Computer sharing in Windows 7 - help please

[Ar-Pharazon]

I am running Windows 7 on both desktop & laptop.

I just installed a wireless router (Linksys WRT54GS). The desktop is connected to the router via a LAN cable & the laptop uses it's wireless capability.

I get the internet OK from either computer and I have been able to "see" shared folders on the desktop from the laptop. From the desktop, the laptop icon only opens Media Player (for some reason)

The question is, how can I "see" all the folders on (for example) the laptop from the desktop (using explorer)? Is there an app I can use to synchronize files in specific folders on both computers?

 

[GalaxyX]

Windows will not just let you open all the folders on another PC. You have to Share every individual folder you want access to.

However, if you share the entire C: drive and go to Advanced Sharing options, and give everyone Full Control, you should pretty much have access to everything on your C: drive.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I'll give that a try, thanks.

I have been trying RDC, but it keeps giving me the "username or password incorrect" message, even though it is seeing the other computer's login picture.

I've tried every fix I could find regarding the RDC problem, with no luck so far.

 

[GalaxyX]

Windows is so paranoid that it will block connection attempts even if you don't have a password set.

There's a Local Group Policy you can disable to prevent this (I don't remember off the top of my head where it is though), or you can just create another account with a password and use that to RDP into your other machine.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I changed the sharing settings, and the laptop's "C:" shows up on the desktops network map, but it says I don't have permission to access it. I changed the password protected sharing to off, but that didn't change anything.

The new weird thing is, the homegroup section (left side in explorer) on the laptop shows my desktop's Libraries, but not the other way around. No amount of troubleshooting fixes this, though T/S is a generally worthless thing.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

Haven't switched to Windows 7, so this is just coming out my ass, but go to My Computer, right click on the c: drive and you should see sharing in the context menu. You've probably done that already.

Now you also have to do this with individual folders. Windows won't let another computer into the root of the drive and there's no reason it should. So you right click on "Public" and your own user folder and allow sharing there too, then you should be able to get to the files.

If you have a secondary drive it's a lot easier because that's not the OS drive, you can just share the entire drive, so for simplicity at home I just put all media files on that drive.

Again, not sure about Windows 7 they may have changed the name, but there should be something like a network and sharing center. You set Network discover "On", File Sharing "On", Public Folder Sharing "On", Printer Sharing "On", Password Protected Sharing "Off" and Media Sharing "On".

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

It had originally let me into the 2 user "shared" folders (1 with my user name & public) without trouble. I'll give this new suggestion a try right now.

Edit: The sub folders of C: are already marked as sharable. But using the "share with" option in the context menu, I was able to make a sub-folder show up & be accessible.