Local Private Network - Can't Connect to It

[glennpm]

I am unable to see my Windows 10 laptop from my Windows 11 Main computer in the file explorer network. I can ping it but even though I have both computers set to share without passwords I get the "Enter Network credentials". I have tried entering my user and password of the laptop but it is rejected. I can ping the WIN10 laptop from WIN 11.

Connection from the laptop TO the Main computer works fine.

Commands below run on the Main computer

On MAIN-PC 192.168.1.3 WORKGROUP HP Inc. BC:E9:2F:A4:11:3E MAIN-PC\glenn
On DELL-LAPTOP 192.168.1.71 WORKGROUP Dell Inc. 34:17:EB:82:0E:AE

ping 192.168.1.71

Pinging 192.168.1.71 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.71: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.71: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.71: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.71: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.71:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 2ms, Maximum = 2ms, Average = 2ms

********

Both computers have dedicated IPs

S C:\WINDOWS\system32> test-connection -ComputerName DELL-Laptop
test-connection : Testing connection to computer 'DELL-Laptop' failed: Error due to lack of resources
At line:1 char:1
+ test-connection -ComputerName DELL-Laptop
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : ResourceUnavailable: (DELL-Laptop:String) [Test-Connection], PingException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : TestConnectionException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.TestConnectionCommand

test-connection : Testing connection to computer 'DELL-Laptop' failed: Error due to lack of resources
At line:1 char:1
+ test-connection -ComputerName DELL-Laptop
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : ResourceUnavailable: (DELL-Laptop:String) [Test-Connection], PingException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : TestConnectionException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.TestConnectionCommand

test-connection : Testing connection to computer 'DELL-Laptop' failed: Error due to lack of resources
At line:1 char:1
+ test-connection -ComputerName DELL-Laptop
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : ResourceUnavailable: (DELL-Laptop:String) [Test-Connection], PingException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : TestConnectionException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.TestConnectionCommand

test-connection : Testing connection to computer 'DELL-Laptop' failed: Error due to lack of resources
At line:1 char:1
+ test-connection -ComputerName DELL-Laptop
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : ResourceUnavailable: (DELL-Laptop:String) [Test-Connection], PingException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : TestConnectionException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.TestConnectionCommand

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — useful detail. This is a classic SMB/credentials issue (you can ping, but SMB auth is failing). Below is a concise, practical checklist (ordered from least‑to‑most invasive) with exact commands you can run on each machine. Follow the steps, paste back any exact error text/output you get (I’ll parse it), and I’ll tell you the next surgical step.
I’ll assume:

• MAIN‑PC = Windows 11 (192.168.1.3) — that’s where you get the “Enter network credentials” prompt.
• DELL‑LAPTOP = Windows 10 (192.168.1.71) — the target share.

Quick explanation (why this happens)

• Windows file sharing uses SMB + account authentication. If the client sends credentials the server won’t accept — you get “Enter network credentials” and logon rejected. Common causes: wrong username format (machine\user vs MicrosoftAccount\email), saved bad credentials on client, firewall or service blocking, SMB/NetBIOS discovery issues, or domain vs workgroup mismatch. Many of these are covered in forum guidance — check SMB version & sharing settings, services, firewall and credentials.

STEP 1 — Quick checks (on MAIN‑PC)

1. Clear any saved credentials (so Windows isn’t retrying a wrong one)
   • Open an elevated CMD and run:
     cmdkey /list
     cmdkey /delete:192.168.1.71
     (or remove any entry for the laptop via Control Panel → Credential Manager → Windows Credentials)
2. Try an explicit map-by-IP with explicit credentials and capture error text
   • In an elevated Command Prompt run (replace password with the actual password of the account on the laptop):
     net use \192.168.1.71\C$ /userELL-LAPTOP\glenn P@ssw0rd
     or (if the laptop account is a Microsoft account) use:
     net use \192.168.1.71\C$ /user:MicrosoftAccountyour_email@domain.com P@ssw0rd
   • Note any returned error code/text and paste it here. This command gives a clear Windows SMB error (e.g., ERROR_LOGON_FAILURE / 1326) which is easier to diagnose than the Explorer dialog. See earlier community advice to try direct-IP access.

STEP 2 — Make sure the laptop is sharing & listening (run these ON DELL‑LAPTOP)

1. Confirm Server (LanmanServer) and Workstation are running:
   • Open Admin PowerShell on the laptop and run:
     Get-Service LanmanServer, LanmanWorkstation | Format-Table Name,Status,StartType
2. Confirm SMB is listening (ports 445 / 139)
   netstat -an | findstr /i "445 139"
3. Confirm the laptop’s share exists & permissions (example for D:\ or C:\share)
   • Right‑click the shared folder → Properties → Sharing → Advanced Sharing → verify Share name & Permissions (temporarily add Everyone: Full Control to rule out ACLs).
   • Also check NTFS Security tab and make sure the user (glenn) has permissions.
4. Check discovery services so the laptop lists correctly in Network
   Get-Service fdPHost, FDResPub, SSDPSRV, upnphost | Format-Table Name,Status,StartType
   • If FDResPub (Function Discovery Resource Publication) is stopped, start & set auto:
     Set-Service -Name FDResPub -StartupType Automatic; Start-Service FDResPub
     These services publish the laptop to the network and affect visibility.

STEP 3 — Firewall & network profile (on DELL‑LAPTOP)

1. Make sure the network is Private:
   Get-NetConnectionProfile | Format-Table InterfaceAlias,NetworkCategory
2. Allow File and Printer Sharing through firewall (Private profile):
   Set-NetFirewallProfile -Profile Private -Enabled True
   Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File and Printer Sharing"

(Temporarily disabling the firewall is a test — don’t leave it off. If disabling fixes it, add the specific rules instead.)
STEP 4 — Credentials / account format gotchas

• If you log into the laptop with a Microsoft account (email), SMB authentication may require the local machine\username form or the MicrosoftAccount\email form. On MAIN‑PC the dialog “Enter network credentials” expects the server (DELL-LAPTOP) local user or domain user. Common combos that work:
  • DELL-LAPTOP\glenn (local account named glenn on the laptop)
  • MACHINE\username or DOMAIN\username (if domain)
  • MicrosoftAccountyouremail@example.com (for Microsoft accounts)
• If you want passwordless sharing, ensure “Password protected sharing” is Off on the laptop (Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Advanced sharing settings → All networks → Password protected sharing = Off). But this requires enabling Guest/insecure access settings and is less secure.

STEP 5 — If domain vs workgroup mismatch (you mentioned Workgroup)

• Domain-joined machines enforce different auth rules. If MAIN‑PC is domain-joined and DELL is workgroup, you should either create the same local username/password on both systems or use explicit credentials as above. Forum threads repeatedly recommend creating a matching local account on the server for cross‑workgroup access.

STEP 6 — SMB protocol & guest/auth settings (if still failing)

• Modern Windows prefers SMB2/3. If you have very old devices you may need SMB1, but do NOT re-enable SMB1 unless you trust your LAN. If you must, enable SMB1 client temporarily on the client only.
• If you are getting “Access Denied” because the client is attempting guest access, you might need to allow insecure guest auth (registry) — only as last resort:
  HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters → AllowInsecureGuestAuth = 1
  (Reboot; use with caution — insecure.)

STEP 7 — Check Event Viewer on DELL‑LAPTOP for failed SMB logons

• On the laptop open Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Security and filter for Event ID 4625 (failed logon). That will show the username and failure reason (bad password, restricted account type, etc.). Paste the relevant 4625 entry here and I’ll decode it.

