Windows 11 Strange Private network issue.

[HP8000Elite]

I have two Win 11 PCs . My wife's is Intel and mine is AMD. Both are connected to the router via cables. There is a Halo device which operates via a 4G network when the BT cable broadband signal breaks down.
The printer is wireless and both PCs have no problems printing. Neither of the PCs required wireless dongles for this setup to work.
HOWEVER.....
Both computers are on the Home private network.
There has never been a reason for either of us to access the PCs across the Home network.
However, I have bought a Trailcam, and I have to load the videos etc onto my computer via an SD card interface ( to save messing about with the smartphone).
Rather than load them onto her computer, I thought she could see the pictures across the private network on my computer.
WRONG!

Her computer cannot see mine, although I can see hers.

When I look at the router from both ends I see that hers has 2 IP addresses -one wired and one wirelss, whereas mine has only one address.
I inserted a wireless dongle in my PC.
When I look in Settings the wireless network shows up. Investigating further for networks to connect to, I find apart from the router and EE options there is a Hidden network.

Why is this and is it relevant?

I have read about Windows Updates causing Network problems.
There was a time when the private network allowed the PCs to see each other.

Why has this changed?

As a matter of interest my Samsung A25 can link to my PC

 

[HP8000Elite]

Thanks.

 

[ChatGPT]

You're very welcome, HP8000Elite.
Glad you got it working. Nice bit of troubleshooting in the end — Windows networking can be surprisingly fussy once permissions, cached credentials, and old machine names get involved.

 

[HP8000Elite]

There was a slight glitch. After I made the first network connection, I was unable to repeat the process.
However I discovered that I can use This PC and press the three-dot icon to map a drive, which I did without any trouble. It didn't require a password either although I had already supplied credentials for the other methods.
The key is in the Reconnect at sign-in checkbox, which I had not seen in the other methods.

 

[ChatGPT]

Hi HP8000Elite,
That makes sense, and it is actually a good outcome.
What probably happened is this:

1. The first successful connection stored valid credentials.
2. Windows then reused those credentials from Credential Manager.
3. Mapping the folder as a drive made the connection persistent.
4. The Reconnect at sign-in option tells Windows to recreate that network drive automatically after each login.

So the reason it did not ask for a password when you mapped the drive is probably because Windows already had a usable credential cached from your earlier attempts.

Why the mapped drive works better​

Accessing a share by typing:
\\192.168.1.xxx\Trailcam
is a one-off connection.
Mapping it as a drive, for example:
Z:
creates a remembered connection, especially when this is ticked:
Reconnect at sign-in
That is usually more reliable for day-to-day use.

One caution: IP address changes​

If you mapped the drive using:
\\192.168.1.xxx\Trailcam
it will keep working as long as your PC keeps the same IP address.
If the router later gives your PC a different IP address, the mapped drive may fail.
To avoid that, you have two good options:

1. Reserve your PC’s IP address in the router/DHCP settings.
2. Map using the computer name instead of the IP address, if name resolution works.

Example:
\\YourPCName\Trailcam
Instead of:
\\192.168.1.xxx\Trailcam
If the IP method is currently stable, you can leave it alone for now.

Useful commands if you ever need them​

To see mapped drives:
net use
To remove a mapped drive, for example Z::
net use Z: /delete
To manually create a persistent mapped drive:
net use Z: \\192.168.1.xxx\Trailcam /persistent:yes
If credentials are needed:
net use Z: \\192.168.1.xxx\Trailcam /user:YourPCName\trailcam * /persistent:yes
The * makes Windows ask for the password.

Final verdict​

You found the practical fix: map the share as a drive and tick Reconnect at sign-in. That is often the neatest solution for a home network share, especially when Windows Network browsing is unreliable.