Solved How to save login credentials for a network PC.

Trapperr · Mar 10, 2025

There is a file on my PC that my wife needs access to, I had this setup on my Win10 and had no problems.
I have managed to access the file but only by clicking on the Network icon of her PC then I have to enter all the credentials again of my PC before she can access it.
Is there a Save credentials option for this somewhere?
We are both running Win 11 Pro.

neemobeer · Mar 10, 2025

Depending how what protocol you are connecting with such as RDP or SMB, but there should be a 'save credentials' option when setting up the credentials. These will get saved to the windows credential manager as the currently logged in user. You can also manually add them in Control Panel > "Credential Manager'

Tester · Mar 10, 2025

Easy way is to make a second account on the pc, where the file is located, with the same username and password as you wife's pc, and then give that user access to the share/file rights. Then when you go to the share, there will be no prompt for user/pass, as the credentials are used from the pc login itself.

Trapperr · Mar 10, 2025

neemobeer said:
Depending how what protocol you are connecting with such as RDP or SMB, but there should be a 'save credentials' option when setting up the credentials. These will get saved to the windows credential manager as the currently logged in user. You can also manually add them in Control Panel > "Credential Manager'

Thank you for the reply, being a non tech OAP I will need to find my 'protocol' and what RDP and SMB are short for. Nothing untoward but there are some confidential files that I need to keep confidential.

Bree · Mar 10, 2025

Trapperr said:
I have managed to access the file but only by clicking on the Network icon of her PC then I have to enter all the credentials again of my PC before she can access it.
Is there a Save credentials option for this somewhere?

Yes, when you enter the credentials tick the box for 'Remember my credentials' (by default this isn't ticked).

Trapperr · Mar 10, 2025

Didn't find anything for RDP that looked remotely computer-ish and I didn't really understand SMB about using the Control Panel (I assume that is the older Control Panel that's been around for decade's?)
In Win11 it looks like Microsoft has split many parts of the old Control Panel which makes it more diffictult to follow.

Trapperr · Mar 10, 2025

Hello Bree.
Thank you. Sorted in 2 mins, what threw us was the credentials box kept advising the username or password was incorrect

And of course not being able to see the wood for the trees!!

antspants · Mar 10, 2025

Trapperr said:
Didn't find anything for RDP that looked remotely computer-ish and I didn't really understand SMB about using the Control Panel (I assume that is the older Control Panel that's been around for decade's?)
In Win11 it looks like Microsoft has split many parts of the old Control Panel which makes it more diffictult to follow.

RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol)
SMB (Server Message Block) < Ignore this, it’s irrelevant.
Bree has your back.

Landyman · Apr 19, 2025

Tester said:
Easy way is to make a second account on the pc, where the file is located, with the same username and password as you wife's pc, and then give that user access to the share/file rights. Then when you go to the share, there will be no prompt for user/pass, as the credentials are used from the pc login itself.

I have also lost sharing between PCs on my network, probably after updating to 24H2, which was done without my knowledge after frequenty rejecting it!!

I've spent many hours looking for advice and keep seeing "use a pasword and not a PIN". But as I use PINs there are now no passwords and can't find how to add a pasword.

gunrunnerjohn · Apr 19, 2025

Landyman said:
I have also lost sharing between PCs on my network, probably after updating to 24H2, which was done without my knowledge after frequenty rejecting it!!

I've spent many hours looking for advice and keep seeing "use a pasword and not a PIN". But as I use PINs there are now no passwords and can't find how to add a pasword.

AFAIK, there is always a password, you just add the PIN. I added a PIN to mine, but I still have the account password. On the login screen you can change the login from the PIN to the password.

Bree · Apr 19, 2025

Landyman said:
I've spent many hours looking for advice and keep seeing "use a pasword and not a PIN". But as I use PINs there are now no passwords and can't find how to add a pasword.

gunrunnerjohn said:
AFAIK, there is always a password, you just add the PIN....

Correct. You cannot set up a PIN if you have no password.

If you use a local account, then you can easily change the password in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.

