Workgroup stopped working. Network path not found.

[Br4mb0]

Hi there.

 

I had a workgroup for a long time without any problems. Then a week ago the power went out and after it came back on, the workgroup wasn't working anymore.

I used it mainly to download torrents from my laptop onto a network drive on my desktop. So the workgroup consists of a laptop and a desktop.

 

The desktop isn't reachable from the laptop, but the laptop IS reachable from the desktop.

 

I bought a new WiFi dongle for the desktop (it needed upgrading anyway) and tried all the Microsoft solutions to fix the workgroup.

I also formatted the desktop PC, because I'm making that a media player PC, but that also didn't help.

My last resort is also formatting my laptop, but that's a bunch of work so I'd rather not do that.

 

Does anyone have any other possible solutions? They would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

SPECS:

Laptop: Lenovo Y740 / Windows 10 / Realtek PCIe GBE

Desktop: Windows 10 /  TP-Link Archer T4U

[Allan B]

The obvious check is the windows firewall.   Otherwise how are you connecting to the desktop "\\desktoppcname\sharename"??   If you ping "desktoppcname" do you get a response?  If yes, try connecting to ip "\\192.168.x.x\sharename"...

 

What is the error, "isn't reachable" doesn't help, what is the actual error you are getting?

[Br4mb0]

33 minutes ago, Allan B said:

The obvious check is the windows firewall.   Otherwise how are you connecting to the desktop "\\desktoppcname\sharename"??   If you ping "desktoppcname" do you get a response?  If yes, try connecting to ip "\\192.168.x.x\sharename"...

 

What is the error, "isn't reachable" doesn't help, what is the actual error you are getting?

Hi there, thanks for your reply.

 

The firewall isn't on, on both PCs.

 

This is the error I get with adding the network drive:

 

But the folder is definitely valid (these are just the drive letters).

 

And this is what I get when I try to ping the IP and hostname:

 

The actual error when trying to connect through the network tab:

[Allan B]

Have you created a share called "D"?   If yes, review the permissions on it. 

 

Also if you click browse on your second screenshot do you see the desktop pc in the list?   This can be an issue if the desktop is configured to be on a "Public Network" vs home or now called "private" network.

[Br4mb0]

39 minutes ago, Allan B said:

Have you created a share called "D"?   If yes, review the permissions on it. 

 

Also if you click browse on your second screenshot do you see the desktop pc in the list?   This can be an issue if the desktop is configured to be on a "Public Network" vs home or now called "private" network.

Yes, I'm using the drive letters as shares. These are the drives I'm sharing:

 

These are the permissions on one of the drives (they are the same on all drives):

 

The PC is in the browse list but I get the same network error when trying to open it:

 

Also both the laptop and the desktop are in a private network. These are the settings of said network on both PCs:

 

I really don't know what I'm missing, it's driving me insane.

 

[Allan B]

Do you by chance not have passwords on your user accounts?  You cant authenticate without passwords  (the last option in your screenshot "password protected sharing".)

 

Could try the good old command line, but again you need a username and password.

net use w: \\desktop-bram\d /user:XXXXXX

[Br4mb0]

On 10/25/2022 at 3:37 PM, Allan B said:

Do you by chance not have passwords on your user accounts?  You cant authenticate without passwords  (the last option in your screenshot "password protected sharing".)

 

Could try the good old command line, but again you need a username and password.

net use w: \\desktop-bram\d /user:XXXXXX

 First I want to say; thanks for your help. It's very much appreciated.

 

I have passwords set up on both my PCs and also with the option turned off it still doesn't work, it gets me the same error as before.

 

This is what I get when I try the command: