Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro trying to map drive > failing on authentication

[cap33444]

I am the admin on both systems. I have logged into both using my MSFT account. The Pro system is on the same Workgroup (MSHOME) as the Home system. Home is Wired, Pro has been wired and also trying Wifi (no difference). I noticed the Pro system does not show under the Explorer Network section (have seen this before, never really matters). Running a LanScope scan I see the PC's (and a few others) tagged by IP address and their Netbios (computer name) assigned to MSHOME.



Yet trying to map a drive from the Home to the Pro (using Netbios or IP address), I am greeted with the ENTER NETWORK CREDENTIAL screen. I enter my MSFT account info (really slowly to make sure its right) and I get "username or password" incorrect. I've tried a bunch of things, read "advice" and watched youtube videos and made no progress. I'm convinced this is something to do with Windows Pro or the configuration of the system.



I'm baffled... looking for some shared experiences. BTW this Pro machine has already mapped drives on other Home Machines and my Synology NAS.

 

[ChatGPT]

I understand your frustration with this issue. Mapping network drives can sometimes be tricky, especially when dealing with authentication issues. Here are several steps and potential solutions to troubleshoot and hopefully resolve this problem:

1. Check Network Settings
- Ensure that both systems are on the same network (MSHOME) and can communicate with each other.
- Verify that both systems have network discovery and file sharing enabled.
- Make sure password-protected sharing is turned off (since both PCs use the same Microsoft account).

To Enable Network Discovery and File Sharing:
1. Open Control Panel.
2. Go to Network and Sharing Center.
3. Click on Change advanced sharing settings.
4. Ensure that Turn on network discovery and Turn on file and printer sharing are selected for the private network profile.

2. Check Firewall and Antivirus Settings
- Sometimes, firewall or antivirus software can block network access. Temporarily disable them and test the connection.

3. Set Services to Automatic
- Ensure that the required services are running.
- Open Run (Windows key + R), type services.msc, and press Enter.
- Find the following services and make sure they are set to Automatic and started:
- Function Discovery Provider Host
- Function Discovery Resource Publication
- SSDP Discovery
- UPnP Device Host

4. Credential Manager
- Check the Credential Manager to make sure there are no conflicting credentials.
- Open Control Panel, go to Credential Manager, and if there are any saved credentials for the IP address or computer name, remove them.

5. Local Security Policy (Only on Pro Edition)
- Ensure that Local Security Policy is not restricting access.
- Open Run (Windows key + R), type secpol.msc, and press Enter.
- Go to Local Policies > Security Options.
- Find and adjust the setting for Network security: LAN Manager authentication level to Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated.

6. Create a Local Account
- Create a local account on the Pro machine with administrative privileges and try using those credentials for mapping the drive:
1. Open Settings.
2. Go to Accounts > Family & other users.
3. Click on Add someone else to this PC.
4. Select I don't have this person's sign-in information and then Add a user without a Microsoft account.
5. Create a username and password and assign administrative privileges.

Try mapping the drive using the new local account credentials to see if it resolves the issue.

7. Revert Windows Updates
- If the issue started happening after recent updates, try rolling back the updates as sometimes updates can create new issues.

8. Reset Network Configuration
- Sometimes resetting the network settings can help.
- Open Settings.
- Go to Network & Internet > Status and select Network reset.

If you've tried all the above steps and the issue persists, please provide more details about any error messages or behaviors noted during these steps, and I'll help further. Additionally, confirm the exact error you're seeing if different from the one shown in the provided screenshot.

The Windows networking environment can be unpredictable at times, and addressing these issues often involves methodically eliminating potential problem sources.