If you sign in with a Microsoft account then it may be less obvious how to set its local account password. Yes, even an MS account has a local password that it uses for authenticating incoming network connections, this will not be the same as your MS account password.

Landyman · Apr 19, 2025

gunrunnerjohn said:
AFAIK, there is always a password, you just add the PIN. I added a PIN to mine, but I still have the account password. On the login screen you can change the login from the PIN to the password.

On both Windows 11 - 24H2 I use a PIN. The only options available to login are: Face / MS account password / PIN. Most times my face works and when it fails, I use the PIN. I have used for testing today the MS password to logon and both work - but no network folders will work

This advice does not work:-

The password option is not shown.

However, I decided to switch on two old Windows 10 Pro laptops.

They can access each other using the existing password. But they can't access the two Windows 11 Pro laptops.

Landyman · Apr 19, 2025

Bree said:
Correct. You cannot set up a PIN if you have no password.

If you use a local account, then you can easily change the password in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.

View attachment 131635

If you sign in with a Microsoft account then it may be less obvious how to set its local account password. Yes, even an MS account has a local password that it uses for authenticating incoming network connections, this will not be the same as your MS account password.

I use passwords to login on both Windows 11 Pro 24H2 laptops, but there is no password. So PINs can be setup without a password existing now. Untill recently, I could access the other laptop, but can't remember what credentials were used as it had just works for a long time.

Again, your image displays a password option that does not display.

luis · Apr 19, 2025

neemobeer said:
Dependiendo del protocolo que utilice, como RDP o SMB, debería haber una opción para guardar credenciales al configurarlas. Estas se guardarán en el administrador de credenciales de Windows como el usuario con la sesión iniciada. También puede agregarlas manualmente en el Panel de control > Administrador de credenciales.

gunrunnerjohn · Apr 19, 2025

If this is a local account, I can assure you there's a password.

Here's the initial login screen, note down in the lower left there is a small icon, click it.

Now you click on Sign-in options below the entry box.

The sign-in options pop up, just click on the key and enter the password.

Bree · Apr 19, 2025

Landyman said:
On both Windows 11 - 24H2 I use a PIN. The only options available to login are: Face / MS account password / PIN. Most times my face works and when it fails, I use the PIN. I have used for testing today the MS password to logon and both work - but no network folders will work

I use a local account, that's why I have the password option in my Settings.

You sign in to your W11 PC with your MS account, which has a password. That in turn allows you to use a PIN or Windows Hello.

However, just because you use an MS account doesn't mean your account does not also have a local password, and it is this one that's needed for other PCs to connect to this W11 PC. The problem is that as you set up your PC initially with your MS account you were never given a chance to see or set the local password, so you have no idea what it is.

You can only set this password if you are using a local account. One way to do so is to temporarily switch from using a Microsoft account to using a local account. The process will ask you to set a password for the local account. You can then switch back from a local account to your Microsoft account. It will retain the password you set for the local account, and this will now be the password you need to use when connecting to this PC from any other PC.

Switch to Local Account from Microsoft Account in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to switch to a local account from a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows 11 with instead. You can sign in to Windows 11 with a local account or a Microsoft account. However, you can easily switch between using a local account or a Microsoft account to sign in...

www.elevenforum.com

Switch to Microsoft Account from Local Account in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to switch to a Microsoft account from a local account to sign in to Windows 11 with instead. You can sign in to Windows 11 with a local account or a Microsoft account. However, you can easily switch between using a local account or a Microsoft account to sign in...

www.elevenforum.com

Landyman · Apr 20, 2025

gunrunnerjohn said:
If this is a local account, I can assure you there's a password.

I started PC1 with a user a/c but later changed to a MS a/c to be the same as PC2.

A newer PC2 offered no ability to use a user a/c, so is a MS a/c.

gunrunnerjohn said:
The sign-in options pop up, just click on the key and enter the password.

View attachment 131654

The 'key' icon does not display on both PCs.

Many thanks for your help.

Solved How to save login credentials for a network PC.

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