WIN 11 PC can't see the Lenovo WIN 11 PC.

GerryPeters · Thursday at 9:32 AM

My Win 10 computer can see my wife Lenovo PC and I can share files, but my WIN 11 PC can't see the Lenovo WIN 11 PC. In File Explorer Network my WIN 10 computer is there and so is my WIN 11 PC, but not Lenovo. Not sure how I created a network HD from my WIN 10 PC to the Lenovo, but it works. How can I get a Network drive letter on the Lenovo C drive on my WIN 11 PC?

GerryPeters · Thursday at 7:02 PM

the Win 11 Lenovo PC does see the ACER WIN 11 PC and can access the files, But the ACER WIN 11 PC can't see the Lenovo WIN 11 PC

MisterEd · Thursday at 10:24 PM

Every computer in your home network has a unique name. If you don't know what it is you can find it in: Settings > System > About.

If you can't see a computer in the network you can always access it by using a shortcut to it. It is best if you can find and select a computer in File Explorer > Network. However, in case that doesn't work using a shortcut gives you a way that should always work.

For example, I have a computer whose name is DarkMatter. The shortcut to it is \\DarkMatter.

GerryPeters · Thursday at 11:12 PM

This shortcut method works fine on my WIN 10, I can create a desktop shortcut and it works. But n my Win 11 PC the same method doens't work

pseymour · Thursday at 11:27 PM

On the Lenovo, make sure you’re on a private network and have file and printer sharing on.

Always a good idea to run through Denis’s checklist when networking a new PC.

Sharing folder isn't working - Windows 10 Help Forums

Desktop PC - Windows 10 Pro Laptop - Windows 10 Pro The problem is I am trying to share a folder on the Laptop with the Desktop PC. I have set up the Advanced Sharing (Everyone - Full Access) of the folder. In Network And Sharing Center, both the PC and t

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flhthemi · 2026-07-24T08:13:31-0400

And MS should FIX networking so you don't have to use shortcuts to get to your own damn devices!

hader · 2026-07-24T08:48:38-0400

I suspect that Windows 11 has a tighter security policy than Windows 10 did. Unfortunately you have to put more effort into it to get it working. What those steps are I can't tell you because I don't have 2 systems with Windows 10 and 11. Both are Windows 11. I never made a share from the one to the other. I tried it once but to resolve this issue was hard. Instead of continue to get a connection I use a portable USB stick to transfer files. I never had any problems with my 2 NAS's. No wonder the underlying OS are Linux based. 100% secure but not that demanding as Windows 11.

It is easier to make a Windows 11 connection to a Windows 10 machine then the other way around. Windows 10 security policy is less demanding then Windows 11.

GerryPeters · 2026-07-24T09:37:53-0400

ON my WIN 10 PC it's on Private network 4 and my ASUS WIN 11 PC is on network 2. Both these PC's communicate perfectly in my home network. The Lenovo network is ATT public network, which is my home WIFI connection for the whole home.

Something else is also strange, with File Explorer Network tab on my WIN 10 PC I see both the WIN 10 PC and the ASUS win 11 PC. And on my WIN 11 Asus there is only the WIN 11 Asus under the network tab, yet these 2 PC's work fine in the network

This difference in the network names may be because the WIN 10 and WIN 11 PC are on the wired network, connected to the ATT WIFI modem box, whereas the WIN 11 Lenovo is connected to the network wirelessly to the ATT box

pseymour · 2026-07-24T11:00:32-0400

By default, file and printer sharing is off for public networks. You can turn it on, but don’t. Switch to private.

GerryPeters · 2026-07-24T11:11:47-0400

I did find some settings not correct on the Lenovo for Network Sharing, I fixed them, rebooted. Then i was able to create a shortcut to the Lenovo C drive, it worked. Then I went to File Explorer Network and saw the Lenovo there and double clicked it and opened the C drive and then mapped the C drive. So now it's solved I can access the C drive and include it in my nightly backups. What was strange is now the Lenovo is not shown in the File Explorer Network tab, but at least it's still mapped

MisterEd · 2026-07-25T12:23:49-0400

I don't understand why you are mapping the C: drive. If you need to back it up then run the backup on the computer it is on. If the backup drive is on another computer then you can back it up over the network to it.

My three desktop computers have their own external backup drives. The backups are done automatically on a fixed schedule.
My main desktop has two external drives. I also use these drives to backup my main two laptops wirelessly. These backups are also done automatically on a fixed schedule. Note I do daily backups of important user data and weekly backups each drive on the computer.

I have 3 desktop computers (wired) and 3 laptop computers (wireless). I have shared folders on each one. I can access these folders simply by double-clicking on the network shortcut for the computer.

Note on the desktop of each computer I have a folder called My Network. In the folder are network shortcuts to each computer on the network. I only had to create this folder on one computer. After it was done I copied it onto the desktops of all the other computers.

The network computer shortcuts are shown below. The computers are a mix of Windows 7, 10, & 11. BTW, up until a year ago I also had shortcuts to two desktop computers with Windows XP.

2026-07-23 21_09_29-My Network - File Explorer.webp

spapakons · 2026-07-25T12:35:35-0400

Like others said switch from Public to Private on all computers. Also make sure File and Printer sharing is enabled with the same settings in all three computers. Unlike Windows 10, Microsoft made it a little more difficult to share resources without password (to everyone, not using a specific user account to connect). You have to do some changes if you want to connect to your Windows 11 computers without password.

GerryPeters · 2026-07-25T13:17:29-0400

Every night I backup all 3 computers in the network from my main computer by hitting a shortcut. Then I backup my backup HD to the cloud using Backblaze. In order to do this I needed mapped HD's. I now finally have my 2nd WIN 11 Lenovo PC backed up. So problem solved.

Also I like beng able to access each PC from other PC's and using Remote Desktop

spapakons · 2026-07-25T13:34:38-0400

Remote Desktop is disabled by default. You have to enable it and also configure a specific user account to use for access.

GerryPeters · 2026-07-25T14:08:42-0400

I'm pretty sure you have to have win 11 pro which I have for Remote Desktop. It's very handy for my needs

spapakons · 2026-07-25T15:28:47-0400

GerryPeters said:
I'm pretty sure you have to have win 11 pro which I have for Remote Desktop. It's very handy for my needs

Well I have Pro too. I am not sure if Remote Desktop is available in the Home version. But I am sure it is disabled by default for security reasons. You have to enable it first from Settings -> System -> Remote Desktop and then configure which users can remote access the computer. This works locally using the computer network name or IP. If you want remote access from the internet you can use AnyDesk or other similar tool.

GerryPeters · 2026-07-25T17:07:50-0400

I use Remote Desktop all the time, so when I got my new WIN 11 PC last year I immediately set it up. I had to buy Pro becuase the home version doesn't have Remote Desktop

I've used AnyViewer to access my WIN 11 Home laptop

I'm a Murphey's Law type guy, so I Backup every night

spapakons · 2026-07-25T17:23:17-0400

Being old school I keep too many files on my Windows partition, so creating a full disk backup takes some time and it is not convenient to do it very frequently. I do it once or twice a month. More frequently I copy my important files to USB flash drives or external hard disks.

WIN 11 PC can't see the Lenovo WIN 11 PC.

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