In the Windows operating system, you can share a folder on your local home network to exchange data between computers using shared folders. It is very convenient and fast way for transferring files according to the computer-to-computer scheme, without the use of external media (flash drives, external hard drives, memory cards, etc.).
In this article I will talk about creating local network operating room example Windows systems 10. Creating and configuring a local network in Windows 8 and in Windows 7 is done in a similar way, this instruction universal.
The article considers next option use of shared folders in the local network: several computers are connected to the router, connected via cable and wireless WiFi networks, united in home network. A shared folder is created on each computer, and all computers included in this local network have access to shared folders.
Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 operating systems (different operating systems, or the same operating system) connected to the router via Wi-Fi or cable can be installed on computers connected to a home local network.
Creating and configuring a local network takes place in four stages:
- first step - checking the name working group and settings network card
- second stage - creating and configuring local network settings
- third stage - connection public access to a folder on the local network
- fourth stage - data exchange over the local network
First you need to check the workgroup settings and network card settings, and then create a Windows local network.
Checking Network Card and Workgroup Settings
On the desktop, click right click click on the “This PC” icon (“My Computer”, “Computer”), select the “Properties” item in the context menu. In the "System" window, click on "Advanced system settings".
In the System Properties window that opens, open the Computer Name tab. Here you will see the workgroup name. By default, in Windows 10, a workgroup is named "WORKGROUP".
On all computers connected to this local network, the workgroup name must be the same. If the computers connected to the network have different workgroup names, change the names to the same name for the workgroup.
To do this, click on the "Change ..." button, in the "Change computer or domain name" window, give a different name for the workgroup (write a new name capital letters, better in English).
Now check your network card settings. To do this, in the notification area, right-click on the network icon (Internet access). Click on "Network and Sharing Center". In the "Network and Sharing Center" window, click on the "Change adapter settings" link.
In the Network Connections window, select your network card, Ethernet, or Wi-Fi, depending on how your computer is connected to the Internet. Next, right-click on the network card, in the context menu, click on "Properties".
In the network card properties window, in the "Network" tab, select the "IP version 4 (TCP / IPv4)" component, and then click on the "Properties" button.
In the Internet protocol properties window that opens, in the "General" tab, check the parameters of the IP address and DNS service. In most cases, these parameters are assigned automatically. If these parameters are inserted manually, check the appropriate addresses with your Internet provider (the IP address on the computers connected to the network must be different).
After completing the verification of the parameters, you can go directly to creating a local network in Windows.
Creating a local network
The first step is to configure the LAN settings in Windows. Enter the "Network and Sharing Center", click on the item "Change Extra options public access".
In the "Advanced Sharing Options" window, you can change the sharing settings for various network profiles. The Windows operating system for each network used creates a separate network profile with its own special settings.
There are three network profiles available:
- Private
- Guest or public
- All networks
In the profile private network in the Network Discovery option, select Enable Network Discovery.
In the "File and Printer Sharing" option, activate the "Turn on file and printer sharing" option.
In the HomeGroup Connection option, select Let Windows manage HomeGroup connections (recommended).
After that, open the network profile "All Networks". In the Public Folder Sharing option, select Turn on sharing so network users can read and write files in shared folders.
In the File Sharing Connections option, select the setting "Use 128-bit encryption to secure sharing connections (recommended)".
In the "Password protected sharing" option, activate the "Turn off password protected sharing" option.
After completing the settings, click on the "Save Changes" button.
Repeat all these steps on all computers that you plan to connect to your home LAN:
- check workgroup name (name must be the same)
- check network card settings
- in sharing options turn on network discovery, turn on file and printer sharing, turn off password protected sharing
How to enable folder sharing
In this case, I created a folder and named "Public". Right-click on this folder, in the folder properties window, open the "Access" tab.
Then click on the "Advanced Settings" button.
In the "Advanced sharing settings" window, activate the "Share this folder" item, and then click on the "Permissions" button.
Select permissions to use shared folder data from another computer. There is a choice of three options:
- Full access
- Change
- Reading
To save the settings, click the "OK" button.
Go back to the folder properties, open the "Security" tab, and then click on the "Edit ..." button.
In the window that opens, enter the name "All" (without quotes) in the "Enter the names of the objects to select" field, and then click the "OK" button.
In the folder properties window, in the "Security" tab, configure the permissions that you previously selected for the shared folder.
