Windows 10: Do I need a "workgroup", a "domain", a "homegroup" or what?

Hello

- I have two Windows 10 Pro (x64) PCs in a home/small office environment.

- They are on the same Ethernet network. i.e. They are connected to a Negear N600 Wireless Modem Router.

- There is a printer on the same network that I want both PCs to be able to use (Epson Workforce Pro WF-8510). I want each PC to be able to see the other PC's C: drive (or at least the directory C:\docs\).

- I intend to use SynToy (v2.1) to manually synchronise files between them (unless I can find something that works better and which is also free).

- For reasons of privacy, I do not like using "The Cloud" more than I have to. So I try to avoid OneDrive etc.

- Fwiw, I also occasionally use a Dropbox account and a TeamViewer.

What is the best way to share data between them?
i.e. Do I need a "workgroup", a "domain", a "homegroup" or what?

Apologies for newbie question. I had all this set up but have forgotten what I did...
Many thanks

J

:)

 

" SOFTWARE UPDATE FAILED "

SO HERE'S THE LINK TO THAT PIC

http://i26.tinypic.com/2ihbdco.jpg

CAN U PLZ CHECK IT ACTUALLY I HAVE USED THE NOKIA SOFTWARE UPDATER B4 ... BUT I DONT KNW WHY I M GETTING THIS ERROR NOW

 

" SOFTWARE UPDATE FAILED "

i have installed windows xp sp2

previously i was using windows media center i thought i might b facing this probs due to that but then i changed it to windows xp ! n moreover i have also shown to nokia service center executives but they were not having the latest updates available ......
my pc suite is showing that new update version of firmware is available but i cudnt download it

oh gawd wat to do ?

i tried in another pc then again i got an error u need to have minimum 256 ram

please cant it b rectified ? there must b any solution to this probs please help me guyz

god bless all of u thanx

 

You don't need a domain. Workgroups and Homegroups are just about the same thing, so either will do what you want.

I use robocopy with the /MIR switch to replicate data in 2 locations. Honestly though, I would put up one box to act like a file server, and then keep 2 external hard drives offsite and occasionally (once a week or however frequently you are comfortable), use Robocopy to make a secondary copy of your data. I don't find I want instant mirroring, because if I delete or mangle a file in the source, I don't want to lose it in my secondary location at the same time. And houses burn down and people break in and steal stuff, so I don't want to lose my data.

 

Homegroup gives more problems than it solves and you have to run ip6 which isnt used at the moment for anything else good old fashioned workgroup will do all you need

 

You can only have a Domain if you are running a Windows Server, as large businesses do. Your choice is Workgroup or Homegroup, with Workgroup being the simplest to manage.

 

If I click on "Network" in Windows Explorer it says "Enter your credentials to connect to DESKTOP01".
i.e. Bizarrely it wants a password, but no password is required in order to log into my laptop when I reboot.

 

I don't know how you set up the network but maybe it wants your MS password.

 

As far as I can understand it Microsoft seem to have conflated the Microsoft password (to get into live.com) with the password for the computer.

I tried the only password I have for my microsoft account (which they forced me to change yet again for absolutely no reason), but it didn't work.

However when I installed the laptop I managed to just skip entering a password. Now I wish I had entered one, as that way I would at least have one on the laptop that I could supply to the desktop!

 

The easiest most reliable way I have found is to use a "Work Group" and assign the same password to ALL computers in my network so that knowing the name and password works when you want to access "Shared" files/folders etc. on the network.
As I said, I have no idea what you have tried as to setting up your network. Clicking on NETWORK in explorer will not work if you don't have a proper network.

 

Thanks - yes, in the end I "sold my soul to the Devil" and made all my passwords the same and all my users the same AND I allowed it to be the same as my Microsoft account password. And I'm in. *Smile

But I deeply resent it because in practise it means that I am forced to use a much more long/secure/complicated password that I would normally want for my computer, and worse it (presumably) means that Microsoft has the keys to search my computer if they want to, which is deeply unacceptable.

 

I'm glad it's working.

 

You can accomplish the same thing by using a local password which is the same for all of your PCs, along with the same user name. I've been doing that, without a Workgroup, since that days of XP and have never had a problem seeing files, or printers and across mixed OS versions. You will have to decide to allow or not allow sharing on a folder by folder basis (this is inherited so its not that big a deal).

 

I am slightly confused by it all but I *think* once you've allowed microsoft's online account to control your PC you are slightly screwed and can't revert.

Part of the problem I had was that because I hadn't put any password in, Windows was booting straight in with zero security even though I had asked for it(!). And weirdly I wasn't given the opportunity to set one up at the time when one logs in...

 

You can create another account that does not have anything to do with your Microsoft account at anytime, and use this to run the PC as administrator

Just start to add another user, click on the I do not have user login details, then select create an account without Microsoft account and follow the prompts - You will have to log into any Modern Apps you use individually but otherwise will work as you would expect.

It's best to keep the Microsoft account active and having your account linked to your system allows more leeway for licensing if you change major hardware

Add User Account in Windows 10 - Windows 10 User Accounts Tutorials

In this case you are using the default Workgroup, called "Workgroup" although you are using it in a rather limited way