Can't see my SMB shares

[tinpanalley]

I'm going a little bit nuts with this. 
EVERY device that can access my home network shares does so perfectly smoothly. But for a reason I can't figure out, my new laptop refuses to see them.

I have my WiFi setup using the first pod of my tplink mesh system as my router. My internet comes in coax to my ISP's modem, from there a line goes straight to the router and all WiFi is handled by that device. The laptop is new, mind you and running Windows 11 so there may be some wonky MS setting that I have yet to fix on it.
What can I check? I'm going crazy trying different things.

[manikyath]

windows likes setting your network to 'public' by default, and then SMB doesnt discover the network.

 

i dont know where they burried the setting in windows 11, but somewhere you can set it to 'private' and SMB will magically start doing it's thing.

[tinpanalley]

2 minutes ago, manikyath said:

windows likes setting your network to 'public' by default, and then SMB doesnt discover the network.

 

i dont know where they burried the setting in windows 11, but somewhere you can set it to 'private' and SMB will magically start doing it's thing.

Ok, but the home network is running Windows 10 not 11. It's the new laptop that has 11.

[manikyath]

Just now, tinpanalley said:

Ok, but the home network is running Windows 10 not 11. It's the new laptop that has 11.

yes, but the laptop's side still needs SMB to access the shares.

[LIGISTX]

8 minutes ago, manikyath said:

windows likes setting your network to 'public' by default, and then SMB doesnt discover the network.

 

i dont know where they burried the setting in windows 11, but somewhere you can set it to 'private' and SMB will magically start doing it's thing.

This. 
 

4 minutes ago, tinpanalley said:

Ok, but the home network is running Windows 10 not 11. It's the new laptop that has 11.

You need to make sure the laptop’s network is set up as private, so it will actually allow the SMB protocol to function. 

[tinpanalley]

I'm not sure I understand. I have the Win10 desktop network set up as a private network. 

I have the laptop accessing that via WiFi. I seem to also have the laptop set up as a private network device. If that is what needs to be the same then you're saying I should be ok?

 

UPDATE: When I type my home network IP into Windows Explorer I see all the shares. So what stops them from being seen automatically under "Network"? 

[Bdavis]

Try opening fille explorer on laptop and typing //<IP of your desktop> and hit enter. Example for me  this would be //192.168.88.201

[LIGISTX]

6 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

 

UPDATE: When I type my home network IP into Windows Explorer I see all the shares. So what stops them from being seen automatically under "Network"? 

Windows being stupid... 
 

Just mount the share as a network drive. Then it will show up under your C drive as just another drive. It will even report how much space is used and available like a harddrive. 

[tinpanalley]

1 hour ago, LIGISTX said:

Windows being stupid... 
 

Just mount the share as a network drive. Then it will show up under your C drive as just another drive. It will even report how much space is used and available like a harddrive. 

Interesting idea, not sure how to do that but I'll look it up.
It will probably mess with all the other devices that I'm sharing to right now though.

[Needfuldoer]

8 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

UPDATE: When I type my home network IP into Windows Explorer I see all the shares. So what stops them from being seen automatically under "Network"? 

Auto-discovery is disabled on networks that are flagged "Public". You want your home network flagged as "Private" on your laptop so it will tell the rest of your network "hey I'm here, who's out there and do you have any SMB shares?".

 

If you change your home network to "Public" on one of your Windows 10 machines, it won't see the rest of your network anymore either.

 

This setting is per WiFi network, not per WiFi adapter. If you take your laptop somewhere and connect to public WiFi, it will treat that network as Public, then treat your WiFi as Private when you're back at home.

 

https://www.howtogeek.com/245982/whats-the-difference-between-private-and-public-networks-in-windows/

 

Here are Microsoft's instructions for changing this setting:

 

Quote

To change a Wi-Fi network to public or private

1. Select the Start button, then type settings. Select Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi.

2. On the Wi-Fi settings screen, select Manage known networks, and then select the Wi-Fi network you want to change.

3. On the Wi-Fi network screen, under Network profile type, select Public (Recommended) or Private.

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/make-a-wi-fi-network-public-or-private-in-windows-0460117d-8d3e-a7ac-f003-7a0da607448d#WindowsVersion=Windows_11

 

 

1 hour ago, tinpanalley said:

Interesting idea, not sure how to do that but I'll look it up.
It will probably mess with all the other devices that I'm sharing to right now though.

https://www.amherst.edu/offices/it/knowledge_base/network-storage/network-storage-shares/map_network_drive_to_a_drive_letter/node/499728

 

Mapping a share to a drive letter on your laptop won't mess with the way the files are shared to other devices.

[tinpanalley]

9 hours ago, Needfuldoer said:

Auto-discovery is disabled on networks that are flagged "Public". You want your home network flagged as "Private" on your laptop so it will tell the rest of your network "hey I'm here, who's out there and do you have any SMB shares?"...

Thanks SO much for all the thorough explanations. Really appreciate it. I love understanding what I'm doing rather than just following steps, particularly in home network things where my computer knolwedge sort of falls flat a bit.
Right now both the home network and the laptop are set to private. I have a password (my Windows login) set up to access the shares from any device. When I type the desktop's IP into file explorer on the laptop, it DOES go the shares but I don't get why I don't see them like on other devices or even like the other network devices on our home network (our Sonos, our other wireless devices, media server, etc)

[Bdavis]

7 hours ago, tinpanalley said:

Thanks SO much for all the thorough explanations. Really appreciate it. I love understanding what I'm doing rather than just following steps, particularly in home network things where my computer knolwedge sort of falls flat a bit.
Right now both the home network and the laptop are set to private. I have a password (my Windows login) set up to access the shares from any device. When I type the desktop's IP into file explorer on the laptop, it DOES go the shares but I don't get why I don't see them like on other devices or even like the other network devices on our home network (our Sonos, our other wireless devices, media server, etc)

I have had the same issues many times. I usually just map the network drive.

[tinpanalley]

6 minutes ago, Bdavis said:

I have had the same issues many times. I usually just map the network drive.

I dont get how such a basic and important functionality can be so miserably implemented in Windows. You'd think it would be seamless!!