To change the permission for the "Everyone" group, click on the "Advanced" button. In the "Advanced security settings for the shared folder" window, select the "Everyone" group, and then click on the "Edit" button to change permissions.
The LAN setup in Windows is now complete. In some cases, you may need to restart your computer for all changes to take effect.
Login to the local home network
Open File Explorer, in the "Network" section you will see all available computers connected to the local home network. To log in to another computer, click on the computer name, and then click on the shared folder name to access the files and folders in the shared folder.
The local network in Windows 10 is created and configured.
Troubleshooting some network issues
Sometimes, after setting up the network, there are problems with accessing folders on the local network. One of possible problems, there may be an incorrectly selected network profile. I have experienced this myself on my computer. After reinstalling the system, I created and configured a local network, but my computer did not see two laptops connected to this network. From a laptop, I could easily go to the shared folder of my computer, but the computer did not see them at all.
I checked all the local network settings several times, and only then noticed that my computer was running public network, rather than a private (home) network like on laptops. How can such a problem be solved?
Enter the "Network and Sharing Center", click on "Troubleshoot". Select the "Shared Folders" section, run diagnostics and troubleshooting. At the very end, the application will offer to set up the network as private. Apply this fix, and then restart your computer. After performing this operation, my computer was able to access shared folders on laptops on the local network.
Often problems arise due to incorrect network settings. Windows 10 has an option to reset network settings to default. Go to "Settings", "Network and Internet", under "Change network settings» click on "Network Reset" to apply network settings default.
There may be other problems, look for their solution on the Internet.
Conclusion
In Windows, you can create a local private (home) network between computers to organize data exchange using shared folders, access the printer. Different or identical operating systems (Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7) can be installed on computers on the same network.
Updated - 2017-02-15
You have created your own with Internet access . Now it's time to take full advantage of the network. And they are not so few. But first, we'll look at how to make a shared folder.
You will not run with a flash drive from computer to computer. Having a local network is already simply ridiculous and inconvenient. A local network is created for this, so that resources are shared. Can be made common HDD, or you can create a separate folder and store documents for general use in it.
You will have your file server with file sharing. Moreover, this folder will be opened from your computer, and you do not need to search for it throughout the network. Everything is quite simple and does not require any material costs. All you have to do is share this folder. .
How to make a shared folder
We have already created a small one, and now we can make a folder common to all computers.
Create a new folder on any computer on the network and name it " My files(You can call it whatever you want). Right-click on this folder and select the item from the drop-down menu Sharing and Security.
A window will open Properties: The name of your folder . On the tab Access check the boxes Share this folder and.
For Windows 7 the choice in the list will be as follows: -Sharing - home group(read and write) —
AT WindowsXP the following window will open.
Everything is clear with the first point, but I will explain a little about the second. The fact is that if you do not check the box Allow changes to files over the network , then the person who opened your folder on his computer will only be able to view the files, but he will not be able to delete them and change anything in them. Sometimes this feature is very useful. If you are confident in your network partner, then check this box, and if not, then it is better to secure your files.
At work, I have one folder on my computer that contains the files necessary for the programs to work. In order not to go to all the offices with a flash drive or disk. Especially if I have DVD disc, and the drive on some computer does not read it, then this is very inconvenient.
And so I sit down at someone else's computer, open my folder over the network and install the necessary program. And so that someone foolishly does not delete these files, I do not have a check mark on the item Allow modification of files . But you can copy these files. So - see for yourself.
Now let's set it up so that other users on your network can open this folder on their computers. To do this, go to another computer and click on the desktop icon network environment .
A window will open network environment .
Select an entry on the left Show workgroup computers and click on it with the mouse.
The following window will open.
Select the computer on which your file sharing folder was created and open it. You certainly won't have that many computers.
Find the network folder icon. I have it" My files". And drag or copy it to your desktop.
System administrators call this folder sharing.
Now you do not have to search the network for this folder every time. The files will be stored on the computer where this folder was created. Similarly, you can create any folder on any computer connected to your network and share files.
So we considered the question - how to make a shared folder.
Hello! For those who are not in the subject, I will start from afar. On computers and laptops installed Windows there is a separate "Network" tab in the explorer. This tab displays devices from Network Neighborhood. That is, by opening the "Network" tab, we can observe computers, network storage (NAS), multimedia devices (DLNA), flash drives and external drives that are connected to the router and are set to be shared. Simply put, those devices that are connected through one router (are on the same network) and that have network discovery enabled (devices that can be discovered on the local network). Our router can also be displayed there. (section "Network infrastructure") and other devices.