STEP 8 — If Test‑Connection by name fails but ping by IP works

• That’s name resolution. Try:
  nbttstat -A 192.168.1.71 (from MAIN‑PC)
  and enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP on the adapter (Networking → IPv4 → Advanced → WINS tab → Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP) if SMB name resolution is failing. Also try accessing by IP: \192.168.1.71\share — this bypasses name resolution entirely.

STEP 9 — Final troubleshooting commands (paste the outputs)
Please run these and paste the outputs (from MAIN‑PC and DELL‑LAPTOP where noted):
On MAIN‑PC (run elevated PowerShell/CMD):

• net use \192.168.1.71\C$ /userELL-LAPTOP\glenn P@ssw0rd (use the real password)
• cmdkey /list
• Get-PnpDevice -Class Net | Format-Table -AutoSize
• Get-NetConnectionProfile

On DELL‑LAPTOP (run elevated PowerShell/CMD):

• Get-Service LanmanServer,LanmanWorkstation,FDResPub,fdPHost,SSDPSRV,upnphost | Format-Table Name,Status,StartType
• netstat -an | findstr /i "445 139"
• Get-SmbServerConfiguration
• (If you get a failed logon) open Event Viewer and paste the Event ID 4625 entry details (Time, Account Name, Failure Reason).

Why this sequence

• It clears stored bad credentials on the client (very common cause), verifies the server is actually listening for SMB, confirms firewall/profile and discovery settings so Windows Explorer can find and connect, and forces an explicit connection-by-IP which bypasses discovery/name problems. If credentials are the root cause we’ll see a specific SMB error via net use or Event Viewer 4625. This workflow is based on the common troubleshooting steps and forum solutions for “Enter network credentials” denied between Win10/Win11 workgroup PCs.

If you want, I can:

• Provide the exact commands to create a local matching account on the laptop (and remove it later) so you can test credential parity quickly; or
• Walk you step‑by‑step (I’ll wait while you run each command and paste the output).

Pick one: (A) You want to try the net use + clear credentials steps now (paste the net use error), or (B) You want me to give the one‑click PowerShell script to run on both machines that tests & collects the outputs above and saves them to C:\temp so you can paste them?

 

[glennpm]

Credentials cleared.
Note that I don't wish to connect with a user and password and that is how I set it up in the Network GUI, however:

net use \192.168.1.71\C$ /userELL-LAPTOP\glenn ???????
System error 67 has occurred.

The network name cannot be found. Password is hidden by ???????

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — useful info. System error 67 (“network name cannot be found”) when trying to map \192.168.1.71\C$ means the SMB share you attempted to access (the administrative C$ share) is not available to the client in the way you tried. That can be because admin shares are disabled on the laptop, the Server service isn’t listening, firewall rules block SMB ports, or SMB/guest/auth settings differ between the machines.
We’ll do a few quick checks (on both PCs) to find which of those it is, and then fix it. Please copy/paste the exact outputs you get from each command you run.
STEP A — Quick checks from MAIN‑PC (Windows 11)
1) See what shares are visible on the laptop:
net view \192.168.1.71
2) Try listing shares using PowerShell (more verbose):
Get-SmbConnection -ServerName 192.168.1.71 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
(If that errors, it’s fine — paste the error.)
3) If net view fails, try a simple test to a share you can create next:

• We’ll create a test share on the laptop (instructions in STEP B). Then from MAIN‑PC you’ll run:
  net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare

STEP B — Checks & quick fixes ON the DELL‑LAPTOP (Windows 10) — run these as Administrator
1) Are the server services running?
PowerShell (Admin):
Get-Service LanmanServer,LanmanWorkstation,FDResPub,fdPHost,SSDPSRV,upnphost | Format-Table Name,Status,StartType

• LanmanServer must be Running. If not:
  Set‑Service -Name LanmanServer -StartupType Automatic; Start‑Service LanmanServer

2) Show current shares (this tells us if C$ exists):
net share

• If you do NOT see C$ listed, admin shares are disabled. Paste the output.

3) Check whether Windows is listening on SMB ports:
netstat -an | findstr /i "445 139"

• If no lines show 0.0.0.0:445 or :::445, the Server service isn’t listening for SMB.

4) Check whether admin shares are disabled in the registry:
reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters" /v AutoShareWks

• If value = 0 admin shares are disabled. To re-enable (if it is 0) run (Admin PowerShell/CMD):
  reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters" /v AutoShareWks /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
  Restart the Server service:
  net stop lanmanserver
  net start lanmanserver

5) Check SMB server configuration (PowerShell):
Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Format-List
Paste the output. It tells us whether SMBv1/2 is enabled and other server behaviors.
6) Firewall rules for File and Printer Sharing (make sure allowed on Private network):
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File and Printer Sharing" | Format-Table DisplayName,Enabled,Profile
If rules are Disabled for the Private profile, enable them:
Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File and Printer Sharing"
7) If you want a quick, secure test share (no admin share)
Create a folder and share it so we can test simple access without admin credentials:
On the laptop (run as Admin):
mkdir "C:\PublicShare"
icacls "C:\PublicShare" /grant "EveryoneOI)(CI)F" /T
net share PublicShare="C:\PublicShare" /grant:Everyone,full
Then from MAIN‑PC test:
net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare
If that connects without credentials, we know SMB listening+firewall+share permissions are OK and the issue is admin shares or credential mapping specifically.
STEP C — Credentials & passwordless sharing notes
You said you set “share without passwords” on the laptop. A few cautions:

• Turning off password‑protected sharing allows guest/anonymous access only if Windows is configured to allow insecure guest auth — modern Windows restricts this for security. If you want true passwordless access across Win11/Win10, the easiest secure approach is to create identical local accounts (same username/password) on both machines and use those credentials.
• If you must allow guest access, Windows requires enabling insecure guest (registry) on the client and server — I can show that but it lowers security.

STEP D — If net view shows shares but Explorer still prompts for credentials and rejects them
Try explicit mapping from MAIN‑PC using a local account on the laptop (if you have local account glenn on the laptop):
net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare /userELL-LAPTOP\glenn
If that still gets rejected, check the laptop Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Security for Event ID 4625 (failed logon). Paste the 4625 details (Account Name, Failure Reason) and I’ll decode the exact authentication failure (wrong password, logon type not allowed, etc.).
STEP E — If NetBIOS/Name resolution problems

• You can always access by IP as above \192.168.1.71\share. If you want the laptop to appear automatically in Explorer’s Network neighborhood, ensure Function Discovery Resource Publication (FDResPub) is Running on the laptop:
  Set-Service -Name FDResPub -StartupType Automatic; Start-Service FDResPub

WHAT I NEED YOU TO DO NOW
1) On MAIN‑PC run:
net view \192.168.1.71
(net use \192.168.1.71\C$ /userELL-LAPTOP\glenn <password>) — you already tried and got error 67 (paste the exact net view output first)
2) On DELL‑LAPTOP run (paste all outputs):

• net share
• reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters" /v AutoShareWks
• Get-Service LanmanServer,LanmanWorkstation,FDResPub,fdPHost,SSDPSRV,upnphost | Format-Table Name,Status,StartType
• netstat -an | findstr /i "445 139"
• Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Format-List

3) If you prefer immediate secure passwordless access for personal LAN use:

• Create an identical local user glenn with same password on both PCs (I can give the one‑line command), or create the PublicShare folder and test mapping that (net share PublicShare... as above).

Paste the outputs and I’ll give the exact next action (fix registry, enable firewall rule, re‑enable admin shares, or show how to create identical local user).

 

[glennpm]

PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> test-connection -ComputerName DELL-LaptopGet-SmbConnection -ServerName 192.168.1.71 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Test-Connection : A parameter cannot be found that matches parameter name 'ServerName'.
At line:1 char:60
+ ... ection -ComputerName DELL-LaptopGet-SmbConnection -ServerName 192.168 ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : InvalidArgument: ) [Test-Connection], ParameterBindingException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : NamedParameterNotFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.TestConnectionCommand

******

PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare
System error 67 has occurred.

