Question Windows networking guide: please help me edit this

[jimzzzak]

After my recent weeklong experience in frustration, trying to get two new PCs to connect to each other on my home LAN ethernet connection, I decided to write/compile a guide so that the next person might be more likely to succeed in less time than it took me. There are multiple sites and multiple people asking this question on forum after forum. It applies to Windows 10/11.

Feel free to suggest edits

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I decided to buy two new Windows computers as upgrades to some 4-5 year old machines. The older machines are working but I needed a higher power machine for video editing and I needed a minicomputer that had better file transfer over USB to serve as a music server for my home.

Unfortunately, both needed to be installed on to my Windows home LAN because I store my video files on a NAS and obviously a music server needs to be interconnected.

The new computers are both sleek and pretty. Both are considerable upgrades over their predecessors in terms of speed and efficiency.

I installed Windows 10 Pro on the new desktop and the mini came with Windows 11 Pro which is very similar to Win 10.

One all the software was installed on each, and that is quite a bit, then the networking nightmare began.

I got a variety of errors when trying to connect my new PC to the new mini over the network:

1. The mini was simply not visible
2. The mini gave the error “unable to connect” when clicked.
3. The mini would throw up a Windows login box but the Windows login credentials for the computer would not work
   

The internet must have dimmed a little with all the activity looking for a solution. There are close to 30 different settings that are necessary.

1. Make sure that all the computers are installed in the same network subnet
2. Assign a static IP to the target computer (I did this with my router)
3. Make sure you have all the appropriate networking settings in Windows 10/11 (see below)
4. Make sure you have local account on the target computer (as opposed to a Windows account or PIN)
5. Enter the IP address, username, and password of the local account on the target computer in the Windows credential manager on on the computer you are using

Here are the settings recommended for Windows networking to function:

1. Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services (all should be automatic)
   1. DHCP client
   2. DNS Client
   3. Network connections
   4. Network Location Awareness
   5. Remote Procedure Call
   6. Server
   7. TCP/IP Netbios helper
   8. Workstation
   9. Function Discovery Resource Publication
   10. UPnP Device Host services
   11. Wired Auto Config
   12. WLAN Auto Config
   13. COM+ Event System
   14. Computer Browser
   15. Wireless Zero Configuration
2. Settings > Network & Internet > Properties
   1. Choose the network you want to change the settings for
   2. Verify that you are on a private network
3. Advanced network settings > change adapter options > double click the adapter you are using (ethernet or wireless) > choose properties > make sure the following items are checked
   1. Client of Microsoft Networks
   2. File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks
   3. QoS Packet Scheduler
   4. Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
   5. Microsoft LLDP Protocol Driver
   6. Link-Layer Topology Discovery Responder
   7. Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper I/O Driver
4. Network and Sharing Center > change advanced sharing settings
   1. Private
      1. Turn on network discovery
      2. Turn on automatic setup of network connected devices
      3. Turn on file and printer sharing
   2. All networks
      1. File sharing connection: Use 128-bit encryption…
      2. Password protected sharing: Turn off password protected sharing
5. Control panel > Turn Windows features on or off
   1. Turn on: SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support
   2. Reboot after the necessary files are installed.
6. Change the target computer to a local account (Settings > Accounts)
   1. Click on your account picture/avatar
   2. Change the account login to a local account with a username and password (use the username that was created as a default when you bought the computer or installed Windows)
   3. Reboot
7. Put the target computer on a fixed IP by one of these methods and make note of it
   1. Easiest: go into your router settings and enable MAC/IP bonding for the target computer
   2. Go into the DHCP settings (this is more complex, see details below)
8. Put the credentials for the local account on the target computer into the Credential Manager on the source computer (Control Panel > Credential Manager > Windows Credential > Add a Windows Credential)
   1. Put in the IP address of the target computer
   2. Put in the User name and password for the local account on the target computer
9. Reset network (if nothing else seems to work), then reboot. Options > Network & Internet > Network reset (at the very bottom of the panel)

 

[bill001g]

Microsoft has many guides on how to setup windows file sharing. Many of the steps in your documents are not related to file sharing and make no difference. It is way too long for most people to bother to read and most of them just say use the default values.

 

[jimzzzak]

Microsoft has many guides on how to setup windows file sharing. Many of the steps in your documents are not related to file sharing and make no difference. It is way too long for most people to bother to read and most of them just say use the default values.

I appreciate the feedback but I never found anything from Microsoft or anyone else that had ALL of these settings compiled in one place.

Perhaps you can point me in the direction of another comprehensive guide or two.

I didn't decide to put work into this for no reason.

Thanks.

 

[bill001g]

Your problem is most users now days have no attention span. They want videos that are less than 1 minute.

Your list has all kinds of stuff that doesn't really matter since it is already the defaults setting. There are many many other settings in windows that can mess things up if you change them and there is no way you can even think to list all of them.

Pretty much nobody is going to care about your list because it is too long. Most times it is easier to just reinstall windows for many people.

 

[jimzzzak]

Your problem is most users now days have no attention span. They want videos that are less than 1 minute.

Your list has all kinds of stuff that doesn't really matter since it is already the defaults setting. There are many many other settings in windows that can mess things up if you change them and there is no way you can even think to list all of them.

Pretty much nobody is going to care about your list because it is too long. Most times it is easier to just reinstall windows for many people.

You said pretty much the same thing twice.

I could still use a link to a comprehensive guide to allow someone to get a home network to allow file sharing with all the info here.

I literally had to do everything on this list to get two NEW Windows computers to network. Neither had anything but default settings to begin with and it took me a week to search multiple sites to find all the the settings necessary to get them to connect.

Reinstalling Windows would not have helped. Both had virgin Windows installations.

At least if I had ONE guide in ONE place, I could have saved hours of time.

Thanks for your reply.