Making the stars align.
Networking is hard. It can be tricky to get set up and get working. And yes, to be clear, it’s much trickier than it needs to be. I’ve written a couple of articles venting about that in the past.
The good news is that I think we can get it to work.
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My formula for Windows networking
- Ensure devices are on the same network.
- Use the same workgroup name.
- Create identical login accounts on all machines.
- Use the same password for these accounts.
- Make them administrator accounts.
Networking can be complicated, but this approach simplifies authentication across Windows devices.
Leo’s magic formula
I have a plethora of different versions of Windows, and they are all talking to each other without too many hiccups. I’m going to walk you through how I set up a Windows machine I intend to network with my other Windows machines.
To be clear, we’re talking about file-sharing here. While “networking” encompasses much more, the ability to easily copy files from one computer on your network to another is perhaps the most valuable use for the average user. On one computer, you create a folder and share it, and then on some other machine, you attempt to connect to (or network to) that folder so you can access the files within it or place additional files inside of it from any of the networked devices.
Step 1: Same network
Make sure both machines are on the same network. I know this sounds obvious, but it needs to be said. If you have more than one router in your system, for example, it is easy to have more than one network without realizing it.
The problem is that one of the router’s jobs is to protect what’s on one side of the router from what’s on the other side of the router. I refer to this as the router acting as a firewall because it’s a layer of protection against the wilds of the internet. If you have a couple of different routers, then you may have two different networks, one of which is being “protected” from the other. That means file sharing across the router won’t work.
Step 2: Same workgroup
Make sure both computers are in the same workgroup. You’ve done this already with MS Home. (I tend to use a different workgroup name because “MS Home” is the default. If I have guests using my network, it’s a little harder for them to go spelunking on my network to see what they can find.)
Step 3: Same login
This is where things get interesting. Use the same login name on both machines. I create the exact same login name on each of my Windows machines and I log in to the same account name on each.
Interestingly, it doesn’t have to be the account you sign in to normally. For example, I regularly sign in to my machines using my Microsoft account, but I also have a local account with a username/password setup on each. This makes it easier to authenticate if necessary, and in my case, also makes sharing with non-Windows machines a little less painful.
Step 4: Same password
I set up that same login account on these machines with the same password. This minor item is one of those easy-to-overlook things. The local account I mention above is the same username with the same password on every machine.
For websites, we talk about using different passwords everywhere even if you use the same login name. At home, if you have several machines in your control and you’re certain nobody’s going to walk up and start using them, or you’ve got some level of physical security associated with them (even if it’s just the fact that you know who’s in your home), using the same password for machine sign-in can be okay. Having the same login name and password makes several things easier, networking being one of them.
If you’re prompted for a username and password when attempting to make a connection, this is the username and password to use and to let your system remember.
Step 5: Be the administrator
The accounts that I’ve created on all of my machines are administrator-capable accounts; they all have administrator privileges. Limited user accounts can add a layer of security, particularly if you have concerns about the users of your machines. Using an administrator account makes life a little easier at the cost of a small security risk, depending on how you use your machine and your level of expertise.
Trade-offs
When it comes down to it, these things that I’ve mentioned so far (using the same username and password on all of your machines and setting up administrator accounts on all of them) are tiny security issues. That’s why I say you’re assuming different security in some ways and any issues are going to be small.
It’s all about authentication
When you connect from machine A to machine B, machine B needs to authenticate you somehow. It needs to confirm you have permission to connect to the share you’re trying to connect to. How Windows does this is complex. Even people who understand networking deeply can get confused by all the different options, techniques, and things that happen when those things don’t work.
Fortunately, your system will use your current login credentials on machine A as confirmation that you have permission on machine B. So if those same credentials exist on machine B, things just get easier.
Do this
These techniques work well for me, but there are no guarantees they will work for you. Networking, as I’ve said, is complex, and it is certainly possible, if not likely, that other random factors might affect it. (And don’t get me started on cross-platform connectivity. I have Windows, Macs, and Linux machines, and getting them to talk to one another is always an exercise in frustration sprinkled with profanity.)
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Agreed that it can be messy, setting up such networks – so have Pe & Paper ready to note each step you take on each machine.
Afterwards, try to write a description of what you have done and the settings on each PC.
Makes it easier years later, when you add more PCs!
turning on a guest account sometimes solves the “you do not have permission” error.
Thank so much for this article.
I had a laptop connected to an extender router, not realizing that I was therefore not really connected to the same network as my other computers.
Now connected to the same router and all is well.
There is one other part of Windows Peer-to-Peer networking that you mention in passing, but you might add to that checklist – namely that files and folders must actually be shared. I have several times run across networks set up correctly that don’t ‘work’ because nothing was actually shared.
I have a mixed network of Windows and Linux machines, set up exactly as Leo describes. It all “just works.”
As a comment, you don’t have to be logged on to all the computers. I am set up as a user on my wife’s machine, but seldom log on. I have no problem accessing the share on her system.
Leo, you wrote:
“…[W]e’re talking about file-sharing here… On one computer, you create a folder and share it, and then on some other machine, you attempt to connect to (or network to) that folder so you can access the files within it or place additional files inside of it from any of the networked devices.”
Ahem: Dropbox?
If all you want to do is file-sharing, Dropbox couldn’t be simpler or better.
It works for me, and there’s no networking needed (heck, I can even share files between my desktop Windows computer, and my Android tablet!).
Dropbox (and tools like it) upload everything and then download everything.
The file sharing I’m talking about is local, often much faster, and requires no internet connection.
I use OneDrive. It has the advantages of being simpler, my computers don’t all have to be running, I sync with 3 different OSs, across 2 routers, and it keeps me networked with all my computers even when traveling. As for requiring an Internet connection, whenever I’m on my local area network, I’m also connected to the Internet. It might be a problem if you’re in an area with sketchy Internet, but otherwise, downloading from OneDrive happens in the background, and unless I have a lot of, or large files to sync, the files are usually synced before I even need them.(OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive etc. are all similar in that respect.)
What makes two computers on the same network?
If one is plugged into the router can the other be on wifi ?
How can I tell if they are on the same network?
All connected to the same router is generally all you need. (And if that router provides WiFi then GENERALLY they’re also on that same network, though “Guest” networks offered by some Wi-Fi routers exist explicitly to make those connections separate from the main network.)