The network name cannot be found.

********

Another reply will be coming from DELL-LAPTOP
PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare
System error 67 has occurred.

The network name cannot be found.

PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network>
>> net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare
System error 67 has occurred.

The network name cannot be found.

PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare /userELL-LAPTOP\glenn
System error 67 has occurred.

The network name cannot be found.

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — the error 67 (“The network name cannot be found”) strongly suggests the SMB server on the laptop is not reachable at the SMB share layer (not a pure IP/connectivity problem — you can ping — but the file‑sharing service/ports or the share name is not available).
Two immediate things I want you to do (one on each machine). I’ll give exact copy/paste commands. Run them and paste the outputs back here (or the parts that show errors) and I’ll tell you the next action.
Important: when you run net use or type a UNC path you must use TWO backslashes at the start (\192.168.1.71\ShareName). Many net use examples fail when only one slash is used — your outputs show single‑slash attempts earlier. I’ll use the correct form below.
A — On the DELL‑LAPTOP (the Windows 10 machine — run these in an elevated PowerShell / Admin CMD)
1) Confirm the Server & Workstation services are running:
Get-Service LanmanServer, LanmanWorkstation | Format-Table Name,Status,StartType -AutoSize
2) Confirm the laptop is listening on SMB ports:
netstat -an | findstr /i "LISTENING" | findstr /i "445 139"
(If nothing shows for port 445, the SMB server is not listening.)
3) Show existing SMB shares:
Get-SmbShare
4) Show SMB server configuration:
Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Format-List
5) Show firewall rules for file sharing and the rule state:
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File and Printer Sharing" | Format-Table Name,Enabled,Profile,Direction -AutoSize
6) If you do not yet have a test share, create one (temporary and safe):
Run these three lines (they create C:\PublicShare accessible to Everyone — only while testing; we can tighten later):
New-Item -Path "C:\PublicShare" -ItemType Directory -Force
icacls "C:\PublicShare" /grant EveryoneOI)(CI)F /T
New-SmbShare -Name "PublicShare" -Path "C:\PublicShare" -FullAccess Everyone
Then run:
net share
and paste that output.
B — On the MAIN‑PC (Windows 11, caller) — run these and paste outputs
1) Test TCP connectivity to the SMB port:
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.71 -Port 445
2) Clear any mapped drives / stale creds and list credentials:
net use * /delete /y
cmdkey /list
3) Try the correct net use (explicit UNC with double backslashes) — do this after the test share is created on the laptop:
net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare
If it prompts for credentials, enter them; if you want to test without credentials, try:
net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare /user:Guest ""
(That will only work if Password protected sharing is Off and Guest permitted — we prefer the Everyone share approach above)
4) If net use still gives error 67, run:
nbtstat -A 192.168.1.71
and
ping -a 192.168.1.71
C — What I’m looking for in your pasted outputs

• On the laptop: whether LanmanServer is Running, whether netstat shows LISTENING on 0.0.0.0:445 (or :::445), whether Get-SmbShare lists PublicShare, and whether File & Printer Sharing firewall rules are Enabled for Private profile.
• On the main PC: whether Test-NetConnection to port 445 has TcpTestSucceeded = True. If False → firewall or server not listening. Also whether net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare succeeds or returns a different error code (e.g. 53 vs 67 vs 5 vs 1326) — each means something different.

D — Quick fixes if tests show problems

• If Server service is Stopped on the laptop:
  Set-Service -Name LanmanServer -StartupType Automatic; Start-Service LanmanServer
• If port 445 is not LISTENING:
  Check LanmanServer is running; if it is, check SMB server config: ensure SMB server is enabled (Get-SmbServerConfiguration) and that SMB1 is not forcibly disabled if using legacy devices (we prefer SMB2/3).
• If Firewall is blocking:
  On the laptop, enable File & Printer Sharing for Private:
  Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -NetworkCategory Private
  Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File and Printer Sharing"
• If name resolution is the issue (nbtstat shows nothing), use the IP UNC (\192.168.1.71\PublicShare) — that bypasses NetBIOS/SMB name resolution.

E — If you want passwordless browsing (notes)
You said you want no user/password. Easiest and secureish approach for a small home network:

• Create the Everyone share (as above) and turn Off Password protected sharing on the laptop (Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Advanced sharing settings → All networks → Password protected sharing = Off). That plus the Everyone share allows access without credentials. If still blocked, the firewall or Guest/anonymous access policy may be preventing anonymous SMB — in that case we can create a local matching simple user on both systems (same username & password) and use that to map.

F — After you run the commands
Paste outputs from the DELL‑LAPTOP checks first (LanmanServer state, netstat listening, Get-SmbShare, firewall rules). If everything looks correct on the laptop we’ll focus on the main PC Test‑NetConnection output. If anything returns an error, paste the error text.
If you want I can provide the exact commands to remove the temporary PublicShare afterwards and restore ACLs.
Go ahead and run the DELL‑LAPTOP commands I listed, paste their outputs (or the parts that show errors) and I’ll tell you the shortest fix.

 

[glennpm]

PS C:\Windows\system32> Get-Service LanmanServer,LanmanWorkstation,FDResPub,fdPHost,SSDPSRV,upnphost | Format-Table Name,Status,StartType

Name Status StartType
---- ------ ---------
fdPHost Running Automatic
FDResPub Running Automatic
LanmanServer Running Automatic
LanmanWorkstation Running Automatic
SSDPSRV Running Manual
upnphost Stopped Manual


PS C:\Windows\system32> net share

Share name Resource Remark

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C$ C:\ Default share
D$ D:\ Default share
E$ E:\ Default share
F$ F:\ Default share
G$ G:\ Default share
IPC$ Remote IPC
ADMIN$ C:\Windows Remote Admin
Users C:\Users
The command completed successfully.

PS C:\Windows\system32>
>> netstat -an | findstr /i "445 139"
TCP 0.0.0.0:445 0.0.0.0:0 LISTENING
TCP 10.14.0.2:139 0.0.0.0:0 LISTENING
TCP 10.14.0.2:57019 139.177.195.101:4222 SYN_SENT
TCP 192.168.1.71:139 0.0.0.0:0 LISTENING
TCP [::]:445 [::]:0 LISTENING
PS C:\Windows\system32> reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters" /v AutoShareWks


ERROR: The system was unable to find the specified registry key or value.
PS C:\Windows\system32>
>> Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Format-List


AnnounceComment :
AnnounceServer : False
AsynchronousCredits : 64
AuditSmb1Access : False
AutoDisconnectTimeout : 15
AutoShareServer : True
AutoShareWorkstation : True
CachedOpenLimit : 10
DurableHandleV2TimeoutInSeconds : 180
EnableAuthenticateUserSharing : False
EnableDownlevelTimewarp : False
EnableForcedLogoff : True
EnableLeasing : True
EnableMultiChannel : True
EnableOplocks : True
EnableSecuritySignature : False
EnableSMB1Protocol : False
EnableSMB2Protocol : True
EnableStrictNameChecking : True
EncryptData : False
IrpStackSize : 15
KeepAliveTime : 2
MaxChannelPerSession : 32
MaxMpxCount : 50
MaxSessionPerConnection : 16384
MaxThreadsPerQueue : 20
MaxWorkItems : 1
NullSessionPipes :
NullSessionShares :
OplockBreakWait : 35
PendingClientTimeoutInSeconds : 120
RejectUnencryptedAccess : True
RequireSecuritySignature : False
ServerHidden : True
Smb2CreditsMax : 2048
Smb2CreditsMin : 128
SmbServerNameHardeningLevel : 0
TreatHostAsStableStorage : False
ValidateAliasNotCircular : True
ValidateShareScope : True
ValidateShareScopeNotAliased : True
ValidateTargetName : True



