Can't Share Laptop on Network
I can't get my laptop to share properly on my home network even though I have both the C: drive and the My Documents folder on the laptop and my main PC set for sharing. From my main PC, I can access another PC on the network from My Network Places with no problem. I can see both the laptop C: drive and its My Documents folder from My Network Places. I can access the laptop's My Documents folder just fine, but when I try the laptop's C: drive I get a "not accessible" message. From the laptop I can't even see any other computers on the network in My Network Places. But if I use a shortcut to the actual computer address (in the format \\computername\c) I can access the C drive of that computer. Any ideas what's going on and how I can fix this?
| Check out this week's most popular articles. |
Check out theseFREE trial downloads 
RoboForm memorizes and securely stores all your passwords. Enjoy one-click logins, complete checkout forms with one click. This is one program I use all day, every day! 
Slow computer? Diskeeper 2010 means a clean disk, unprecedented speed and reliable efficiency! Download the free trial and see what a difference it makes for you. |
All I can say is that Windows networking is flaky and seemingly capricious. Anyone have a suggestion?
If you think you know the answer, use the form below to post your comments.
|
|
Need more tech support?
|
Check out other articles in this category:
Posted by Bob Rankin on August 21, 2005 06:00 PM
| Need More Help? Try the AskBobRankin Updates Newsletter. It's Free! |
 |
Prev Article: Hard Drive Crash |
|
Next Article: Blue Security - Spam Solution? |
 |
|
Link to this article from your site or blog. Just copy and paste from this box: Related Keywords: Quickies laptop cannot share files can't share files networking' |
Post your Comments, Questions or Suggestions
|
Ask Bob Rankin Home Page
Subscribe to AskBobRankin Updates: Free Newsletter |
|
| Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved | ||
Article information: AskBobRankin -- Can't Share Laptop on Network (Posted: August 21, 2005 06:00 PM)
Printed from: http://askbobrankin.com/cant_share_laptop_on_network.html
Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
Most recent comments on "Can't Share Laptop on Network"
Posted by:
JJ Jock
24 Aug 2005
Couple of things.. Make sure NetBios is installed in the network settings of the laptop, and also make sure that you are in the same workgroup as your PCs.
Posted by:
Killshot
24 Aug 2005
9 times out of 10, sharing problems are caused by the Microsoft Firewall being turned on; disable it and try again. If that doesn't work, check your Local Area Connection in the Network Connections under the Control Panel. Make sure that your laptop is using the correct NIC for your configuration. Laptops are more prone to these types of problems because they are often equipped with both an ethernet port for local connections and a WiFi card for wireless connections. If your laptop is checking for your local nodes on the wrong NIC, it's not going to find them, but other nodes would still find the laptop, because the second NIC is also connected. Don't give up because you at least know the hardware is working properly; your network settings just aren't configured properly.
Posted by:
Ben
26 Aug 2005
I have had the same problem. I fixed it by setting up a user that exists on both the laptop and the PC. Also giving admin privs to that user may help. When accessing the shared resource, you may have to enter the said username. ie: LAP2//User then the password
Posted by:
tb
18 Oct 2006
hey, thanks for the posts folks. Simple enough suggestions, I can't tell you how long and how often I've had to revisit this subject for me pesonally at home. What a drag. But looks like I'm finally getting somewhere.
My suggestions:
1. make sure all nodes are on the same workgroup name
2. make atleast one file/folder a network share on EACH node, by right clicking and turning on share.
3. install netbui/ipx on all nodes.
4. in network places, start the 'add network place' wizard and either \\name\share or search for the share. If you search, this will be a good indicator whether or not it will work. If a share shows up, then it's all good. If not, you're out of luck even using a path.
5. other nigth I also added all my internal ips to the lmhost file of each computer. Don't know if this helped.
Posted by:
Fernando
13 Dec 2006
Something useful that I found is using net use:
“net use \\computername\sharename * /user:username”
The * is to prompt for the password, instead of * you can add your password on the same line. Hope this help to someone.