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Nothing is simple anymore

shermans
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Nothing is simple anymore

In the good old days of XP and W95, it was so easy to connect several computers together into a network.  With Windows 10 it has all got so complicated.  Can anyone help please ?

I have several computers in different geographic locations and as I move from location to location, I just want to be able to connect my laptop to the desktop in that location.  Not rocket science you would have thought.  But try as I may, I cannot do so.  I am not in the least, tiniest bit interested in security because I keep nothing on any hard discs, nothing in the cloud, nothing anywhere that any hacker could possibly find interesting.  I just use old fashioned brown envelopes !

When I first loaded W10, I was forced to register a Microsoft user name, which then meant it demanded that I enter my user name and password whenever I turned on the computer.  Eventually I found a way to stop that nonsense and turn it off.  That works for my laptop but not for networking the other confusers.

I have tried the usual process for networking by having a workgroup, enabling file and printer sharing and making the computer visible.  But if I try to connect, either from or to another computer, I keep being asked for a user name and password which to my knowledge I do not have and certainly do not wish to have.  If anyone is interested to see the boring files on my computer, I have nothing to hide and they are most welcome to do so.

Rant over.  But can anyone please advise ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

14 REPLIES 14
ReedRichards
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

I never tried networking on Windows 95 but it was not so easy on XP.  You had to run a Wizard to start and even then if the account you were trying to connect to did not have a password the computer would be very reluctant to let you network in.  But if there was a user account Shermans with password Password then you would be asked for a user name and password, just as you are experiencing now.  The user name would be Shermans, the password would be Password and there is a box to tick so the computer remembers these and then you won't be asked again.

Networking is pretty much the same in later versions of Windows but the Wizard is gone and you have to manually enable sharing in the Network and Sharing Center.

AFAIK to be on a network all the computers need to be connected to the same router.  If not, you are into the realm of Virtual Networks (VPNs).  "Different geographic locations" implies that all the computers are not connected to the same router.

The modern way to achieve what you want is to use the same Microsoft account on all your computers and store your files in the cloud (OneDrive).  

 

 

shutter
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

As you are not at all interested in "security"... why not go back to an older version of Windows, which you know you will be able to connect to your network, as before...

 

 

shermans
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

Would that I could, but the reality is that it is not possible as things like browsers no longer work with XP and new applications certainly do not.  Sadly, technology has gone backwards while trying to go forwards.

shermans
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

Thanks for the reply.  However, I have to take issue with you on XP.  It is not true that you had to use a wizard.  You could if you wanted to do so, and you also saved a file to transfer to the networked computer.  But it was not necessary and I never used that method.

You are correct about the locations all having their own separate routers, but they all have the same SSID and password, which os why moving between locations was always so easy - as I went from one and arrived at the next, everything worked seamlessly for the last ten years, with five computers involved.

 

 

nanotm
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

the cloud share option would only work if all those locations are pure internet or occupy the same business domain,

 

you can achieve the file sync across devices via the internet if you use the onedrive setup to save a copy to the various computers with the bonus that you also maintain a copy in the cloud, you would need ot access the internet to increase sync the files though.

 

as far as i'm aware the only sticking point to what your trying to do is the login setup (username /password) which would be required, however you can create a pin number to login with on windows 10 devices,

 

if you wish to retain the files on a single machine (laptop) and just access them from desktops in different places when connected ot the network, you must setup each network as a private or work domain, under network manager, then put the file(s) into the shared section and switch off password sharing on the laptop for each of the locations networks (they should all show up as different numbers under network manager despite having identical login details) 

 

if the system pops up a login box when trying to acces the shared files on the laptop at each of the locations then simply leaving the boxes blank and hitting enter (click ok) should grant you access, failing that you would need to make share rules for the files and that you would need ot google for (plenty of tutorials available) to grant shared ownership to each domain login, simple changing the workgroup would not be enough to make the files discoverable.