PS C:\Windows\system32> Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File and Printer Sharing" | Format-Table DisplayName,Enabled,Profile

DisplayName Enabled Profile
----------- ------- -------
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Session-In) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Session-Out) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (SMB-In) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (SMB-Out) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Name-In) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Name-Out) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Datagram-In) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Datagram-Out) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (Spooler Service - RPC) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (Spooler Service - RPC-EPMAP) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv4-In) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv4-Out) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv6-In) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv6-Out) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Session-In) True Private
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Session-Out) True Private
File and Printer Sharing (SMB-In) True Private
File and Printer Sharing (SMB-Out) True Private
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Name-In) True Private
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Name-Out) True Private
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Datagram-In) True Private
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Datagram-Out) True Private
File and Printer Sharing (Spooler Service - RPC) True Private File and Printer Sharing (Spooler Service - RPC-EPMAP) True Private File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv4-In) True Private File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv4-Out) True Private File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv6-In) True Private File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv6-Out) True Private File and Printer Sharing (LLMNR-UDP-In) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (LLMNR-UDP-Out) False Domain
File and Printer Sharing (LLMNR-UDP-Out) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (LLMNR-UDP-In) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv6-Out) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv6-In) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv4-Out) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request - ICMPv4-In) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (Spooler Service - RPC-EPMAP) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (Spooler Service - RPC) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Datagram-Out) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Datagram-In) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Name-Out) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Name-In) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (SMB-Out) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (SMB-In) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Session-Out) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (NB-Session-In) True Public
File and Printer Sharing (LLMNR-UDP-Out) True Private
File and Printer Sharing (LLMNR-UDP-In) True Private


PS C:\Windows\system32>
PS C:\Windows\system32> Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File and Printer Sharing"
PS C:\Windows\system32>
PS C:\Windows\system32> mkdir "C:\PublicShare"


Directory: C:\


Mode LastWriteTime Length Name
---- ------------- ------ ----
d----- 8/18/2025 2:03 PM PublicShare


PS C:\Windows\system32> icacls "C:\PublicShare" /grant "EveryoneOI)(CI)F" /T
processed file: C:\PublicShare
Successfully processed 1 files; Failed processing 0 files
PS C:\Windows\system32> net share PublicShare="C:\PublicShare" /grant:Everyone,full
PublicShare was shared successfully.

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — your laptop-side outputs are excellent: LanmanServer is running, SMB is listening on 445/139, the test share was created successfully, and File & Printer Sharing rules for the Private profile are enabled. That means the server side is basically correct. The remaining problem is client-side access (MAIN‑PC) or how credentials/guest access are being handled.
A few quick reminders before the steps:

• Use double backslashes in UNC paths: \192.168.1.71\PublicShare (not \192.168.1.71\PublicShare). A single leading backslash will give ERROR 67.
• You created PublicShare & granted Everyone full control — good. Now we need to either connect as a user (recommended) or enable truly passwordless sharing (less secure).

Please try these in order. I include the exact commands to paste; run them and paste back any output or error.
STEP A — From MAIN‑PC: try a proper UNC and test TCP/SMB reachability
1) In File Explorer address bar type (or paste) exactly:
\192.168.1.71
Do you see the list of shares (PublicShare, Users, IPC$ etc)? If yes, double‑click PublicShare. Note the exact prompt / error if one appears.
2) In an elevated PowerShell on MAIN‑PC run:
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.71 -Port 445
Paste the full output. We want to confirm TCP 445 is reachable (it should be, since you can ping and server is listening).
STEP B — If Explorer still prompts for credentials / rejects them
You have three safe options — try them in this order.
Option B1 — Quick (recommended) — create a short‑lived matching local account on the laptop and use that to connect
On DELL‑LAPTOP (Admin PowerShell), create a specific share user and give it access to the public share:

create local user (change password to something you’ll type)​

net user shareuser P@ssw0rd12345 /add

add user to Users (not admins)​

net localgroup Users shareuser /add

give NTFS rights​

icacls "C:\PublicShare" /grant "DELL-LAPTOP\shareuserOI)(CI)F" /T

give SMB share rights​

Grant-SmbShareAccess -Name "PublicShare" -AccountName "DELL-LAPTOP\shareuser" -AccessRight Full -Force
Now on MAIN‑PC map the share using that account (it will prompt for password — enter P@ssw0rd12345 or what you set):
net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare /userELL-LAPTOP\shareuser P@ssw0rd12345
If that works, we’ve confirmed SMB/auth is fine; you can keep this account, or delete it later.
Option B2 — If you truly want passwordless anonymous access (less secure)
You must turn off Password Protected Sharing and allow Guest/anonymous access — not recommended on networks you don’t fully control.
On DELL (GUI):

• Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Change advanced sharing settings → All networks → Turn off password protected sharing.
  Also ensure the following policy (Local Security Policy) allows anonymous access:
• Run secpol.msc → Local Policies → Security Options → "Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only" — set to Disabled (less secure).
  And enable guest/anonymous sharing (messy, I can give exact registry/policy steps if you want — but I don’t recommend this).

Option B3 — If you prefer to keep passwordless in Explorer without a user

• Ensure PublicShare has Everyone access (you already did) and Password Protected Sharing is Off on DELL. Then from MAIN‑PC try \192.168.1.71\PublicShare (it may still prompt; use Cancel — sometimes Explorer tries cached credentials).

STEP C — If logon is still rejected / you see Event Viewer audit entries
On DELL open Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Security and find Event ID 4625 (failed logon) at the time you attempted connection. Copy the details (Account Name, Account Domain, Logon Type, Failure Reason / Status). Paste that here and I’ll decode the exact rejection reason.
STEP D — Check network profile on both PCs (must be Private for sharing rules to apply easily)
On both machines (run as Admin PowerShell):
Get-NetConnectionProfile
If either shows NetworkCategory = Public, set it to Private (replace InterfaceAlias as reported):
Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -NetworkCategory Private
STEP E — Extra test from MAIN‑PC using explicit credentials and correct UNC syntax
If you prefer testing without creating a new user:
net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare /userELL-LAPTOP\glenn
Then when prompted, type the glenn account password on the laptop. If that fails with "logon failure", paste the error and we’ll diagnose (likely wrong account name form — if 'glenn' is a Microsoft account you must use MicrosoftAccount\email as user).
STEP F — Clean up (after success)
If you used Option B1 test account and want to remove it later:
On DELL (Admin):
net user shareuser /delete
Remove-SmbShare -Name "PublicShare" -Force # only if you want to remove the share
Why this will solve it

• ERROR 67 earlier was likely either malformed UNC or SMB server unreachable. Your DELL outputs show SMB listening and share created, so the failing point is most likely authentication or cached bad credentials on MAIN‑PC — the matching local user approach bypasses passwordless/guest complexities and is the fastest reliable test.

Tell me which route you want to try now:

• Create temporary test user on DELL (B1) — I can paste the 4 commands again so you can copy/paste. (Fastest and secure.)
• Try passwordless (I’ll give steps & warnings) — less secure.
• Or run Test‑NetConnection on MAIN‑PC and paste the output so I can verify port reachability.

If you want me to paste the create‑user commands again, say “Create test user now” and I’ll provide them.

 

[glennpm]

No luck from Main_PC

I only want Option B3,; no user no password

On DELL

Log Name: Security
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing
Date: 8/18/2025 2:22:22 PM
Event ID: 4625
Task Category: Logon
Level: Information
Keywords: Audit Failure
User: N/A
Computer: DELL-Laptop
Description:
An account failed to log on.

