Windows 10: How to fix shares not available on Win10 Pro

I have an issue with networking and file sharing.

I have a home network with 3 PCs, 1 NAS and a number of other transient devices iPad, TVs etc.

The 3 PCs are all Windows 10 Pro 1909 with latest updates 10.0.1863. Two are laptops the other desktop.

The problem I'm having is that the two laptops can not see any of the shares on the desktop. Nor can they RDC to the desktop.

Of the two laptops one is about 6 years old and was upgraded to Win 10 from Win8.1 and subsequently upgraded to Win10 Pro. I can't remember if I've ever done a clean install but probably. The other laptop is less than a week old, was delivered with Win10 home and I purchased the Pro upgrade from the MS store.

The laptops and the desktop are happy to see the shares on the laptops as well as RDC to them.

In the belief that there is something wrong with the desktop installation I've done the following but without any resolution.

1. Completely reinstalled Win10 Pro and updated to latest fixes.
2. Setup user with a Microsoft account.
3. Turned on WiFi network as a private network.
4. Set Network discovery on.
5. Set file and printer sharing on in Private
6. Turned on sharing for public folders in All networks as well as password protected sharing made no difference if I turned it off
7. Set services FD provider host and FD resource publication to automatic they were already running
8. Set SMB v1/CIFS on in Windows features.
9. Set Remote Desktop Connection to on in Windows settings.
10. Examined Group Policy but didn't find anything amiss. Not that that is definitive.
11. Switched AV and firewall on and off.
12. Changed TCP/IP WINS to enable Netbios over TCP/IP.

All this over a period of about a day with still no access from laptops to shares on the desktop or RDC.


Next day I reset Windows 10, no other apps installed except those provided with Windows plus some from Dell and McAfee which were installed automatically as part of the reset. I've switched McAfee off and Windows defender off. Still not able to access shares or RDC.


In the case of RDC I don't even get to the point of being asked for credentials.


Does anyone have any idea where I go from here?

Thanks for reading and, hopefully, your help.

:)

 

Share Files and Folders Over a Network with Win10Home & Pro & Win7Pro

@Brink,

I followed Option 1 with the following exceptions:

• Windows 7 Pro: SMB 1.0 CIFS File Sharing Support, Automatic Removal, Client and Server and SMB Direct are not options.
• Windows 10 Home: SMB 1.0 CIFS File Sharing Support, Automatic Removal, Client and Server are checked and SMB Direct is not an option.
• Note: Windows 10 Pro: SMB 1.0 CIFS File Sharing Support, Automatic Removal, Client and Server and SMB Direct are checked.

Clearly the problem is sharing with Windows 10 Pro...

Sharing with Windows 10 Pro

• Windows 10 Pro can reach files and folders on Windows 7 Pro
• Windows 10 Pro cannot reach files and folders on Windows 10 Home; Message: Windows cannot access...
• Windows 10 Home cannot reach files and folders on Windows 10 Pro; Message: Enter your credentials
• Windows 7 Pro cannot reach files and folders on Windows 10 Pro; Message: Enter your password

Sharing Between Windows 10 Home and Windows 7 Pro

• Windows 10 Home can reach files and folders on Windows 7 Pro
• Windows 7 Pro can reach files and folders on Windows 10 Home

Any thoughts on what I should do?

Thanks!



- - - Updated - - -

I followed Option 2 without exceptions and received the same results as above.

Any thoughts on what I should do?

Thanks!



- - - Updated - - -

I with much help, I solve my networking problem!

The first step was to follow Option 1 and Option 2 from the first post of this thread/tutorial.

The second step was to create a new password-protected local (user) account with administrator privileges and without using an email or phone number when creating the new user account on the Windows 10 Pro machine.

The third step was to create a new password-protected user account with administrator privileges on the Windows 7 Pro machine with the exact same username and password as the new local account on the Windows 10 Pro machine.

When I attempted to share/access a file on the Windows 10 Pro machine from the Windows 7 Pro machine, I simply entered the new username and password from above when asked for my network credentials and puff, it worked.

A similar process was followed for networking the Windows 10 Pro and Home machines.

 

New router: Win10 Pro shares no longer visible, can't see other shares


I just switched to a new router (from DLink DIR-655 to TP-Link Archer C7) and now my Windows 10 Pro cannot see network shares nor can others on the network see its shares. Prior to the router switch, it could see shares and others could see the shares it exposed.

The Win10Pro can see the internet. I can still ping other computers and they can ping the Win10Pro, just no Windows sharing. All computers are in the same Workgroup. I am not using a Homegroup; computer connections are made with user accounts.

The Windows 10 Pro is connected via wire. When I made the switch, I remember that Win10 came up and told me it had a new network and prompted whether to allow network discovery - to which I said yes. I thought that odd at the time since changing the router didn't change the NIC connection from the Win10 -- but whatever. However, it did change the IP address on the Win10Pro from what it was. But I've since rebooted all computers (thinking that might cause them to refresh) but no improvement.

Advanced Sharing Settings are set as:

• Private: Network Discover = ON, File and Printer Sharing = ON
• All Networks: Password Protected Sharing = ON, Public Folder Sharing = ON

 

Cannot access shared network drive

I could scream! so much time wasted on this stupid error, as if time is not precious enough!
It probably would work fine if I could see the other computer! But I cannot see the other computer!