How to share files on windows 8

Doubts

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Hey guys.

I have been trouble sharing files with windows 8.

I basically went into network & sharing center and turned all of the options to ON (or yes, whatever lol).

The machines are both running windows 8 on a wifi network.

I noticed a few things:

If you right click the wireless network, you can "toggle" and turn on/off file sharing. This is a tad confusing, windows 7 never had this option.

Also, do you need to be on a "homegroup" in order to share on windows 8?

Windows 8 sharing is a tad confusing, here's why.

There are a million variables!

Variable 1: Variable 1 is comprised of a million different variables and is the "network and sharing center". I Have all options set to "On", and still can't share. Grrr.

Variable 2: Variable 2 is the right clicking on the WiFi network and clicking "turn network sharing on or off". Mine is set to off at the moment, but why is this separate from variable 1? Confusing!

Variable 3: The final variable I can think of having a homegroup. I don't have a homegroup setup right now, do I need all machines to be on a homegroup to start file sharing between computers?

What I want: I want to be able to share entire computer contents between machines.

Back in the windows 7 days I used to be able to hit "run" and type in //computerame/c$ and I had complete file access to other computers on the network. Can anyone tell me how to accomplish that with Windows 8? That way I can access all files, not just "shares" on computers on the network.

Thanks for any networking gurus out there.

Cheers

PS: Right now, when I try to connect to other machines on the network, I get a username/password prompt. No matter what I input I get an error and it won't work.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 pro 64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    Altheimers
    Graphics Card(s)
    Dual ATI
You don't have to set up a Homegroup in order to share files and folders. The workgroup works fine for that although there are certain advantages to setting up a Homegroup such as network security and selective user sharing.

To enable sharing just go to the network and sharing center and turn on Network Discovery, File and Printer Sharing etc.

The link below shows how to share the entire User folder although this folder and everything in it are already shared by default.
http://www.eightforums.com/network-sharing/20146-shared-default.html
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro WMC
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built
    CPU
    Q9650 @ 4.05 GHz
    Motherboard
    Gforce 780i SLI FTW
    Memory
    8GB Gskill DDR2 1200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX-480
    Sound Card
    Asus D2 Xonar
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HannsG
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    Gskill 120GB SSD
    PSU
    Thermal Take 1000watts
    Case
    Thermal Take Xtreme
    Cooling
    9 fans air cooled
    Keyboard
    G15 logitech
    Mouse
    G9 logitech
    Internet Speed
    50mbps
Hello Doubts,

If all the computers on your network are Windows 7 and/or Windows 8, then creating a homegroup on one PC and joining the homegroup on the other PCs would be the easiest way to do so IMO. The tutorials below can show you more on this. Be sure to check all settings mentioned in the tutorial on all PCs so that they are able to join the homegroup.

Afterwards, you could set what folders or drives you would like to set to be shared by the "homegroup" from within "Network" in File Explorer on the other PCs.
Hope this helps, :)
Shawn
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
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