Subject:
Security ID: NULL SID
Account Name: -
Account Domain: -
Logon ID: 0x0

Logon Type: 3

Account For Which Logon Failed:
Security ID: NULL SID
Account Name: glenn
Account Domain: MAIN-PC

Failure Information:
Failure Reason: Unknown user name or bad password.
Status: 0xC000006D
Sub Status: 0xC000006A

Process Information:
Caller Process ID: 0x0
Caller Process Name: -

Network Information:
Workstation Name: MAIN-PC
Source Network Address: 192.168.1.3
Source Port: 47307

Detailed Authentication Information:
Logon Process: NtLmSsp
Authentication Package: NTLM
Transited Services: -
Package Name (NTLM only): -
Key Length: 0

This event is generated when a logon request fails. It is generated on the computer where access was attempted.

The Subject fields indicate the account on the local system which requested the logon. This is most commonly a service such as the Server service, or a local process such as Winlogon.exe or Services.exe.

The Logon Type field indicates the kind of logon that was requested. The most common types are 2 (interactive) and 3 (network).

The Process Information fields indicate which account and process on the system requested the logon.

The Network Information fields indicate where a remote logon request originated. Workstation name is not always available and may be left blank in some cases.

The authentication information fields provide detailed information about this specific logon request.
- Transited services indicate which intermediate services have participated in this logon request.
- Package name indicates which sub-protocol was used among the NTLM protocols.
- Key length indicates the length of the generated session key. This will be 0 if no session key was requested.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing" Guid="{54849625-5478-4994-a5ba-3e3b0328c30d}" />
<EventID>4625</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>0</Level>
<Task>12544</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8010000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2025-08-18T18:22:22.5995111Z" />
<EventRecordID>49173</EventRecordID>
<Correlation ActivityID="{50894b18-104e-0002-ea4b-89504e10dc01}" />
<Execution ProcessID="916" ThreadID="1020" />
<Channel>Security</Channel>
<Computer>DELL-Laptop</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="SubjectUserSid">S-1-0-0</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectUserName">-</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectDomainName">-</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectLogonId">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="TargetUserSid">S-1-0-0</Data>
<Data Name="TargetUserName">glenn</Data>
<Data Name="TargetDomainName">MAIN-PC</Data>
<Data Name="Status">0xc000006d</Data>
<Data Name="FailureReason">%%2313</Data>
<Data Name="SubStatus">0xc000006a</Data>
<Data Name="LogonType">3</Data>
<Data Name="LogonProcessName">NtLmSsp </Data>
<Data Name="AuthenticationPackageName">NTLM</Data>
<Data Name="WorkstationName">MAIN-PC</Data>
<Data Name="TransmittedServices">-</Data>
<Data Name="LmPackageName">-</Data>
<Data Name="KeyLength">0</Data>
<Data Name="ProcessId">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="ProcessName">-</Data>
<Data Name="IpAddress">192.168.1.3</Data>
<Data Name="IpPort">47307</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — the Event 4625 confirms MAIN‑PC was trying to authenticate as MAIN‑PC\glenn (i.e. it sent the client’s local credentials) and the Windows‑10 box rejected them. Since you want true passwordless (Option B3), we need to allow anonymous/guest access for that share. That requires a few targeted changes on the Windows‑10 machine (server) and one change on the Windows‑11 client to allow insecure guest access. Important: this reduces security on those machines — I’ll show how to revert when you’re done.
Do these steps in order. I give exact commands to paste/run (run PowerShell or CMD as Administrator). After each block, test \192.168.1.71\PublicShare from MAIN‑PC and report results.
Step 0 — confirmation (MAIN‑PC)
Make sure when you test you use the correct UNC with two backslashes:
\192.168.1.71\PublicShare
(Explorer or Win+R → paste that)
If you still get an error, continue below.
Step 1 — On DELL‑LAPTOP (the server) — enable anonymous access for the share
1) Ensure Password Protected Sharing is OFF (GUI):

• Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Change advanced sharing settings → All networks → Turn off password protected sharing.

2) Make the share accessible to anonymous (add the share name to NullSessionShares):
Open an elevated PowerShell on DELL and run:

add the PublicShare name to NullSessionShares (allows anonymous access to that share)​

$regPath = 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters'

read current value (may be absent)​

$current = (Get-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name NullSessionShares -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).NullSessionShares
if ($current) { $new = $current + 'PublicShare' } else { $new = @('PublicShare') }
Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name NullSessionShares -Value $new

check result​

Get-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name NullSessionShares
3) Ensure the Guest account is enabled (Guest must be active to accept anonymous):
In elevated CMD / PowerShell on DELL run:
net user Guest /active:yes
4) Ensure the share & NTFS perms are Everyone Full (you already did; repeat to be sure):
icacls "C:\PublicShare" /grant EveryoneOI)(CI)F /T
Grant-SmbShareAccess -Name "PublicShare" -AccountName "Everyone" -AccessRight Full -Force
5) Restart Server service so changes apply:
Restart-Service -Name LanmanServer
Step 2 — On MAIN‑PC (the client) — allow insecure guest logons
By default Windows blocks insecure guest SMB logons. Enable it (only on MAIN‑PC):
Open elevated CMD and run (or PowerShell):
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters" /v AllowInsecureGuestAuth /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
Then restart the Workstation service or reboot MAIN‑PC:
Restart-Service -Name LanmanWorkstation
Step 3 — On DELL ensure firewall allows anonymous SMB (you already enabled File & Printer Sharing for Private profile). Re-run just to be sure:
On DELL (Admin PowerShell):
Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -NetworkCategory Private
Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File and Printer Sharing"
Step 4 — Test from MAIN‑PC (Admin PowerShell/CMD)
1) Clear any cached creds:
cmdkey /delete:192.168.1.71
(you can also use Credential Manager GUI to remove saved entries)
2) Access the share:

• In Explorer address bar or Run box type:
  \192.168.1.71\PublicShare
• Or map via CMD (should not prompt if anonymous allowed):
  net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare

If that connects OK, you have anonymous access.
Step 5 — Verify on DELL that an anonymous session occurred
On DELL check Security log for a successful anonymous logon or check sessions:
Get-SmbSession | Format-Table -AutoSize

additionally, check Security Event 4624 (successful logon) around the test time​

If access still fails, paste the precise error you see on MAIN‑PC (Explorer dialog text) and paste any new Event Viewer entries (4625 or 4624) from DELL right after retry — that lets me narrow it to a remaining policy/ACL block.
Security note & cleanup

• This makes the share available anonymously. If you only need this temporarily, afterwards revert:
  • On MAIN‑PC: remove AllowInsecureGuestAuth by setting to 0 or deleting the value:
    reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters" /v AllowInsecureGuestAuth /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
    Restart-Service -Name LanmanWorkstation
  • On DELL: remove the PublicShare from NullSessionShares (set NullSessionShares to whatever it was before, or delete the NullSessionShares value), disable Guest account:
    net user Guest /active:no
    Restart-Service -Name LanmanServer

If you prefer the more secure route later: create a dedicated local account on the DELL and use that from MAIN‑PC (works without enabling insecure guest auth). I can provide the commands for that too.
One more safety note

• Some ISPs / routers may have SMB filtering — but your netstat and services show SMB is listening, so this is purely Windows auth/guest policy. The NullSessionShares + AllowInsecureGuestAuth combination is the standard way to allow fully anonymous shares between Windows workgroup machines when you must avoid credentials.

Do you want me to paste these commands as a single block for DELL and a single block for MAIN‑PC so you can copy/paste and run now?

 

[glennpm]

Yes please, "Do you want me to paste these commands as a single block for DELL and a single block for MAIN‑PC so you can copy/paste and run now?"

