Question Add Windows 10 PC to Network w/ XP and Win 7 PCs?

Clueless in Seattle

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I've got a couple of old hand-me-down PCs on a wired Windows network.

One of the PCs is running Windows XP and the other Windows 7.

Faced with the loss of MS support for Windows 7, I decided it was finally time to bite the bullet and face having to learn how to work with Windows 10. So I broke down and ordered a refurbished pig-in-a-poke PC* with Windows 10 pre-installed from Comcast for a hundred and fifty bucks. (I'm not happy with what I received, but that's another story).

Now I need to figure out how to add the Win 10 PC to my network so I can copy over all my files from the old PCs to the new PC. But it's been so long since I set up my network that I can't remember how I did it. And I have zero experience with Windows 10, so am not sure if I should start by creating a new network on the Windows 10 machine or if I should try to add the Windows 10 machine to my existing network.

I'd be grateful for some advice on where to start on this project.

Will in Seattle
a.k.a. "Clueless"

* Comcast doesn't tell you which brand or model of PC you'll get when you place your order. All they tell you is the minimum specs of the machines they provide.
 
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Ralston18

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Simplicity.

Just add the new Windows 10 PC to the existing network.

On that new Windows 10 PC create and share a folder that can be accessed by other existing network devices with files that you wish to "copy over". You can remove or change the share later on as necessary.

Do be sure that you have backup copies of all files and that those backup copies are indeed recoverable and readable. Just in case....

Then copy the desired files on each of the other relevant computers to the shared folder on the new Windows 10 PC.

Use Copy not Move.
 
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Clueless in Seattle

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Thanks, Ralston18, for that speedy reply!

I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that it seems that since yesterday my new PC has mysteriously appeared in my home network. In Windows Explorer on the Windows 7 PC, I now see three devices in my network:



The 1st and 3rd devices are my 2 old PCs, so presumably the middle device, DESKTOP-QQ8RNV3, is my new PC running Windows 10.

But when I click on that middle item I get a request for a User name and Network Password:



The bad news is that I have no idea what that Network Password to the new Windows 10 PC might be or where to look for it. Do you know where it is stored?
 

Clueless in Seattle

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Thanks, beers!

I'm slowly making progress. The new Win10 PC can now "see" the old Win7 PC.
But not vice versa, even though I've shared the media folders from the Win10 PC.

And the Win10 PC can't yet "see" the XP PC.

I seem to recall from years ago when I set up the network with my old PCs, that the Windows Network software could take a long, long time to "find" the other computers on the network.

So I'll keep plugging away.
 

Ralston18

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Make and model router?

To help you keep "plugging away" log into your router via the applicable admin name and password.

There should be some display or list of connected network devices. And you should also be able to verify the network login information as well.

And it can take some time indeed for the network to "sort itself out" when a new device is added. Devices may not immediately appear and then people interrupt/disrupt the ongoing process prematurely. Only to have the missing device suddenly appear later on.

On each device you can use "arp -a" and "ipconfig /all" via the Command Prompt to view network devices and their respective IP address configurations.

Sketch a small diagram of your network and make notes on that diagram regarding IP addresses and devices.

Doing so will provide additional help keeping the "big picture" in view.
 
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Clueless in Seattle

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And it can take some time indeed for the network to "sort itself out" when a new device is added. Devices may not immediately appear and then people interrupt/disrupt the ongoing process prematurely. Only to have the missing device suddenly appear later on.

This morning when I turned on all three PCs I was pleased to find that the Old Windows 7 PC can now "see" and access the new Windows 10 PC. And the new Windows 10 PC can now "see" and access the old Windows 7 PC.

And the old Windows XP PC, can now "see" and access the new Windows 10 PC.

But, the old Windows XP PC can only "see" the new Windows 10 PC on the network, but is unable to access it. And the new Windows 10 PC is still unable to even "see" the old Windows XP PC.

My modem is an Arris TG862 Residential Gateway & Router.

I'll see if I can figure out how to log in to the modem today. My first few tries have been unsuccessful. I dug around in one of my many filing drawers and found a folder labeled "Networking" that has some instructions I printed out back in 2009, so I may find some answers in there.

