Windows 10: Is File Sharing Just Broken?

I have never been able to get this feature working, going back to Windows 7 and on numerous different machines. Recently I built a new desktop and thought I'd give it another shot - trying to make files available to my laptop. Shockingly, it worked .... briefly. A couple of weeks later I noticed that, while my desktop is still able to access files on my laptop, my laptop can no longer see my desktop - my desktop no longer appears in the network section of file explorer on my laptop. I have no idea why it stopped working; I've done nothing but play video games on my desktop and have barely touched my laptop. Is this just one of those things that Windows keeps including in its software, but has never really gotten to work? I done some digging and haven't found much in the way of answers, mostly just rehashes of the instructions for setting up sharing, so can't say I'm expecting much. Still figured I'd ask. Any ideas or information appreciated.


* Network discovery is turned on

* Public folder sharing is turned on

* Password protected sharing is turned off

* while initially when sharing actually worked I had made folders sharable to my microsoft account, I have since tried making them shareable to everyone through file explorer

* I tried turning off internet protocol version 6, as suggested in a couple of troubleshooting posts

:)

 

Sharing Broken

OK, here's the details of my little home network:

Desktop PC:

• Name - RAVEN
• OS - Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit (1803 17134.228)
• Network - Ethernet connection to WiFi router
• IP - Static 192.168.0.100

Laptop PC:

• Name - COYOTE
• OS - Windows 10 Home 64-Bit (1803 17134.228)
• Network - Wireless connection to WiFi router
• IP - Static 192.168.0.102

Prior to the latest update which MS forced upon me, file sharing had been working flawlessly for years. Not so any longer...

To the best of my understanding, I have diligently followed Brink's excellent tutorial: Share Files and Folders Over a Network in Windows 10

However, it just doesn't work. Here's what I've done so far on both machines:

• File Sharing Wizard On
• Function Discovery Resource Publication and Function Discovery Provider Host set to automatic.

Question 1: Even though both services are set to automatic, the Function Discovery Provider Host doesn't start after a reboot. If I manually start the service, the machines can see each other on the network. I have never encounter a situation where a service set to automatic does not start. Ideas???

I have also:

• Turned on network discovery
• Turned on File and Printer Sharing
• Turned on Public folder sharing
• Turned off password protected sharing
• Set file sharing connections encryption level to 128-bit

Actually, all of these settings carried forward from before when file sharing worked.

I have tried all the methods in Brink's tutorial to create shares on both machines. In File Explorer I can see both machines under Network. I can also see the shares on a given machine from that machine. However, if I tried to view a share on the other machine, I receive an error.





As usual, the Troubleshooter never resolves the issue.

Question 2: Any idea how to fix this so file sharing actually works (the way it used to before MS *Mad)?

 

SHARING FILES WITH WINDOWS 7

Hello,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

• Have you made any changes on your PC?
• Did you perform any Windows update recently?
• Are you connected to Domain network?

I suggest you to try the below steps and check if that helps.

1. To share files over file explorer refer the following
   
   article.
2. Refer article for
   file sharing over a network.

Hope it helps.

Let us know if you got the help you needed by clicking, Yes or No.

Sandeep Kumar M

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

File Sharing

Hi Dwayne,

The ability to share files within your homegroup can be set based on your preference in the HomeGroup settings. For us to identify if the file sharing issue is caused by the update or an option not being retained in the HomeGroup setting, we'd like to ask
for additional details. Please answer the following:

• Aside from installing an update, have you also made any recent changes to the HomeGroup settings?
• What specific update have you installed before the file sharing stopped working? To check the Update history, follow these steps:

• On the Search bar, type Settings.
• Open the Settings app from the search result.
• Click Update & security and check the Windows Update section.
• Click the Update history link.

• Have you already checked if the file and printer sharing is enabled in the
  Advanced sharing settings in the Control Panel?
• What build and version of Windows 10 are you using?
• What troubleshooting steps have you tried based on the threads that you've read?

For initial troubleshooting, you can run the built-in troubleshooter for HomeGroup by following the steps below:

• On the Search bar, type Troubleshoot.
• Open the Control Panel from the search result.
• Click View all and locate HomeGroup.
• Click HomeGroup and follow the on-screen guide to run the troubleshooter.
  

We hope to hear from you soon.