 

[ChatGPT]

Great — below are two ready-to-run command blocks (one for DELL-LAPTOP, one for MAIN-PC). Run each block in an elevated PowerShell window on the named computer. I include a short verification step and also reversible "cleanup" commands you can run later to restore secure default behavior.
Important warnings before you run:

• These steps enable anonymous (guest) access to the share — this reduces security. Only do this temporarily while you need passwordless access on a trusted LAN. After you confirm it works, I strongly recommend reverting (I provide revert commands).
• Run the DELL block on the Windows 10 laptop (DELL-LAPTOP). Run the MAIN block on the Windows 11 machine (MAIN-PC).
• Copy/paste each block as a whole into an Admin PowerShell prompt.

===============================================================================
DELL-LAPTOP — Run this as Administrator (PowerShell)
This enables anonymous access for the PublicShare, ensures Guest is enabled, sets ACLs, and restarts the Server service.

--- Begin DELL-LAPTOP commands (run in Admin PowerShell) ---​

1) Add PublicShare to NullSessionShares (anonymous share list)​

$regPath = 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters'
$current = (Get-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name NullSessionShares -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).NullSessionShares
if ($null -eq $current) {
$new = @('PublicShare')
} else {

ensure we don't duplicate entries​

$currentArray = @($current)
if ($currentArray -notcontains 'PublicShare') { $new = $currentArray + 'PublicShare' } else { $new = $currentArray }

}
Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name NullSessionShares -Value $new

2) Ensure Guest account is enabled​

net user Guest /active:yes

3) Ensure the folder exists and Everybody has full NTFS rights​

New-Item -Path 'C:\PublicShare' -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null
icacls 'C:\PublicShare' /grant 'EveryoneOI)(CI)F' /T | Out-Null

4) Ensure the SMB share exists and grant Everyone full access​

if (-not (Get-SmbShare -Name 'PublicShare' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
New-SmbShare -Name 'PublicShare' -Path 'C:\PublicShare' -FullAccess Everyone -Force
} else {
Grant-SmbShareAccess -Name 'PublicShare' -AccountName 'Everyone' -AccessRight Full -Force
}

5) Make sure LanmanServer is running (restart to apply registry changes)​

Set-Service -Name LanmanServer -StartupType Automatic
Restart-Service -Name LanmanServer

6) Quick verify: list shares and SMB config​

net share
Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Format-List EnableSMB1Protocol,EnableSMB2Protocol,NullSessionShares

--- End DELL-LAPTOP commands ---​

After running, try from MAIN‑PC: \192.168.1.71\PublicShare (Explorer) or
net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare
If that succeeds, we can revert the insecure settings later.
===============================================================================
MAIN-PC — Run this as Administrator (PowerShell / CMD)
This enables the client to accept insecure guest SMB sessions and clears cached creds, then attempts a connect.

--- Begin MAIN-PC commands (run in Admin PowerShell / Admin CMD) ---​

1) Enable insecure guest SMB on the client (allow Windows to use anonymous guest auth)​

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters" /v AllowInsecureGuestAuth /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

2) Restart the Workstation service so registry change takes effect​

Restart-Service -Name LanmanWorkstation -Force

3) Remove any cached credentials for the laptop (so Explorer won't auto-send a bad cached login)​

cmdkey /delete:192.168.1.71 2>$null

4) Try to access the share (will not prompt for credentials if anonymous access works)​

Use Explorer:​

Start-Process "\192.168.1.71\PublicShare"

Or try mapping from the command line:​

net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare /persistent:no

If you want to check SMB port connectivity first, run:​

Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.71 -Port 445

--- End MAIN-PC commands ---​

If you still get an Explorer credential prompt after these steps, paste the exact dialog text or the error returned by net use.
===============================================================================
If it works — how to confirm & what to do next

• From MAIN‑PC, Explorer should open the PublicShare folder and you can read/write files.
• On DELL‑LAPTOP, confirm the anonymous session (optional):
  Get-SmbSession | Format-Table -AutoSize

===============================================================================
Revert the insecure changes (recommended once you're done)
Run these to remove guest allowances and restore default security.
DELL-LAPTOP revert (Admin PowerShell):

1) Remove PublicShare from NullSessionShares​

$regPath = 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters'
$current = (Get-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name NullSessionShares -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).NullSessionShares
if ($current) {
$arr = @($current) | Where-Object { $_ -ne 'PublicShare' }
if ($arr.Length -gt 0) { Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name NullSessionShares -Value $arr } else { Remove-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name NullSessionShares -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue }
}

2) Disable Guest account (optional)​

net user Guest /active:no

3) (Optional) Remove the PublicShare share if you created it and want to delete it​

Remove-SmbShare -Name 'PublicShare' -Force

(Optional) remove the folder if desired​

Remove-Item -Path 'C:\PublicShare' -Recurse -Force​

4) Restart server​

Restart-Service -Name LanmanServer
MAIN-PC revert (Admin PowerShell / CMD):

Remove AllowInsecureGuestAuth​

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters" /v AllowInsecureGuestAuth /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
Restart-Service -Name LanmanWorkstation -Force
===============================================================================
Security note (again)

• The above opens an anonymous share on DELL and allows the client to accept insecure guest SMB auth. Use only on trusted LANs and revert when finished. The safer long-term method: create a dedicated local account on the DELL and use it from MAIN‑PC (or create identical local username/password on both and use that). I can show that method if you prefer.

If this still fails, please paste:

• Exact output of Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.71 -Port 445 (from MAIN-PC), and
• Any new 4625 or 4624 event log entries from the laptop after your attempts.

Run the DELL block, then the MAIN block, then tell me the result (or paste the Test-NetConnection output). I’ll be here to adjust.

 

[glennpm]

From DELL
Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Try the new cross-platform PowerShell Install PowerShell on Windows, Linux, and macOS - PowerShell

PS C:\Windows\system32> $regPath = 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters'
>> $current = (Get-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name NullSessionShares -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).NullSessionShares
>> if ($null -eq $current) {
>> $new = @('PublicShare')
>> } else {
>> $currentArray = @($current)
>> if ($currentArray -notcontains 'PublicShare') { $new = $currentArray + 'PublicShare' } else { $new = $currentArray }
>> }
>> Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name NullSessionShares -Value $new
>> New-Item -Path 'C:\PublicShare' -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null
>> icacls 'C:\PublicShare' /grant 'EveryoneOI)(CI)F' /T | Out-Null
>> if (-not (Get-SmbShare -Name 'PublicShare' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
>> New-SmbShare -Name 'PublicShare' -Path 'C:\PublicShare' -FullAccess Everyone -Force
>> } else {
>> Grant-SmbShareAccess -Name 'PublicShare' -AccountName 'Everyone' -AccessRight Full -Force
>> }
>> Set-Service -Name LanmanServer -StartupType Automatic
>> Restart-Service -Name LanmanServer
>> net share
>> Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Format-List EnableSMB1Protocol,EnableSMB2Protocol,NullSessionShares
Set-ItemProperty : RegistryKey.SetValue does not support arrays of type 'Object[]'. Only Byte[] and String[] are
supported.
At line:9 char:1
+ Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name NullSessionShares -Value $new
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: ) [Set-ItemProperty], ArgumentException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : System.ArgumentException,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.SetItemPropertyCommand



Share name Resource Remark

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADMIN$ C:\Windows Remote Admin
C$ C:\ Default share
D$ D:\ Default share
E$ E:\ Default share
F$ F:\ Default share
G$ G:\ Default share
IPC$ Remote IPC
PublicShare C:\PublicShare
Users C:\Users
The command completed successfully.

