HOME network problem - sharing files, etc. just isn't working

[ToneDialling]

This used not to be a problem. I have a HH6 and a good broadband connection. I have one desktop PC with an ethernet connection to HH. I have two laptops connected by Wifi. These run Win 10. I also have a laser printer, a wood-pellet boiler and a range extender all with ethernet connection to the network. All the PCs can access the internet and all the other devices on the network except each other. This is tedious as my wife and I frequently want to exchange material between her PC and one of my laptops. I have tried Microsoft's diagnosis wares and the best I can get (and this happens on all three machines) is a message that says that the machine (I was using at the time) is working properly but the one I want to inspect is not accessible. No further help is forthcoming. BT's online help doesn't appear to bear on my problem.

I suspect the HomeHub but that's only a feeling. And I've turned it off and back on a couple of times but that made no difference.

I don't think I've fouled up any settings and I haven't got a good enough memory to have fouled all three up by making the same mistake on each one. But I recognise that may have happened. I have a Word doc that contains reports from Troubleshooters and other status information should that be necessary.

I hope someone can help. I understand that storing all the relevant data we'd like to transfer from one PC to another in a cloud device would represent a workaround but I'd rather hope not to have to go down that route. This seems to me to be a very basic process that I no longer can use and it is getting more tedious by the day.

Thanks in advance,
Tony

[gg30340 · Accepted solution]

This would appear to be a Windows 10 problem rather than a BT problem.

If you do an Internet search you will find a few posts about this.

 Can’t See Other Computers on a Network? Fixes For Windows, Mac, and Linux (helpdeskgeek.com)

Can’t see other Computer on Network - Microsoft Community

I have on occasions had the same problem and the fix I have found that works is to carry out a Network Reset on the affected computers..

To do that click on your connection icon at the bottom right of your screen. This will bring up your network connection box. Click on "Network and Internet Settings". When the settings box opens scroll down to the link named "Network Reset". Click on that then "Reset Now".  You will then get a message telling you that your computer will restart in x time. Just ignore that and restart your computer.

Once it has restarted , if on a wireless connection you will need to re-enter your hubs wireless password then you will get another pop up box asking if you want to share folder etc. Select "Yes".

Wait till the computer has fully started and check if it nows sees the other computer on the network.

[ToneDialling]

Thanks for your suggestion. It has been partially successful. Before I go into detail, I need you to know that on both my wife's PC and my laptop, there was no "connection icon in the bottom right corner". However, I believe I achieved your aim by simply following the route: Settings/Network and Internet/Status/Network reset.

Thereafter my laptop could not make a Wifi connection to my Home Hub. The troubleshooter reported:

Windows couldn't automatically bind the IP protocol stack to the network adapter.

I don't know what steps to take to make any progress with that piece of news.

Next I made an ethernet connection with my Home Hub and that was better but not perfect. With both my wife's PC (VAL1606) and my laptop CA10 2QA) I found that the setting for network discovery was Off and the Profile was Public where previously it had been Private. No sweat to deal with those and Explorer now shows both computers under Network. Unfortunately, from my CA10 2QA, I am only allowed access to Public folders on VAL1606, which is almost as inconvenient as using a memory stick to transfer files. My wife is an inexpert computer user and it will take some time for her to become fluent in using the Public folder. I am fairly sure that previously I had access to almost her entire computer, so that transferring a photo from hers to mine was pretty much the same as moving or copying it from one location to another on the one machine. Perhaps there has been a change in Windows that I failed to spot?

When using VAL1606, whilst CA10 2QA is visible in Explorer, it is not accessible and I get the same message from Troubleshooter as before the Network Reset, namely that "This computer is working properly but there is no response from CA10 2QA" - actually I misquote here (my wife is using VAL1606 and can't be disturbed) but the meaning is unambiguous.

On my laptop I next tried Control Panel/Network and Internet/Network Connections and found both Ethernet was connected and Wifi was "Enabled" but when I check Wifi Status, I find the both IPv4 and IPv6 are not connected. Clicking Diagnose led to the message "Windows couldn't automatically bind the IP protocol stack to the network adapter." It seems to me that there is a problem with my computer or perhaps some feature may need to be re-installed? What do you think?

I have yet to try your suggestion with my other laptop (named Surface, for obvious reasons).

Best wishes,
Tony

[gg30340]

Do you have a VPN installed, if so turn it off to see if that then allows you to connect.

If that doesn't help have a look at these videos re- the error message you are getting.

Windows couldn’t automatically bind the IP protocol stack to the network adapter - YouTube

FIX: Windows Couldn’t Automatically Bind The IP Protocol Stack To The Network Adapter - YouTube

As regards your shared folders only being the public folders, that would be normal unless you have set your computer or certain files on your computer to be available to other computers on your home network. 

There are various way that can be achieved but it does require some knowledge of what you are doing and without knowing how you achieved that previously I can not advise you how to achieve it in this instance.

[ToneDialling]

Thanks. tomorrow here the weather will be vile so I will have plenty of time to study the videos. Incidentally, no VPN installed, although my Kaspersky software keeps on offering it to me.
Regarding the business about shared folders and my past experience, I simply wondered if there had been a change in policy about this that I had not noticed.