 

if your having problems seeing the laptop on the locations network domain then you need  to speak to whoever setup the wifi and ask them to check router isolation settings and domain settings match for both wired and wireless networks

 

everything is difficult until you find your way round it, windows 10 can do everything older versions could do and a lot more besides, but figuring out how to do them is different, oh and it makes a big difference if your trying to link 32/64 home/pro/enterprise systems to each other because each has different options that require policy editing in order to "talk" to other versions by the netadmin, and it requires more than one policy to be edited and then granting the permisions to the domain user either on a fixed or floating basis, just in case your trying to cross link different versions of 10 /

just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
shermans
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

Thanks for all that info.  I will try it out and see if I get anywhere.  The cloud is not an option for me, because two of the locations have appalling slow internet access - both rural, very rural ! - and even my home PlusNet only gives a maximum of 4 Mb. if I am lucky.  The rural ones give less than 512k.

As for Windows 10, it has been maligned but MS is their own worst enemy.  There should be ways of preventing users from having to learn all over again.  Some of us are not so young as we were.  I had a career in IT before I retired but I still get very confused trying to find things.  I am of the simple school and would prefer that MS does not try to organise my life for me by telling me where to store things - I do my best to ignore it.

Otherwise, I am pleased to say that I have found Windows 10 surprisingly compatible.  Old Windows 95 programmes work without problem.  Even my HP Laserjet 1100 parallel printer works through the USB !  My Outlook 2000 works without problem, thank goodness, with one irritation - signing out to change profile is not straight forward because the original profile remains in memory, and starts up again automatically instead of allowing me to change profile.  The only solution is to "kill" Outlook, then run something else briefly and after that go back to Outlook.  Otherwise the original stays in memory until I run something else.  Any ideas how to "kill" immediately in W 10?

nanotm
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

yeah they got a lot right with it but they failed in the learning curve area  by making some of the changes so strict, still it was less of a learning curve than windows 8 was in terms of finding hidden menus and so on, at least the start bar worked well although needing to right click over the icon to bring up the advanced menu instead of being able to get to it direct from the all programs list is slightly backwards/

and the help menus are more useless for the advanced windows user than ever before

 

 

 

 

 

 

just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
ReedRichards
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

Did you grasp that the user name and password you are being asked for is exactly the same user name and password you were always asked for?  The user name is the name of the account on the remote computer and the password is the login password for that account on the remote computer.  It was ever thus. 

nanotm
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

@ReedRichards

does that now work with cross version systems without needing the security policy updating for both sides?

I ask because the default setting was to block it so a business couldn't buy cheap laptops with basic on and skip paying the enterprise licence fees ....

 

 

 

 

just because your paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you
tokey
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

Focusing on the file sync part, if you arent happy with putting things in the cloud like one drive and google then you could always give BT Sync a try:

 

https://www.getsync.com/

 

It allows you to keep files on a variety of devices all up to date without the need of them being stored outside of your personal drives.  Very useful for keeping work files or similar all up to date across multiple devices and locations.

shermans
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

Thanks for the getsync tip.  It sounds ideal formy purposes.  I will look into it.

 

The reason I do not like things like the cloud is just that I prefer to keep anything sensitive offline, and preferably on external media.   That way hackers cannot get at it easily.  They would have to be active when I am using the data and connected to my router., or break into my house !  It is a bit like the old motto, "If you want to keep a secret, don't tell anyone !"

 

I have not yet had time to play with networking my new computers again but maybe tonight I will have another go.

tokey
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore


@shermans wrote:

Thanks for the getsync tip.  It sounds ideal formy purposes.  I will look into it.

 


I use it for my own work for all the reasons you listed.  This way I can keep company sensitive files within hardware I control but still have the convenience of being able to access them at home, in the office, on my mobile etc.

7up
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore


@shermans wrote:

In the good old days of XP and W95, it was so easy to connect several computers together into a network.  With Windows 10 it has all got so complicated. 

 


I beg to differ. Try running WinME or 98 as an ICS host and then network XP computers to it which want to use that machines internet. It just doesn't work.

WinXP onwards will share its internet connection with any other OS. I've not used Win8,9 or 10 but I don't think MS would have gone backwards to the incompatability thing.

I need a new signature... i'm bored of the old one!
PeeGee
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Re: Nothing is simple anymore

I don't think MS Windows worked well as a gateway, though my experience was mainly in "98" days. Even stand alone, there were more dropped packets than accepted - unlike the "386" based Linux box that operated as a gateway for 12 NT units and was idle most of the time even when the 10Mbps link was maxed-out (that really <censored> the IT dept.) Wink

Phil

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Using a TP-Link Archer VR600 modem-router.