Name ScopeName AccountName AccessControlType AccessRight
---- --------- ----------- ----------------- -----------
PublicShare * Everyone Allow Full
Restart-Service : Cannot stop service 'Server (LanmanServer)' because it has dependent services. It can only be
stopped if the Force flag is set.
At line:18 char:1
+ Restart-Service -Name LanmanServer
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (System.ServiceProcess.ServiceController:ServiceController) [Restart-S
ervice], ServiceCommandException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : ServiceHasDependentServices,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.RestartServiceCommand





EnableSMB1Protocol : False
EnableSMB2Protocol : True
NullSessionShares :



PS C:\Windows\system32>

 

[glennpm]

From MAIN
Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Install the latest PowerShell for new features and improvements! Migrating from Windows PowerShell 5.1 to PowerShell 7 - PowerShell

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> "D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network\Network_Info.bat"
D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network\Network_Info.bat
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> cd "D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network"
PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> Network_Info.bat
Network_Info.bat : The term 'Network_Info.bat' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or
operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try
again.
At line:1 char:1
+ Network_Info.bat
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (Network_Info.bat:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException


Suggestion [3,General]: The command Network_Info.bat was not found, but does exist in the current location. Windows PowerShell does not load commands from the current location by default. If you trust this command, instead type: ".\Network_Info.bat". See "get-help about_Command_Precedence" for more details.
PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> ".\Network_Info.Bat"
.\Network_Info.Bat
PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> ".\Network_Info.Bat" | query.txt
query.txt : The term 'query.txt' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable
program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:24
+ ".\Network_Info.Bat" | query.txt
+ ~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (query.txt:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> ".\Network_Info.Bat" > query.txt
PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> NBTSTAT -A DELL-LAPTOP
NBTSTAT : The term 'NBTSTAT' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1
+ NBTSTAT -A DELL-LAPTOP
+ ~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (NBTSTAT:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException
PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> test-connection -ComputerName DELL-LaptopGet-SmbConnection -ServerName 192.168.1.71 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue Test-Connection : A parameter cannot be found that matches parameter name 'ServerName'. At line:1 char:60 + ... ection -ComputerName DELL-LaptopGet-SmbConnection -ServerName 192.168 ... + ~~~~~~~~~~~ + CategoryInfo : InvalidArgument: ) [Test-Connection], ParameterBindingException + FullyQualifiedErrorId : NamedParameterNotFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.TestConnectionCommand PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare System error 67 has occurred. The network name cannot be found. PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> >> net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare System error 67 has occurred.
The network name cannot be found.

PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare /userELL-LAPTOP\glenn
System error 67 has occurred.

The network name cannot be found.

PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network>
>> Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.71 -Port 445


ComputerName : 192.168.1.71
RemoteAddress : 192.168.1.71
RemotePort : 445
InterfaceAlias : Ethernet 3
SourceAddress : 192.168.1.3
TcpTestSucceeded : True



PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> \192.168.1.71\PublicShare
\192.168.1.71\PublicShare : The module '\192.168.1.71\.psd1' could not be loaded. For more information, run 'Import-Module \192.168.1.71\.psd1'.
At line:1 char:1
+ \192.168.1.71\PublicShare
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (\192.168.1.71\PublicShare:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : CouldNotAutoLoadModule

PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> cmdkey /delete:192.168.1.71\PublicShare

CMDKEY: Element not found.
PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> cmdkey /delete:192.168.1.71
CMDKEY: Element not found. PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare System error 67 has occurred. The network name cannot be found. PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> net use \\192.168.1.71\PublicShare Enter the user name for '192.168.1.71': reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters" /v AllowInsecureGuestAuth /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f Invalid user name. Examples of valid user names are "username@domain" and "domain\username". Enter the user name for '192.168.1.71': ^X PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters" /v AllowInsecureGuestAuth /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f The operation completed successfully. PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> >> Restart-Service -Name LanmanWorkstation -Force PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network>
>> cmdkey /delete:192.168.1.71 2>$null

CMDKEY: Element not found.
PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare /persistent:no
System error 67 has occurred.

The network name cannot be found.

PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network> Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.71 -Port 445


ComputerName : 192.168.1.71
RemoteAddress : 192.168.1.71
RemotePort : 445
InterfaceAlias : Ethernet 3
SourceAddress : 192.168.1.3
TcpTestSucceeded : True



PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network>
PS D:\Reference\Windows & Brave Tips\Network>

 

[ChatGPT]

Good — thanks for the DELL outputs. You’re almost there. Two things from your DELL output are important:

• SMB is listening and the share PublicShare was created successfully (netstat showed 0.0.0.0:445 and net share shows PublicShare).
• The PowerShell attempt to set NullSessionShares failed because Set-ItemProperty doesn’t accept a PowerShell object array the way I used it earlier (the registry value must be written as a REG_MULTI_SZ). The share exists, but the NullSessionShares registry value didn’t get written (so anonymous sessions won’t be allowed yet).

I’ll give two small, safe command blocks you can copy/paste — one to run on the DELL laptop (to write the NullSessionShares correctly and finish the server side), and one to run on MAIN‑PC (to allow insecure guest auth so Explorer can connect anonymously). After running them, test \192.168.1.71\PublicShare from MAIN‑PC (use Explorer address bar or Run). I also include one‑line revert commands to restore secure defaults when you’re done.
Important again: these steps allow anonymous (guest) access — lower security. Run them only on a trusted LAN and revert after you finish.

---

A — DELL‑LAPTOP (run as Administrator in PowerShell)
This uses the .NET Registry API to set NullSessionShares as a multi‑string value (works where Set-ItemProperty failed), enables Guest, ensures the share & ACLs are set, and restarts the Server service.
Copy the entire block and paste into Admin PowerShell on the DELL machine:

--- Start (DELL - Admin PowerShell) ---​

1) Set NullSessionShares properly (REG_MULTI_SZ) so anonymous access to PublicShare is allowed​

$regKey = [Microsoft.Win32.Registry]::LocalMachine.OpenSubKey("SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters", $true)
$regKey.SetValue("NullSessionShares", @("PublicShare"), [Microsoft.Win32.RegistryValueKind]::MultiString)
$regKey.Close()

2) Ensure Guest account enabled​

net user Guest /active:yes

3) Ensure PublicShare folder and NTFS/SMB permissions​

New-Item -Path 'C:\PublicShare' -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null
icacls 'C:\PublicShare' /grant 'EveryoneOI)(CI)F' /T | Out-Null
if (-not (Get-SmbShare -Name 'PublicShare' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
New-SmbShare -Name 'PublicShare' -Path 'C:\PublicShare' -FullAccess Everyone -Force
} else {
Grant-SmbShareAccess -Name 'PublicShare' -AccountName 'Everyone' -AccessRight Full -Force
}

4) Restart lanmanserver to pick up registry changes (use Force if needed)​

Restart-Service -Name LanmanServer -Force

5) Verify​

net share
Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Format-List EnableSMB1Protocol,EnableSMB2Protocol,NullSessionShares

--- End (DELL) ---​

If the SetValue line errors (rare), paste the exact error text. If the Restart-Service gives “dependent services” errors, it’s OK — the share and registry should already be active; just continue to the MAIN‑PC steps.

---

B — MAIN‑PC (run as Administrator in PowerShell / CMD)
This allows the client to accept insecure guest SMB sessions and clears any cached credentials, then attempts to open/map the share.
Copy the block and paste into Admin PowerShell on MAIN‑PC:

--- Start (MAIN-PC - Admin) ---​

1) Allow insecure guest auth (client)​

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters" /v AllowInsecureGuestAuth /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

2) Restart Workstation service so it picks up the change​

Restart-Service -Name LanmanWorkstation -Force

3) Remove any cached creds for the laptop​

cmdkey /delete:192.168.1.71 2>$null

4) Test SMB port connectivity to be safe​

Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.71 -Port 445 | Format-List *

5) Try open the share in Explorer (or map via command line)​

Explorer:​

Start-Process "\192.168.1.71\PublicShare"

CLI map (non-persistent):​

net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare /persistent:no

--- End (MAIN-PC) ---​

If Test-NetConnection returns TcpTestSucceeded = True, the TCP path is ok. If Start-Process opens the share folder, you’re done. If net use returns an error, paste the error output.

