Solved Best way to share file with Win7 machine? (Homegroup ick)

Hi,

I had to buy a new laptop that I could take with me to work, and of course it runs Win8 (which I absolutely hate, incidentally). I decided it would be nice if I could share files with my primary computer when I'm at home, which is a desktop running dual-boot Win7 and Ubuntu.

I initially set up a homegroup, but whenever I try to access laptop files from my desktop it always pops up with a "enter network username and password" dialog. I tried looking up solutions to that but so far haven't found anything that works. I made sure the clocks on both computers were the same, and I made sure that all network settings were the same on both, including the setting "do not use user accounts/passwords," but I'm still having the issue.

So, what's the best way for me to share/sync files on my laptop with the desktop's files while I'm at home?

I use skydrive. the only downfall is if your new then you only get 7GB. I have skydrive running on windows 7 and I also have my "Music, Videos, Desktop, Downloads, Pictures" all synced through Skydrive.
its really nice because I don't have to do anything but use my PC.
it also work amazing with my phone (Windows Phone8)

Also if you don't like windows 8 then you should check out Windows 8.1. You can boot straight to desktop and skydrive is built in.

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of cloud services. I like the idea of them, but I don't trust them much. I like Ubuntu's cloud service, but mostly because it's Ubuntu: I'm not really worried about them pulling a curtain on me or changing things drastically just because someone thought of a new way to make money with a few "upgrades." If I have to try it out, then I'll look into it.

From what I've seen, 8.1 is still largely geared towards tablets and touch-screen devices. I think it's completely cheap and ridiculous that Windows has decided to try using the same framework they use for tablets and mobile phones as they do for more serious desktops and laptops. It's a cop-out in my opinion, just like the xbox fiasco. More gimmicks, stupid apps, dumbing pc components down, significantly less control, etc. I've managed to tweak things and use third-party software to get the start menu back, disable the lock-screen, ignore the tile screen, disable screen switching, and I'm still hoping to get rid of the freaking charms bar and other screen sidebar. I also got Aero back. I'll wait a while for 8.1 since right now a lot of the things I've used to get 8 as much like 7 as possible aren't supported on 8.1 yet since it's a pre-release version. I'm sure Windows8 is excellent for casual pc users. My mother would probably love it. Honestly I'm thinking of getting the call-in tech at work to give me a Win7 pro copy they use on the work computers I can install myself. I should have replaced my old laptop months ago when there was still a choice between 7 and 8. /soapbox, sorry

Try leaving the homegroup on the secondary machine. Delete the homegroup on the primary machine. Restart the process.

Use option 2
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/15824-homegroup-create-windows-8-a.html

The best way and also the safest way is still setting up a Homegroup. Syncing files isn't the same as sharing them, sync toy is good for that or SkyDrive works.

Most problems with Homegroups can be fixed by going though the trouble shooter in the link.
Ultimate Troubleshooting Guide for Windows 7 HomeGroup Connection Issues - Help Desk Geek

Mr Sardonicus said:

Try leaving the homegroup on the secondary machine. Delete the homegroup on the primary machine. Restart the process.

Use option 2
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/15824-homegroup-create-windows-8-a.html

Click to expand...

Already done, and got the same results.

chev65 said:

The best way and also the safest way is still setting up a Homegroup. Syncing files isn't the same as sharing them, sync toy is good for that or SkyDrive works.

Most problems with Homegroups can be fixed by going though the trouble shooter in the link.
Ultimate Troubleshooting Guide for Windows 7 HomeGroup Connection Issues - Help Desk Geek

Click to expand...

Yeah, exactly why I wanted to figure out the network/homegroup issue. Thanks, I'll try the troubleshooter.

You might also want to check in the Advanced Sharing Settings under All Networks, which is located at the Network and Sharing Center, there is another place where you can turn off password protected sharing per the picture below.

Thanks, that setting is one of the first I triple-checked.

I ran through the troubleshooter on both machines, restart them both, and for some reason a bunch of the settings in Services reset themselves to "Manual." I changed them all back to automatic for the second time, and now they seem to be sticking? I guess I'll have to give it a go. No idea why it would have reset them though!