You want to put two computers in network share on Windows.
This allows data to be transferred between two PCs over a Windows LAN LAN .
For this, you have created a shared folder on a PC to access it from a second PC.
But how to access this shared folder from the Windows network ?
This article gives you several methods to achieve this.
Contents
- 1The prerequisites for putting two computers in network share on Windows
- 2How to access a Windows 10 shared folder
- 1From the file explorer
- 2With the UNC network path
- 3Create and map a network drive
- 3Network credentials: user and password
- 4Problems accessing a shared folder on Windows 10
- 5Links
- 6Find the solution on the help forum
THE PREREQUISITES TO PUT TWO COMPUTERS IN NETWORK SHARE ON WINDOWS
Here’s how to configure PCs to network on Windows:
- Computers are part of the same workgroup. In general, it is the WORKGROUP
- The LANPCs are in the same network location , usually the Private network. To read: The differences between a public, private or home network on Windows
- Security software, Windows Defender Firewall should not block file shares
- Windows network related services should be started and not disabled. So be careful with optimizations and disabling Windows services
- If you don’t want to enter login information (user name and password) every time, create the same user accounts on each PC with the same password.
HOW TO ACCESS A WINDOWS 10 SHARED FOLDER
FROM THE FILE EXPLORER
Windows 10 is able to list computers and their network shares from the file explorer.
This allows very easy access to any share of your LAN PCs.
This is done through network discovery and file sharing .
When connecting to the network for the first time, it will have to be activated.
Time required: 6 minutes.
How to access a Windows 10 shared folder
- Open Network in File Explorer
Go to Windows 10 file explorer.
Then left click on Network in the list.
- Enable network discovery and file sharing
At the first connection, a yellow band indicates network discovery and file sharing is disabled .
Click on the yellow banner to activate network discovery.
- Confirm the activation of network discovery and file sharing
If your PC is on a public network, the following banner may appear.
Click on no, change the network I’m connected to a private network .
- Computers on the network are displayed in File Explorer
Then a scan and analysis of the network is carried out with data exchanges.
If the PCs respond, they are displayed in the file explorer in the network part.
All you have to do is double-click on the PC with the share you want to connect to.
If Windows 10 doesn’t see other computers , go to this network troubleshooting tutorial:
Windows 10: Network discovery is not working
- Open network share
Then the PC displays the list of network shares.
Double-click on the desired network share
- Enter network credentials
A Windows Security page appears where you are prompted to enter network credentials .
This is the username and password of a user account located on the PC to which you want to connect.
See the paragraph below in this article.
- Network share files are accessible
Finally if the permissions are correct, you then access the files and folders of the share.
You can then copy, transfer data from one PC to another.
If you are having errors accessing a Windows network share, follow this article:
Troubleshoot file shares and errors on Windows
Well done ! You have successfully accessed a Windows 10 shared folder to share two PCs.
WITH THE UNC NETWORK PATH
The UNC path for Universal Naming Convention (UNC) is a network path that allows access to a share on a PC.
It allows direct access to a network share.
A bit like you can access a local folder C: \ MySuperDossier, here returns a network share.
The ONE is of the form:
\\nomdelamachine\nomdupartage
But you can also replace the name of the machine by its IP address :
\\adresseIP\nomdupartage
So in our example:
- The PC is called MARJORIE-PC
- Sharing is malekal-com
And so to access the share from the UNC path, we use \\ MARJORIE-PC \ malekal-com
This UNC path can be used in the address bar of Windows Explorer.
How to access a Windows 10 shared folder
But also on the accessible run page:
- By right-clicking on the Windows 10 Start menu> Run
- Using the CTRL + R key combination
Once validated, we go directly to the PC network share.
Well done ! You have successfully accessed a Windows 10 shared folder to share two computers.
CREATE AND MAP A NETWORK DRIVE
The network drive is a drive that appears directly in Windows File Explorer.
In computer language it is said to map a network drive .
The latter are automatically mounted at the opening of the Windows session.
This avoids having to search for a network share that you need to access frequently.
To create and map a network drive on Windows, follow this comprehensive guide:
How to Connect / Map Network Drive on Windows 7, 10
NETWORK CREDENTIALS: USER AND PASSWORD
When you connect to a network share, a Windows Security page is likely to appear.
You must then enter the login information for a user account that is on the target PC.
The one you want to open the network share to.
To avoid having to enter the connection information each time, you must: create the same Windows user account on the target PC with which you are connecting.
For example, you connect from a PC A with the Malekal account on a share which is on the PC B.
You must:
- Create the same user, i.e. Malekal with the same password on PC B
- Sharing must be configured to allow Malekal user
When connecting to the share, PC B sees that PC A is connected with user Malekal, if he exists at home with the same password, he will authorize the connection.
Otherwise it will ask you for a Windows user counter present on PC B.
PROBLEMS ACCESSING A SHARED FOLDER ON WINDOWS 10
When a problem occurs while accessing a folder share, you encounter the message: Windows cannot access .
An explanation and an error code then follow.
To help you troubleshoot shared folder access issues on Windows 10, follow this full article:
