerName\ShareName

*** To see the computer name of any computer, entry this in a command prompt in the computer concerned

Code:

echo %computername%

or this in a PowerShell window

Code:

$env:computername

If the shortcuts do not work, i.e. you have a real network problem, then see
A consolidated network setup checklist [post #4] - TenForums
Each entry in the list has links to the relevant TenForumsTutorials for each topic.

Best of luck,
Denis

Bree · 04 Jan 2023

dalchina said:

SMB1 is only needed if you have a legacy system on the network (Win 7 or earlier) or - I'm told- certain NAS.

No, not needed for Win7 (SMB 2.1) or Vista (SMB 2.0). Any earlier Windows, such as XP, will require SMB1.

Server Message Block - Wikipedia

Watchman34 · 04 Jan 2023

Try3 said:

It is File explorer's Network section that has become unreliable rather than Windows networking itself.

Try these measures to circumvent the problem:

Create a shortcut on one computer, as its target put in the computer name*** of one of the other computers using this syntax

Code:

\\COMPUTERNAME

Test it.
Do it again for a shortcut to the other computer.
Do the same on all computers.

If these shortcuts work then your network is fine. Use the shortcuts to look between computers and don't worry about File explorer's Network section.

Once you are used to this way of working, you can go further. You can create shortcuts to individual shared folders if you want. For example,

Code:

\\ComputerName\ShareName

*** To see the computer name of any computer, entry this in a command prompt in the computer concerned

Code:

echo %computername%

or this in a PowerShell window

Code:

$env:computername

If the shortcuts do not work, i.e. you have a real network problem, then see
A consolidated network setup checklist [post #4] - TenForums
Each entry in the list has links to the relevant TenForumsTutorials for each topic.

Best of luck,
Denis

I'm sorry Denis but I have been grappling with your suggestion and can't fathom it out. I think this is way beyond my expertise and wonder if you could explain it in simpler terms.