Finding PCs, devices and content on your network
The first time you connect to a network, you might be asked if you want to find PCs, devices and content on the network, and automatically connect to devices like printers and TVs.
Turning on this setting prepares your PC for sharing files and devices on a network. It also automatically sets the appropriate firewall and security settings for the type of network that you connected to. You can turn this off at any time.
To prepare your PC for sharing files and devices on a network
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, then tap Change PC settings.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the bottom-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, click Settings, then click Change PC settings.)
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Tap or click Network, tap or click Connections, then tap or click your network connection.
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Turn on Find devices and content.
Find devices and content
Notes
Turn this on for home or small office networks, or when you know and trust the people and devices on the network. This setting allows your PC to connect to devices on the network, such as printers.
Turn this off for networks in public places (such as cafés or airports), or when you don't know or trust the people and devices on the network.
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This setting isn't available for domain networks (for example, if you bring home a work laptop).
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Turning this on changes your firewall settings to allow some communication, which can be a security risk. If you know you won’t need to share files or printers, the safest choice is to turn this off.
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Turning this off blocks the following applications and services from working: PlayTo, file sharing, network discovery, and automatic setup of network printers, TVs and other devices.
To find shared items on a network
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Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, then tap Search.
(If you're using a mouse, point to the bottom-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, then click Search.)
Enter This PC in the search box, then tap or click This PC.
The location where the shared items appear depends on the type of network you have and which Windows operating system is running on the PC you're using to find the shared files or folders.
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From a PC running
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If you have a
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Shared items appear under
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Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8, Windows RT or Windows 7
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Homegroup
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Homegroup
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Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8, Windows RT Windows 7, or Windows Vista
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Workgroup or domain
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Network
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Windows XP
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Workgroup
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My Network Places
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If you can’t see items on a network that are supposed to be shared with you, ask the person who’s sharing them for the path (it should begin with \\pcname\). Enter this path in the address bar in This PC.
If you can't see the items you've shared under Network, you can customise your view of folders in This PC to see which items have been shared and the people you're sharing them with. Open a folder that contains the items you think are shared. On the View tab, in the Layout group, tap or click Details. Tap or click Add columns, then choose Choose columns. Select Shared and Shared with, then tap or click OK.
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Make sure that the PCs are in the same homegroup or workgroup and that each PC has a unique name.
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Tap or click to open System.
Tap or click Properties.
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To change the PC or network name, tap or click Change settings.
You might be asked for an admin password or to confirm your choice.
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If your PC is in a workgroup, use the same username and password combination on each PC. For example, if your account on one PC is "Lisa" and your password is "Ch0col@te", use that same name and password on all your PCs in the workgroup.
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On PCs running Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows RT, make sure you’ve turned on sharing for the network you’re connected to. You’ll need to do this on each PC you want to use for sharing items. On PCs running Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, make sure you've turned on the Find devices and content slider.
If you’re still having problems, make sure network discovery, file and printer sharing and Public folder sharing are turned on for all PCs in your homegroup or workgroup.
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Because your PC is a member of a domain, you can open files and folders that are on your home PCs, but you can't open items that are on this PC from your home network. To open items on your home PCs, make sure the user accounts on your home PCs have passwords. When you open items on your home PCs, you might need to enter the username as home pc name\username and then provide the password.
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If you have a home network and a PC that’s a member of a domain (for example, if you bring home a work laptop), you can open files and folders that are on your home PCs using your work laptop, but not the other way around. Make sure the user accounts on the home PC have passwords. To open items using your work laptop, you might need to enter the username as home pc name\username and then provide the password.
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Make sure the PC with the shared files and folders is turned on and isn't sleeping or hibernating. In This PC, tap or click the address bar, then enter \\computername to make sure there are no problems with the network connection.
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Make sure that you're using only one firewall, and that it's set up to allow homegroups or workgroups.
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If you want to open shared files and folders that are on a PC running Windows XP from a PC running Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1, it's best to put the items in the Shared Documents folder. Then, right-click the item you want to share, click Sharing and Security and tick the Share this folder on the network checkbox. If you want to edit the shared items from other PCs on your network, tick the Allow network users to change my files checkbox.