Intermittent home network using 3 machines and Windows 11 on all

Setup - Windows 11 on both laptops and main Pc.
Networking via BT Hub 3 and ethernet cable.

I assume I have it all setup correctly because if the wind is in the right direction, it all works perfectly. At other times for no rhyme nor reason it doesn't.

On the problem days whichever machine I use to see the others either I don't see the machine I am trying to connect to or I see one but not the other. If I look from another machine I may or may not see the same ones. Also some request user name and password for access (although I have set all accesses not to do so as not required for a home network with not critical data to worry about.

I am inclined to strip it all down and start from scratch. I have looked at the tutorial index and I see a few that may be useful to me but I'm not sure which of the various routes listed to take. Or even if I have a problem or if I do it is not one of my making.

You are not alone. I gave up on using the network map a long time ago and access my shares by computer name instead. I made shortcuts to the other 2 on my network and pinned them to quick access.
To access file shares by computer name, in Open Run command and type \\computername. (To find computer name in 11 settings>system. It's listed at top of page)

Alternately, you can use a little portable app called Advanced IP Scanner. Advanced IP Scanner - Download Free Network Scanner.

I also do it differently. Needing only accessible file storage I added a NAS drive via Ethernet cable to the Wireless Router. I can Map the Public folder on the drive from any computer I'm on whether Wired or Wireless. I don't have a need to access any particular computer such as by Remote Access. And no particular computer has to be running to also gain access to the 2 printers attached to the Router.

Sigurd said:

Setup - Windows 11 on both laptops and main Pc. Networking via BT Hub 3 and ethernet cable. I assume I have it all setup correctly because if the wind is in the right direction, it all works perfectly. At other times for no rhyme nor reason it doesn't.

On the problem days whichever machine I use to see the others either I don't see the machine I am trying to connect to or I see one but not the other. If I look from another machine I may or may not see the same ones.....

Click to expand...

I have no such problems, I have a mixed network of Win7/8.1/10/11 machines, most are PCs, some are VMs.

Possibly the reason I don't have issues is that in order to access a usb HDD plugged into my BT Hub 6 as a network drive I have to have 'SMB 1.0/CIFS Client' enabled in Windows Features for all my Win10/11 machines.

glasskuter said:

You are not alone. I gave up on using the network map a long time ago and access my shares by computer name instead. I made shortcuts to the other 2 on my network and pinned them to quick access.
To access file shares by computer name, in Open Run command and type \\computername. (To find computer name in 11 settings>system. It's listed at top of page)

Click to expand...

I use the same idea except I have shortcuts to all the network computers.

glasskuter said:

. I made shortcuts to the other 2 on my network and pinned them to quick access.

Click to expand...

MisterEd said:

I use the same idea except I have shortcuts to all the network computers.

Click to expand...

While I can see all my PCs in the network map I do have one device that doesn't appear there - my router which is sharing a usb HDD. This is not a failure of Windows networking, it is the router's fault, by design it doesn't announce itself to the network.

Rather than using a shortcut I have added its share as a network location so that it is listed in This PC.



I could equally well add any PC's shares there, but I can see them all so don't need to. If I did it would appear like this:

So, here's a little checklist I keep in my head to ensure networking works smoothly. Hopefully I won't forget anything

For EACH system participating in the network, check the following:

Make certain that the system is configured to participate in a private network in the Network & internet area of settings.



On that same page, select Advanced network setting > Advanced sharing settings

Ensure that both Network discovery and File and printer sharing are enabled under the Private networks section.

Expand the All networks section. Turn OFF Password protected sharing.

If you use Windows Hello (a pin, facial recognition, fingerprint reader, etc.) make sure that log on using your password at least one time after Windows hello was setup. If you don't do this, then your credentials will not work, although I believe that if you share to EVERYONE that should still work (would have to test this to be certain).

In the File Explorer options, check to see if you have the Sharing Wizard enabled.



NOTE: With this option enabled, when you share a folder, Windows will also set the appropriate NTFS file permissions. If you do not use the wizard, be aware that in addition to sharing the folder, you will need to manually set the NTFS file permissions for that folder to allow access to whomever you are sharing with (for example, EVERYONE).

If you use Hyper-V, then there is a whole lot more to be said because Hyper-V creates virtual adapters that can "Hijack" the physical adapters. If that is your scenario, we could have a whole separate discussion about that.

A lot of information to digest and work on. Thank you all for your help. It will keep me entertained for a few hours and solve the problem.

Bree said:

I have no such problems, I have a mixed network of Win7/8.1/10/11 machines, most are PCs, some are VMs.

Possibly the reason I don't have issues is that in order to access a usb HDD plugged into my BT Hub 6 as a network drive I have to have 'SMB 1.0/CIFS Client' enabled in Windows Features for all my Win10/11 machines.

Click to expand...

Interesting comment.

I have used a "15 point" check list including SMB 1.0, Control Panel, network sharing , and GPE settings, "everyone" permissions, etc etc, for 2 years. and still 90% of time the sharing icons dont appear , inc Windows 11 v. 22621/1105.

The Advanced IP Scanner previously mentioned is a good suggestion, as it shows all sharing content, and allows file sync between different machines.