Win 7 Network Sharing

[AtlCPU]

I have a small network of Win 7 PCs all connect to one PC that is sharing files. I have 1 that when I click on the mapped drive it comes up asking for User Name & Password. I have verified that Password Protected sharing is disabled.I can not figured out why only the one is giving me issues when the network is setup exactly the same. Also of not this just started this network is several years old and has worked up until now. Any help as to what I am missing is appreciated.

 

[WillieEverlearn]

you could always create an account to use for the share authentication

 

[AtlCPU]

Willie Thanks for the response. I have tried that and it still did not let the one PC login.

 

[Diggs]

I've seen this too often and can't explain it or why some machines can see all shares and other machines can only see a few. I struggle with some of the idiosyncrasies in Windows peer-to-peer networking.

 

[AtlCPU]

Diggs, I am right there with you. The thing is I can see all the shared folders on the network but as soon as I click on one of the folders the login pop up shows up.

 

[Moltuae]

I can not figured out why only the one is giving me issues when the network is setup exactly the same

Most common cause in my experience is conflicting credentials stored in Credentials Manager. Delete any stored credentials in there and, just to be sure, run the 'net use' command to see which connections are presently being remembered. Then run net use /delete to remove each/any existing connections to the sharing PC before attempting to re-establish the mapped connection.

I would also second the use of a dedicated user account for the shares. And I would also recommend making the account 'special/hidden' and use scripts to establish the connection at login (ie don't rely on Windows to remember the mapping; it's very unreliable). I recently posted details of my preferred method here, a method which has never failed me.

ETA .... Oh, and be sure to include the name of the sharing computer in the user name (eg server1\user) when offering local user credentials to eliminate any chance of ambiguity.

 

[Markverhyden]

And only use IP's for mapping. Don't use machine names.

 

[nlinecomputers]

And make sure everyone is using the same version of SMB. Make sure all the firewalls are set the same. If the network is a small friendly one then use a shared username to establish the shares. If more control is needed then ditch the workgroup and get a NAS unit with proper AFC.

 

[SlickMinnow]

Hey Y'all! Long time lurker. I might actually have something to offer this time... While I agree that using IP for mapping is preferred, that's only if you have a static network. I would expect that the OP's network has a router acting as a DHCP server and likely few if any IP reservations. Further, I think perhaps nlinecomputers might be onto something with the SMB version. I very recently spent way too many hours chasing down a 'Scan to Network Folder' permissions problem (with an HP 425dn vs a Win10 laptop) that turned out to be SMB mismatch. Specifically, I had to enable SMBv1 (Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows Features on or off > check the box for "SMB 1.0/CIFS File Sharing Support") on the Win10 laptop. <sarcasm> Score another one for HP printer security! </sarcasm>

 

[NJW]

<sarcasm> Score another one for HP printer security! </sarcasm>

HP has a firmware update (since March 2018):

Upgraded to SMBv2 support according to Microsoft’s SMB strategy.

<sarc>Score another one for local update policy.</sarc>

 

[SlickMinnow]

Well don't I feel silly...

Thank you Nick, I appreciate the info! I learn something useful every time I come here (sometimes about myself ).

I must admit that after the whole 'genuine HP inkjet cartridge' firmware update fiasco, I'm a bit gun-shy of HP firmware updating. I've had to walk back a couple automatic firmware updates that broke stuff as well. That said, checking for a relevant update is now higher on my troubleshooting list.

As an occasional break-fix customer of mine, there is no local update policy - only when I get called in to fix something. Even then, experience has taught me that just blanket updating everything that is currently working often leads to more problems than it potentially mitigates. I try to not fix things that aren't broken and stick to the problem at hand and any huge glaring issues. Over the years I've caused myself too much trouble by creeping scope on my own.

(Boy that sounds a bit defensive... I guess it is somewhat.) Still, I should have caught that and I genuinely appreciate you gently bringing it to my attention! I am scheduling a followup visit to update the printer and raise the SMB shields back up.

-Paul

 

[AtlCPU]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Using the full range I was able to get the PC back to using the shared folders. Again thank you all.

 

[SlickMinnow]

Would you be so kind as to let us know what you found...?

 

[AtlCPU]

I believe the biggest difference is using IP address rather than PC names. I changed all the shares to IP based and after that the problem machine was no longer a problem.

 

[Moltuae]

I believe the biggest difference is using IP address rather than PC names. I changed all the shares to IP based and after that the problem machine was no longer a problem.

While using IP addresses is certainly better and more reliable than using PC names (at least in a non-domain environment), the switch to an IP address connection will only be indirectly responsible for fixing your authentication issue. Windows does not resolve names when storing credentials so it will ignore any previously stored credentials that were saved against the PC name when establishing a connection via IP address. If you open up Credential Manager, I suspect you will find the old (conflicting) credentials that were causing issue.

 

[Rosco]

I've seen this too often and can't explain it or why some machines can see all shares and other machines can only see a few. I struggle with some of the idiosyncrasies in Windows peer-to-peer networking.

isnt it the worst. A property management company that the network breaks.They rather pay to fix a few things then get something better in place.

you could always create an account to use for the share authentication

I usually do set up a separate user name for sharing. Makes things a bit easier.

 

[brandonkick]

Windows based sharing setup has always been terrible in a non domain setting.

Sounds like you've found a fix. Be sure that the machines all have their IP's statically assigned both on the workstation and that there are reservations for said mappings in the router / gateway.

 

[NJW]

Boy that sounds a bit defensive... I guess it is somewhat.

Don't feel bad! I just wasted half a day trying to get a laptop to boot, having ignored the available BIOS update ...