VMWare Player-Can connect virtual to physical in only one direction

I created a virtual machine from a physical one using the VMware Standalone Convertor.

The virtual machine can connect (read/write) to the physical machine but the physical machine CANNOT connect (read/write) to the virtual machine even though the virtual machine shows up in the network via Windows Explorer on the physical machine.

It did work for a while last night. I left it alone for a few hours (did not change a thing or even re-boot) and then tried connecting again (physical to virtual) and it would not allow me to.

As a test, I connected my laptop and changed the laptop's workgroup to the same as the above machines and everything connect perfectly in all directions.

I'm assuming there is some kind of conflict between the two machines because of the virtualization. BTW, I am using VM Player as I do not like the interface of VM Workstation. I'm a VM newbie.

Can anyone help? Winver 1901

Rather networking (host machine is multihomed) than virtualization problem; try to connect to \\ipaddress\share instead of \\guestname\share.

I did as suggested and mapped a network drive and this did allow me to connect to the virtual machine. However, it did not solve my problem. The virtual machine is hosting our SQL Server and the physical machines in the network need to "see" the virtual machine via it's computer name so our accounting software can connect to SQL database. Any other thoughts? Thanks.

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Muchomurka. Followup to my recent reply. Your suggestion does work if I type in the IP address into the server name field in our accounting software. But, I still need to find a fix that allows the SQL connection to connect by the computer name as I have about a hundred Excel spreadsheets that connect directly to the SQL server via the server name and it's not really feasible to change all of them to use the IP address.

Many variables exist, not described
- static or dhcp (reserved or dynamic) addresses
- simple or segmented/routed network, number of clients which require access
- VM at bridged/NAT segment
- local name service (dns/wins/hostsfiles) used, dynamic registration or not
- AD domain with integrated dns
- browser or network discovery fdphost/fdrespub services
- differences in networking config of computers which can and cannot connect
etc.

Name-to-ipaddr translation is a bit complex task, there is no "one size fits all" solution. If you have AD domain, always use its dynamic dns function. Otherwise, you need to select and implement other solution.

For very simple environment (one segment physical network & VM at Bridged virtual segment & small number of clients), try to enable Network Discovery for current network profile at both SQL server and ALL clients:
How to Turn on Network Discovery and File Sharing in Windows 10