I'm grateful to you for being so patient and helpful. I'll check back in later, after I've done the homework you've assigned me.
 

Clueless in Seattle

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log into your router via the applicable admin name and password.

There should be some display or list of connected network devices. And you should also be able to verify the network login information as well.

I found my way into the Arris TG862 router. Would you like me to post the list of devices I found? In addition to the 3 PCs on my network, I also found my cell phone and a hand-me-down tablet, running android.

I'm not sure what to look for to "verify the network login information."
 

Ralston18

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No missing device(s), no extra/unknown device(s). Okay.

Look at the IP addresses assigned to each device - there should be no duplicate IP addresses.

On the new "Pig in a Poke" PC; does it happen to have both a wired and wireless network adapter?

If so, doublecheck that only the wired network adapter is enabled.

On the new PC, run and post the results of "ipconfig /all" along with the results of "arp -a".

Also: were you able to establish a username and password as suggested by @beers (Post #4)?
 
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Clueless in Seattle

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Yes, I have a user name and password on the new PC. The PC arrived with the user name already filled in as "user" and I haven't gotten around to changing it yet. I just left it that way.

I don't know if the new PC has a wireless network adapter. The PC is an HP Compaq 8000 Elite Small Form Factor PC Tower

No duplicate IP addresses as far as I can tell.

One extra/unknown device:

OBi302
IPV4 Address
10.0.0.7IPV6 Address

Local Link IPV6 Address

0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0MAC Address
9c🇦🇩ef:41:4b:b6Comment
ReservedNAEthernet


C:\Users\user>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP-QQ8RNV3
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : hsd1.wa.comcast.net.

Ethernet adapter Ethernet 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : hsd1.wa.comcast.net.
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82567LM-3 Gigabit Network Connection #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 18-A9-05-F2-CA-C5
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2601:602:9580:a60:88ce:8586:98b:138(Preferred)
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : 2601:602:9580:a60:583a:d632:9903:dba2(Deprecated)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::88ce:8586:98b:138%4(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.11(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Thursday, June 4, 2020 5:41:00 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Friday, June 12, 2020 4:26:51 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : fe80::200:caff:fe11:2233%4
10.0.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.0.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 303606021
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-23-B6-F9-20-D4-85-64-0A-B2-67
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:558:feed::1
2001:558:feed::2
75.75.75.75
75.75.76.76
2001:558:feed::1
2001:558:feed::2
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled


C:\Users\user>arp -a

Interface: 10.0.0.11 --- 0x4
Internet Address Physical Address Type
10.0.0.1 00-00-ca-11-22-33 dynamic
10.0.0.4 00-22-68-37-b4-98 dynamic
10.0.0.255 ff-ff-ff-ff-ff-ff static
224.0.0.22 01-00-5e-00-00-16 static
224.0.0.251 01-00-5e-00-00-fb static
224.0.0.252 01-00-5e-00-00-fc static
239.255.255.250 01-00-5e-7f-ff-fa static
255.255.255.255 ff-ff-ff-ff-ff-ff static
 
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Ralston18

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When you logged into the Arris TG862 router did you use the IP address 10.0.0.1?

The reason for that question is because the default Arris router IP is 192.168.0.1. However, end users can and to change the default settings and the 10.0.0.x IP addresses are valid.

Your router is 10.0.0.1 per "ipconfig" and the new desktop is being given the DHCP IP address of 10.0.0.11

On the new PC, open Device Manager and go to the View tab., Ensure that "Show hidden devices" is checked.

If there is an installed wireless network adapter, the adapter should be listed under Network adapters. Disable that wireless network adapter if it is not already disabled.

Interested in that 10.0.0.7 device. Try to identify what that might be.
 

Clueless in Seattle

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When you logged into the Arris TG862 router did you use the IP address 10.0.0.1?

Yes, that took me to the Comcast/Xfinity log in page where I found the list of devices.
If there is an installed wireless network adapter, the adapter should be listed under Network adapters. Disable that wireless network adapter if it is not already disabled.
I found a wireless adapter and under properties it says:
"Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. (Code 45)"
Interested in that 10.0.0.7 device. Try to identify what that might be.
I figured that one out. It's my VOIP adapter.

