Local private network issue.

[parisienne17]

They are many weeks I've been struggling with sharing issue on my network and as it is said "a picture is worth a thousand words" so here what is happening and what I don't understand.

Does someone have a clue ?

Of course, files & folders sharing is set, all on the same workgroup, network discovery ON, network is of private mode with DHCP and the issue occurs whatever AV & firewall are ON or OFF.

The odd thing is that if I can't ping desktop from laptop by IP, it works in netbios but in both cases I just can't connect a desktop shared folder from laptop, using IP or netbios name.

 

[ChatGPT]

It sounds like you are having a difficult time with Windows networking. Let's break this down and see if we can find a solution.
Firstly, it's crucial to ensure that all items are configured correctly. Generally, these are the options we need to confirm are set properly:
- Confirm that all computers are in the same workgroup.
- Make sure Network Discovery is turned on.
- Confirm that file and print sharing is turned on.
- Make sure you're on a 'Private network'. If you're on public, the default settings might prevent sharing.
- Check the status of the 'Function Discovery Resource Publication' and 'Function Discovery Provider Host' services – they should be set to Automatic.
- Turn off password protected sharing.
- Make sure the correct IP range is set if you use Windows firewall - it should align with your router's DHCP IP range.

After verifying these settings, if you still can't connect to the shared folder from the laptop, I would recommend trying a few troubleshooting steps:
1. Try to temporarily disable any antivirus software and firewall on both computers.
2. Try to access the shared folder by typing \\IP address\SharedFolderName in the Windows Explorer address bar. Replace "IP address" with the IP address of the desktop and "SharedFolderName" with the name of the shared folder.
3. You mentioned that the laptop can't ping the desktop by IP. Did you check if laptop's firewall settings allow ICMP Echo Requests? If not, it could be the reason blocking the ping.
4. Try resetting the TCP/IP Stack of both computers. Open command prompt as administrator, type "netsh int ip reset", then restart the computer.
5. Try to use the hosts file to map the desktop’s name to its IP address.

Always verify that you have made changes on both the laptop and the desktop, as the settings need to mirror each other for successful file sharing. Please do let us know how things go.

 

[parisienne17]

- All computers are on the same net segment.
- Network discovery is ON.
- Files & print sharing is ON.
- Network is private on both computers.
- 'Function Discovery Resource Publication' and 'Function Discovery Provider Host zre on automatic mode.
- (I'll try sharing password protected OFF)
- Obviously firewall IP range is OK as the access issue is partial and DHCP provided.

- I've tried AV & Firewall ON and OFF without success.
- Accessing the shared folder by explorer address bar don't and can't give any result as it is unabled to reach the target.
- I'll try the ICMP thing.
- The same for resetting IP stack.
- And the host file.

 

[parisienne17]

Addendum : this windows 10 set up is a fresh one without any OS tempering. All that was done was OS & software installations.

Just for testing purposes, I've booted to an old windows 7 partition. No issue at all, connecting a desktop shared folder from laptop was like a breeze.

 

[parisienne17]

A new step on the way of understanding what's happening.

Desktop device has a shared folder, so it should be displayed in explorer in the network section.
It is, BUT... Trying to access it by double clic gives me "Network error, windows is unable to access the resource....".

Any idea ? To be through, I don't use sharing wizard, I've never did since Xp, I use advanced settings.

 

[parisienne17]

I've narrowed it down ; the culprit is... Portmaster.

I've installed it to really block network access for some applications obviously bypassing defender firewall. It is so diligent that it blocks everything to simple sharing.

Next step : find the right setting.