On Sat, 29 Sep 2018 15:18:53 -0400, Paul
wrote:

Charlie Hoffpauir wrote:
On Thu, 27 Sep 2018 16:05:08 -0400, Paul
wrote:

Charlie Hoffpauir wrote:

Yes, it's becoming clearer that the Thinkpad, also the most recent
addition, is the problem. I can access the server or any other
computer from any device except the Thinkpad. But the Thinkpad can
ONLY access my desktop (GB) computer. In fact, since I have access to
everyone on all the devices set, it can see everything on GB but
nothing on any other device. This really puzzles me....
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, but this is really
getting out of my limited understanding of networking.
When you make the connection, is it asking for username/password ?

And then after that, you can't access anything on the volume ?

Paul

From the Thinkpad, I ask to view files on wife's computer:
\\JoAnn-pc

Windows then displays the printer that's attached to JoAnn-pc and all
the drive letters assigned, and also certain folders like Users.
However if I try to actually look at the contents of any of the
drives, for example i, I get the message "windows cannot access
\\joann-pc\i

You do not have permission fo access \\joann-pc\i. Contact your
network administrator to request access.

However, JoAnn-pc is set up for access by "everyone", and indeed I can
view the files from other computers on the network, both connected by
wireless and by cable.

Another bit of information. If at the stage where the drive letters
are displayed, I try to look at the folder Users, I can open that
folder and look at all the files under the folder Public. And I just
tried to copy a file to the folder Public and confirmed that I can do
that.

File sharing has more controls than the StarShipEnterprise.

In this example, is a tick box for
"Use user accounts and passwords to connect to other computers"

https://i.stack.imgur.com/Htjxu.png

And complicated by the fact that most of the on-line examples are for
back when windows used Homegroup. Which is now gone.

At the other end, the JoAnn-pc, does the JoAnn account use a
password ? Is it an empty password ? Perhaps, if the client
machine trying to contact the JoAnn-pc server is Windows 10,
it will get into a tizzy about "security" and insist on a
password.

Yes, wife's computer has it's own password.... yet I can "connect" to
it with all of my other computers, and read and write files to it with
some, all the while using only "My" Microsoft login password.
There are enough tick boxes in those stupid interfaces, and
various "features" in the OSes, to keep you busy testing for weeks...

*******

And the kooky answer of the week award goes to this thread,
where a Win10 machine refuses to access a second machine,
unless a *local* credential on the client machine is used.
Versus the remote account username and password we would
normally enter. Makes no sense at all.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...b-21b5ab2b3d02

Yet another solution that only applies to older versions that use
Homegroup. BTW, everything here worked properly back then.

*******

I've tried to debug some of these using Wireshark, but it
doesn't have a detailed enough "dissector" to tell you
exactly what is going on. There's a bitmap field for
example, that it doesn't decode and that's the one you
want info about. The sharing failure I was debugging
was WinXP client and Win10 server, where the Win10
server sends back a "Need More Info" error message.
Which could mean... just about anything.

Paul

I'll probably just accept things the way they are, since all computers
can now send and receive from the file server. Since the wife's
computer is backed up to the server nightly, and the Thinkpad can get
files from there if needed.

In reading the MS help files that appear to be post Homegroup, it
appears that MS wants me to just put all my files in their cloud,
rather than share from computer to computer. That's totally unworkable
for me, since my internet traffic is metered (and expensive) and our
files are multi-terrabyte in size.