Now I will explain what and how, and why I decided to write this article at all. I have an ASUS router that I connected to USB flash drive, and set up shared access to this flash drive for all devices on the network. And what do you think, this network drive appeared in the "Network" section on all computers (it shows up as "Computer"), but it didn't show up on my computer. That is, my computer did not see a USB flash drive connected to the router, nor other computers on this network. But the DLNA server was displayed running on the same router. But this does not change anything, since I need normal network access to the drive.
Also, I could not access the flash drive when I typed its address //192.168.1.1 in the explorer. Immediately this address opened through the browser. And I was unable to mount this drive as a network drive. It simply was not in the list of available devices in the network environment.
Such a problem when Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10 does not see network devices- Not unusual. It doesn't have to be a flash drive, or external HDD, which you connected to your router, as in my case. Most often, they set up sharing between computers on a local network. And in the same way they face the problem when the computers are connected to the same network (to one router), the sharing settings are set correctly, and the "Network" tab is empty. Or, only the router and your computer are displayed.
Since there can be many reasons and, accordingly, solutions, I will probably start with the simplest ones. (which did not help me) and at the end of this article I will share the solution that helped in my case. As a result, my laptop still saw all the devices on the network. Including a network drive and another computer that is also connected to this network.
But this does not mean that you have the same case. Therefore, I advise you to check all the settings in order.
Checking sharing settings
We will consider two cases:
- When computers do not see each other on the local network.
- Shared access to the network drive. This we can have a flash drive, or a hard drive that is connected to the router, or a separate drive (aka NAS).
First case
For computers to see each other and appear in File Explorer under Network, they must be connected through the same router. Or connected directly (cable or Wi-Fi). Simply put, they must be on the same local network.
Further, on all computers (I don't know how many there are), it is desirable to assign the network status "Home" (private). How to do this in Windows 10, I wrote in the article. In Windows 7, just go to the "Network and Sharing Center" and change the status of the current connection there.
If after that the computer still does not detect other computers (or vice versa), then let's check the sharing settings.
To do this, in the "Network and Sharing Center" window (if you do not know how to open it in Windows 10, then see the article), click on the "Change advanced sharing settings" item.
And for the current profile, set the parameters as in the screenshot below.
Doing it on all computers in the local network.
Articles on this topic:
As a rule, these tips solve all problems with discovering computers on the local network.
Second case
When you have problems accessing your NAS. As in my case. Windows 10 did not see USB stick, which was connected to the ASUS router. Now many routers have a USB port for connecting drives and other devices, so the topic is relevant.
You need to make sure that this drive is defined in the router settings, and sharing is enabled. It is clear that on different routers, this is done in different ways. On the ASUS routers for example, it looks like this:
Related articles:
Do not confuse sharing settings with FTP settings. The FTP server settings on the router have nothing to do with it in this case.
Well, if other devices see the NAS and have access to it, but there is no access to it on a particular computer, then the problem is not on the side of the router. Go through the settings of the "problem" PC in this article.
Antivirus or firewall may be blocking network devices
If your antivirus, or firewall (firewall), which is installed on your computer, did not like something, then it can easily make it so that neither you can see other devices in the network environment, nor can anyone detect you.
True, after disabling the firewall built into the antivirus, the problem was not solved for me. (so it probably isn't the problem), but everything seems to me exactly that in my case it was not without the participation of the antivirus.
Therefore, try to stop the antivirus completely for a while, or at least disable the firewall built into it. (firewall) . In NOD 32, this is done like this:
You need to do this to check on all computers that will participate in the local network.
It is possible that you have some other programs installed that can monitor the network and manage network connections.
If it turns out that the problem is in the antivirus, then you need to add your network to the exceptions. Prevent the firewall from blocking the network itself, or network devices.
If you do not have an antivirus, then you can experiment with disabling / enabling the firewall built into Windows.
Working group
The workgroup must be the same on all devices. As a rule, it is. But it's good to check. To do this, open the properties of the computer "System" and go to "Advanced system settings".
It will say "Working Group". To change it, you need to click on the "Edit" button.
Once again: the workgroup name must be the same on all computers.
If you have a problem accessing your NAS (to a flash drive through a router), then the workgroup is also indicated in the sharing settings on the same ASUS router. You can see the screenshot above in the article. It should be the same as on the computer.