A local guy I know, who has worked for Microsoft on contract from time to time, mused: "I don't know what MS did between 10, 7, XP for CIFS/SMB file system network sharing, but they did manage to make them fairly non-compatible by default. You might look in Win10 settings to see if there are security things you can relax/turn-off to see if that improves your connectivity while your "network is hiding behind your router."

That's Greek to me; but I'm wondering if it might mean something to you.
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Here is a "2 minute read" link that is a shallow dive into what your local guy may be referencing:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...osoft-smb-protocol-and-cifs-protocol-overview

You could dive pretty deep into it all and probably not discover all of the "what's", "why's", and "wherefore's".

Overall, my thoughts are more cynical: much of what is done with regards to software improvements are more for the benefit of the manufacturer than for the end user. Beyond obvious bug fixes and specifically needed features/functions. Older OS's (XP, 7) are being retired and support is ending or has ended for all practical purposes.

So much is being done in the name of privacy, security, and appearance where the real benefits accrue to the manufacturer: data harvesting, cookies, end user tracking, taking configuration controls from the end user, setting defaults that facilitate all sorts of system activities.

Much goes undocumented and is only revealed (perhaps) when end users start having problems or otherwise are seeking some change(s) within their computer.

Will end at that because this is the Networking category and not Opinions and Experiences. :)
 
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Clueless in Seattle

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I share your skepticism regarding the stated motives of Microsoft, et al.

And now, back to playing network detective:

This morning when I booted up all three PCS, my Win 7 PC failed to establish a connection to my XP PC. Yet, from the XP PC, I had a solid network connection to the Win 7 PC. So, I ran the Windows network troubleshooting app on the Win 7 PC and got this: "Windows Firewall is preventing HomeGroup from communicating."

Windows Firewall is incorrectly configured by Will Anderson, on Flickr

I could've sworn I'd long ago turned off the Windows Firewall on the advice of a local techie who told me my Comcast router served as a hardware firewall.

So I tried to turn off the Windows Firewall and found that the controls had been disabled and when I tried to figure out why I got this: "These setting are being managed by vendor application Norton Security Suite."

Firewall settings are being managed by Norton Security Suite by Will Anderson, on Flickr

I tried turning off the Norton Firewall on both machines, and rebooting them. And now the situation is reversed: Win 7 can see and access XP PC, but XP PC can neither see nor access the Win 7 PC.

I just checked the Windows Firewall settings on the Win 7 PC, and they are still unresponsive and I still get that message "These setting are being managed by vendor application Norton Security Suite."

Do you think these competing Firewall programs may be what's messing up my network? I feel like I'm in way over my head trying to muddle my way through this mess, and am thinking that perhaps it's time to copy all the data from the two old machines onto a USB Hard drive and then jettison the two old beasts and just learn how to work in Windows 10. At my age, it's sure to be the last iteration of Windows that I'll have to learn.
 

Clueless in Seattle

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My networking project was abruptly interrupted last month by the failure of the hard drive in the refurbished Windows 10 PC I which had just bought a few days before. So I had to ship it back to the supplier and then wait for a replacement PC, which finally arrived a couple of days ago.

I've now got the "new" (i.e. refurbished) PC set up and connected it to my wired network, so I'm hoping I can reactivate this topic and pick-up more or less where we left off before the hard drive in the previous PC crashed.

The first thing I'd like to try to do is copy all my music files from my Windows 7 PC (W7) to my new Windows 10 PC (W10).

I tried that from W7, but got this error message: "Destination Folder Access Denied: You need permission to perform this action."

Destination Folder Access Denied 2020-0704 by Will Anderson, on Flickr

So I switched to W10, and from there I was able to easily access the music folder on W7 and copy a file to W10.

However, I'd like to also be able to perform these operations while working from W7.

I'm going to need to gather the details of my sharing settings on W10 and post those here, but I'm an old guy in poor health and have hit my crash point and need to lie down for a nap. So. for now, pleae take this message as a query to find out if there's anyone out there who would be willing to help me pick up this thread and help me get my Windows 10 PC networked with my Windows 7 PC.