Here is short description how I get my network sharing work with Windows 10 v1803.

(I haven't never use Homegroup so I start directly from step 2.)

1. Only for those PC's which are still using Windows 10 v1709 or older:

    Disconnect from non-existing Homegroup if you have used it.

2.1. All PC's: Check Network profile and Network discovery and Share settings

Sometimes this selection to change between Private and Public network profile is missing from Settings / Networks page. In that case profile must change by PowerShell. Right Click Windows Icon (Start button) and open PowerShell (Admin) and use following commands to get interface index number and change profile to Private (or Public):

Get-NetConnectionProfile

Set-NetConnectionProfile -InterfaceIndex <index number> -NetworkCategory Private

2.2. All PC's: Check Network Discovery and Share settings

https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/f7770a4f-8e37-48c9-a436-2fe4e8e12ca0?platform=QnA

3. All PC's: Set Start type to Automatic and start following services that allow PC's to be visible on Network. (Reboot.)

   Push Win Key and type "Services", locate these services.

   - Function Discovery Provider Host

   - Function Discovery Resource Publication

   - SSDP Discovery

• UPnP Device Host

4. Setting shares.

4.1. Check your current shares.

Open file explorer and type \localhost to address bar to see what shares are made in this computer.

![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/d9a66593-0cd1-499b-908f-36a6854f27c1?platform=QnA

4.2. Create new share (here I use folder "Test"). 

(Setting "Turn on sharing so anyone …" in Step 2.2.  make share for folders in C:\Users automatic.)

Folder is now shared and Network share path is: \PCNAME\Test

4.3. Safe way to share folders.

Create user account to all users on your network to whom you want to give access to shared resources.

Use same user ID and password which they have on their own computers.

Right click "Test" and open Properties and select Security tab to see current settings.

Default security settings are shown in next picture.

Those settings allow access to shared folder(s) only for those users who have user ID on that computer.

4.4.  Sharing folder "Test" to Everyone" (Very unsafe setting! Think carefully do you need to select this!)

If you want that everyone have access to that share then:

• Click Edit
• On Permission dialog click Add.
• New dialog open and you can add "Everyone" to that list https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/c1f22caa-ec01-4f49-8c76-01b18ed8061f?platform=QnA

• When back to Permissions dialog select which rights you want to give to "Everyone".

Now anyone on your home network should have access to shared folders without credentials or having user account on your computer.

5. Now when click Network on File Explorer all your PC's should be visible in Computer and Network sections.

This should be cover the essentials to sharing your data over local network. This share is not limited to C:\Users folder, every folder can be handled like shown in steps 4.

Now your PC's should visible, but if you start getting error message "Windows cannot access \PC_NAME" you need to go continue to step 6.

6. There is some bug on Windows 10 1803 and because of that PC's can't always connect to each other by Name.

If you get error "\PCNAME path not found" you can solve this by adding your PC's and IP-addresses to hosts file.

6.1 New routers (or modems) may have feature to remember which IP-addresses are assign to each device, but with older routers (or modems) you have to check that your router or modem is set give predefined IP-addresses linked to each PC's MAC-address.

This way PC's will get same IP-address every time when it ask IP-address form router (or modem) DHCP-server.

There should be some kind of list of PC names with MAC addresses and given IP-addresses of each connected PC. 

Picture show that list on my router. In my case with old router I had to select manual assignment  in each line. 

6.2. Add all PC's IP-addresses and Names to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts file. 

You can check your IP-address and PC's name by opening command prompt (CMD)

For IP-address type command: ipconfig you get line like this: IPv4 Address ………. 192.168.100.101

For PC name type command:  hostname

Take down IP-address and Names of each PC and add those to that hosts file.

To edit copy hosts file to some another location, right click it and use notepad to edit and save it. Replace original file with edited file. Because hosts file is located on system folder replace will ask administrators rights to perform it.

localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.

# 127.0.0.1             localhost

# ::1                        localhost

192.168.100.101  PC1   # Ethernet  

   192.168.100.102  PC2   # Ethernet

   192.168.100.202  PC2   # Wi-Fi

Hello,

Everything seems to work great up to the point I have to deal

with another version of Windows. Could you tell me what the 

command would be to change from public/private I am interfacing

Windows 10 with Windows 8

Thanks

Hi all,

Just to update on the "changing the names to lower case" - this 100% fixed my issues I was having...! This is after also trying all the very comprehensive (thank you to everyone, this thread is VERY useful!) steps before this post... 

We have 14 Dell "show" laptops here (we are an Event Production Company - Sound / Lighting / Video etc), all were named in capitals similar to "ON-DELL-13501" the number referring to the barcode of the item for ease... we network them on each event to file transfer and do away with the need for USB sticks and it's loads quicker too etc 

My issue was also that I couldn't make shortcuts to them with IPs (this DOES work though ie "\192.168.0.34\Users\Show\Desktop" as a direct link is perfect and goes straight where I want it to go). They also have to not be on staic addresses because they are used with 6 or more "video racks", each have an Apple Airport Express, and each Express only gives out 10 IP addresses (to fit in with all our other equipment on site so that nothing ever clashes)...

Everything was working in the file browser when I used the actual IP addresses they were on, but not with clicking their icon in the network page. They also used to be part of a home group with our 8 old show computers, which now don't exist so I think part of the issue may have been it linking back to them and just general home group issues with it now not existing...

But yes, changing the names to "On-Dell-00000" cured all that, thanks UBiZ Furniture! Such a bizarre fix!!

It's almost as if when they were capitals it was clashing, so didn't have a clean signal... so every now and then it let the laptop be seen and connected too, but then a second later it clashed again and stopped working... very odd!!

All our Dell laptops are all on Windows 10 Pro / 10.0.17134 / Build 17134... and the original issue or not connecting appeared in 1603 and is obviously still there... let's hope it gets cured soon, but for now... I'm back up and running again!

Thanks again all, 

Chris

After reading the original post and implementing the changes, I can now access the other computer on our simple wireless network.  Previously I could see the other computer in the network list, but I could not access it.  However, it's only day one - who knows what it may be like to tomorrow!

After going through these steps I still had one computer that could see the others but would get a connection error on any attempt to open a share. Attempting to map one of the locations as a drive gave a more useful error and this policy change worked to allow access.

All 5 computers running 1803 and only this one had issues.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4046019/guest-access-smb2-disabled-by-default-in-windows-10-server-2016

If you want to enable insecure guest access, you can configure the following Group Policy settings:

Computer configuration\administrative templates\network\Lanman Workstation

"Enable insecure guest logons"

Note By enabling insecure guest logons, this setting reduces the security of Windows clients.

Dear Pauli O ,

   I will try it.

Thank you

chalotorn