Problem with accessing a shared network folder via SMB1 in Windows 10 (my solution)
Let's get back to my problem. Everything that I described above, I checked and rechecked already 10 times. I did it a couple of times, but Windows 10 never saw other computers on the network, and most importantly, the shared folder in the form of a flash drive connected to the router did not appear in the explorer. And on other devices on the network, everything was determined without problems. Including my laptop.
Somewhere I read that you can try to open the shared folder through the "Run" window. Pressed combination Win keys+ R, entered the address of the network folder //192.168.1.1 (aka router address).
I did not get access to the drive, but an interesting error appeared:
You cannot connect to the shared folder because it is not secure. This shared folder uses the legacy SMB1 protocol, which is insecure and can expose your system to attack.
Your system needs to use SMB2 or later.
This is already interesting. At least something.
SMB (Server Message Block) is a network protocol that is responsible for sharing files, printers, and other network devices.
Began to search. And it turns out that Windows 10 abandoned the SMB1 protocol. Because of security. And the Samba software package installed on my router seems to work using the SMB1 protocol. Therefore, Windows 10 does not see it. But other computers that also work on Windows 10 also did not appear on the "Network" tab for me.
Since I could not update the protocol to SMB2 in the router settings, I decided that I needed to somehow enable SMB1 support in Windows 10. And as it turned out, this can be done without any problems. As a result, after connecting the "SMB 1.0/CIFS Client" component, everything worked for me. The system saw shared folders on computers on the network and a network folder configured on the router itself.
How to enable SMB1 in Windows 10?
Through the search, find and open the old "Control Panel".
Switch to "Small Icons" and open "Programs and Features".
Open "Turn on or off Windows components". We find the item "Support for file sharing SMB 1.0 / CIFS". Open it and check the box next to "SMB 1.0 / CIFS client". Click Ok.
If the computer prompts you to restart, then restart it. If there is no prompt window, then reboot manually.
After the reboot, on the "Network" - "Computer" tab, all available devices on your network should appear.
I would be glad if this article is useful to someone and helps to solve the problem. Do not forget to write in the comments about the results. Or ask a question, where without them 🙂
The latter, despite a lot of advantages, is still inferior in many respects. For example, unlike paid VMware Workstation, VirtualBox is completely free. And if the virtual machine is created in 64-bit Windows, using VirtualBox, you can install a 32-bit Windows guest on it. A 32-bit guest OS will work a little faster than a 64-bit one, which, due to the conditions of the VMware Workstation program, will need to be installed on virtual machine with the basis is also 64-bit Windows.
But where VirtualBox unconditionally loses is in the process of setting up a shared folder for the main and guest OS. In the VMware Workstation program, this process, which, by the way, was discussed earlier on the site, is simplified to the extreme. While in VirtualBox, setting up a shared folder will require several separate steps - assigning a shared folder, installing special guest additions, and connecting the shared folder to be displayed in Explorer using the Windows command line.
Well, the road will be mastered by the walking one, so let's get down to business.
But first about the prerequisites. To add a shared folder, the virtual machines in the VirtualBox program for which these folders are connected must be turned off, not paused and saved.
1. Adding a shared folder of the main and guest OS
We select the virtual machine for which it is necessary to configure a folder shared with the main OS, if there are several (virtual machines) created. In the VirtualBox manager window, click the button on the toolbar of the program " Tune».
The virtual machine settings window will open. Select the section on the left Shared folders". On the right, click the button in the form of a folder with a plus sign - this is the browse button for selecting a folder that is intended to become shared with the main and guest OS. In Explorer, select a folder on a real computer or create a new one specifically for working with two systems. In the Add Shared Folder window, check the box next to " Auto-connect» and press « OK". To protect yourself from possible malware from the guest OS getting into the main OS, you can set the option " Only for reading". In this case, files placed in a shared folder in the main OS can be opened or copied to any other location in the guest OS. But it will be impossible to fill the shared folder with guest OS files.
2. Installing Guest Additions
Now we start the virtual machine for which the folder shared with the main OS is configured. In the menu of the VirtualBox window at the top, select the section " Devices", and in it - the command " Mount the Guest Additions Disk Image».
In the VirtualBox add-ons window that opens, select the startup file.
Then follow the step-by-step wizard to install VirtualBox add-ons. In the first window, click " Next».
In the second window, also click " Next».
In the third press " Install».
The last window for installing VirtualBox add-ons will notify you to reboot the virtual machine. We agree and click " Finish».