---

C — Quick checks if it still fails
If Explorer still prompts or net use fails, gather these and paste them:
On MAIN‑PC (Admin PowerShell/CMD):
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.71 -Port 445
cmdkey /list
net use \192.168.1.71\PublicShare
On DELL (Admin PowerShell):
Get-SmbSession | Format-Table -AutoSize
Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters' -Name NullSessionShares -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Format-List EnableSMB1Protocol,EnableSMB2Protocol,NullSessionShares

Also check Security log for 4624/4625 around the attempt time​

If you get authentication errors in Event Viewer (4625), paste the Account Name / Account Domain / Failure Reason lines (you pasted a 4625 earlier showing MAIN‑PC\glenn was tried, so the client was still sending its username instead of anonymous) — that helps fine‑tune why Explorer still attempts credentials instead of anonymous.

---

D — Revert (recommended once finished)
When you no longer need anonymous access, revert these changes.
DELL (Admin PowerShell) revert:

Remove NullSessionShares​

$regKey = [Microsoft.Win32.Registry]::LocalMachine.OpenSubKey("SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters", $true)
$regKey.DeleteValue("NullSessionShares", $false)
$regKey.Close()

Disable Guest account (optional)​

net user Guest /active:no

Remove or tighten share (optional)​

Remove-SmbShare -Name 'PublicShare' -Force
Remove-Item -Path 'C:\PublicShare' -Recurse -Force
Restart-Service -Name LanmanServer -Force
MAIN‑PC revert (Admin PowerShell / CMD):
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanWorkstation\Parameters" /v AllowInsecureGuestAuth /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
Restart-Service -Name LanmanWorkstation -Force

---

Why the NullSessionShares step failed earlier
Your PowerShell Set-ItemProperty call attempted to write a PowerShell array into the registry. The LanmanServer NullSessionShares key must be a REG_MULTI_SZ (an array of strings in the Windows registry). The .NET SetValue call used above writes the proper REG_MULTI_SZ; that’s why I switched to the .NET registry method in the DELL block.

---

Next step for you
1) Run the DELL block as Admin PowerShell (the .NET SetValue line will write NullSessionShares correctly).
2) Run the MAIN block as Admin (sets AllowInsecureGuestAuth and tries the share).
3) Test \192.168.1.71\PublicShare in Explorer.
4) Paste any error output (Test‑NetConnection result, net use error text, or any new Event 4625/4624 lines) if it still fails.
When this works I’ll remind you how to revert everything to restore secure defaults. If you’d rather avoid guest auth entirely I’ll show the secure alternative (create a dedicated local account on DELL and use that from MAIN‑PC) — it’s safer and works without changing registry security settings.
Tell me when you’ve run the DELL block and MAIN block and what the Explorer / net use result shows.

 

[ChatGPT]

Thanks — this is very helpful. You’ve got SMB listening and the share created on the DELL (good). The remaining problem is the client side access from MAIN‑PC (Windows 11). Error 67 often means “network name cannot be found” but, since port 445 is reachable, it’s usually a client/SMB name/credential issue (or a client-side policy blocking anonymous/guest access).
Two fast tests and then three targeted attempts (try them in order). I’ll give exact commands you can copy/paste. After each attempt tell me the exact output or dialog text — that will let me zero in.
A — Quick sanity checks (MAIN‑PC)
Run these in an elevated PowerShell / CMD on MAIN‑PC:
1) Verify SMB port still reachable
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.1.71 -Port 445
(You already showed TcpTestSucceeded = True — good.)
2) Verify Workstation service is running on MAIN‑PC
Get-Service LanmanWorkstation | Format-List Name,Status,StartType
3) Try listing shares (this is a clearer test than mapping)
net view \192.168.1.71

• If that shows the list of shares (PublicShare, Users, IPC$), then Explorer/credentialing is the problem.
• If it fails, paste the exact error text.

B — Try an explicit anonymous map (MAIN‑PC)
You want passwordless access. Try to map as the Guest account (some Windows setups accept an empty password for Guest once AllowInsecureGuestAuth and Guest enabled are set).
Run on MAIN‑PC (Admin CMD):
net use Z: \192.168.1.71\PublicShare /user:Guest "" /persistent:no
Notes:

• That uses the Guest user with an empty password. If the command returns success, open Z: in Explorer.
• If you get an error, paste the full error text.

If the above fails with ERROR 67, try listing shares again (net view) and paste output.
C — If anonymous mapping fails, try checking from a different client (quick cross‑check)
If you have another device (Ubuntu that’s on the same LAN), run from Ubuntu terminal:
sudo apt install smbclient -y # if needed
smbclient -L //192.168.1.71 -N # -N = don't use a password (anonymous)
If smbclient lists shares successfully, the DELL share is reachable anonymously and the issue is MAIN‑PC specific (client policy/registry). Paste the smbclient output.
D — If you still get ERROR 67 from MAIN‑PC: check client name resolution and UNC syntax
Make sure you always use double backslashes when calling shares from CMD/Explorer:
\192.168.1.71\PublicShare
(You accidentally used single backslashes earlier — that produces error 67.)
E — If listing shares worked but Explorer still prompts for credentials
If net view \192.168.1.71 worked but Explorer still asks for credentials and rejects them:
1) Clear all cached credentials on MAIN‑PC:
cmdkey /delete:192.168.1.71 2>$null

Or open Control Panel → Credential Manager → remove any entries for the other computer.​

2) Re-try anonymous map (guest) from B.
F — If nothing works: collect two small outputs and paste them back
On DELL‑LAPTOP (PowerShell Admin) paste the outputs of:
Get-SmbShare | Format-Table Name,Path,ScopeName,ContinuouslyAvailable
Get-SmbServerConfiguration | Format-List NullSessionShares,AutoShareWorkstation,AutoShareServer,EnableSMB1Protocol,RejectUnencryptedAccess,ServerHidden
On MAIN‑PC (Admin PowerShell) paste:
net view \192.168.1.71
Get-SmbClientConfiguration | Format-List * # shows client settings such as AllowInsecureGuestAuth
Get-NetConnectionProfile
That will show whether MAIN‑PC’s SMB client is configured to disallow insecure guests or whether MAIN‑PC thinks the network is Public (which can block file sharing).
G — If you want to keep it secure (recommended long term)
If anonymous access must be avoided, the secure approach is to create a dedicated local account on DELL with a password and use that account from MAIN‑PC (or create matching local username/password on both). If you later want that, tell me and I’ll paste the commands.
H — Revert instructions (when you’re done)
When you no longer need passwordless access, revert these (DELL):

• net user Guest /active:no
• remove PublicShare from NullSessionShares registry and Remove‑SmbShare if desired
  And on MAIN, remove AllowInsecureGuestAuth if you added it.

---

Next step for you now
1) Run net view \192.168.1.71 on MAIN‑PC and paste the result.
2) If net view lists nothing or errors, run the explicit anonymous map command:
net use Z: \192.168.1.71\PublicShare /user:Guest "" /persistent:no
Paste the exact output/error.
If both tests fail, run smbclient -L //192.168.1.71 -N from another machine (Ubuntu) and paste output (if available). I’ll interpret and give the exact minimal change needed.
You’re almost there — the server side looks fine (listening and shared). We just need the right client behavior (anonymous or credentials). Paste the two outputs above and I’ll give the one-line fix.