3. Mounting a Shared Folder Using Windows Command Prompt
When the virtual machine reboots, in rare cases, the shared folder may already be immediately displayed in Windows Explorer under " Net". But, alas, it often happens in practice that the folder is not displayed in Explorer. And for this to happen, you need to do some actions with the help of command line. We call the command line. If Windows 7 is installed as a guest OS, you can call the command line from the Start menu. If she is not in quick access, look for it in the menu search. We call the command line on behalf of the administrator.
If installed as a guest OS, the command line with administrator rights is available in the list context menu called on the button " Start».
In the command line window, enter the command by type:
net use drive letter: \\vboxsvr\folder_name
In our case, drive X is selected and the shared folder is named Shared Folder. Therefore, the command will look like this:
net use x: \\vboxsvr\Public Folder
Enter the command and press Enter.
Now open windows explorer. And in the "This PC" section with the "Network Locations" subsection expanded, we will see a shortcut to the shared folder of the main and guest OS. We call him.
If the shortcut for the shared folder is not displayed in Network Locations, restart the virtual machine. In order to have convenient access to the shared folder in the guest OS, we can put its shortcut on the desktop.
That's it - the shared folder of the main and guest OS has been created. We can test it. Let's put some file in a shared folder on a real computer and open it from a shared folder on a virtual machine.
Did this article help you?
In order to make a network folder in Windows XP, create a folder, for example "Network Folder", right-click on it and select " Properties".
In the properties window, go to the " Access" and check the boxes next to " Share this folder"if you want network users to be able to change (add, delete) files in this folder, check the box-" Allow changes to files over the network".
On this, the creation of a network folder (it is called a "ball") can be considered finished. As you can see, a hand appeared at the bottom of the folder, which means that the folder is a network folder.
In order for other users to see it over the network, you need to go to network environment , choose " Show workgroup computers", find the computer on which the network (shared) folder is located, click on it and see the shared network folder there.
Can be pressed "Start" - "Run" or keyboard shortcut "Win" + "R", enter //<имя или IP компьютера> , for example // comp, press the Enter key, all shared folders of the computer will open.
network drive .
How to make a network folder in Windows 7.
Properties".
In the properties window, go to the tab " Access"and press" General access".
Now you need to add the necessary users and give them the appropriate access, in this example full access(the ability to change and delete files) per folder will be available to everyone. In the Add field, select " All", in the column Permission level choose " Reading and writing", press " General access".
Ready".
After that go to " Start" - "Control Panel" -"or click on the button network connection on the taskbar and select "Network and Sharing Center".
In the opened window Network and Sharing Center look at which network is used (in this example - Working) click on "".
In the profile you use (home, work or shared), make the necessary changes, namely:
Scroll down and:
Save your changes.
This completes the network folder setup in Windows7.
A computer, right click " Net", select the computer on which it is located network folder, all shared folders of the computer will open on the right.
Another way is to click "Start" or keyboard shortcut "Win" + "R" and enter //<имя или IP компьютера> , for example //User-PC.
For ease of use, a network folder can be connected network drive .
How to make a network folder in Windows 8.
In order to make a network folder in Windows 7, create a folder, right-click on it and select " Properties".
In the properties window, go to the tab " Access"and press" General access".
Now you need to add the necessary users and give them the appropriate access, in this example, everyone will have full access to the folder (the right to change and delete files). In the Add field, select " All" and in the column Permission level choose " Reading and writing", press " General access".
A message box will open stating that the package has become networked. Press " Ready".
After that go to "Control Panel" - "Network and Sharing Center"or click on the button network connection on the taskbar and select "Network and Sharing Center".
In the window that opens, look at which network is used (in this example, Public), click on " Change advanced sharing options".
In the profile you are using (private, guest, or public), make the necessary changes, namely:
Turn on network discovery;
Turn on file and printer sharing;
Go to tab " All networks":
Turn on sharing so network users can read and write files in shared folders.
Disable password protected sharing.
Save your changes.
This completes the network folder setup in Windows8.
To use the network folder, go to A computer, right click " Net", select the computer on which the network folder is located by clicking on necessary computer, all its shared folders will open on the right.
Another way is to press the keyboard shortcut "Win" + "R", enter //<имя или IP адрес компьютера> , for example //pk2. Pressing Enter will open a window with the shared folders of the computer.
For convenience, the shared folder can be connected network drive .
I hope now, regardless of the operating system Windows XP / Windows 7 / Windows 8, you can share the folder without any problems.