Hey guys,

I seem to be having a bit of an issue with my home network. For some reason, my laptop can not access any of the other computers on my network, yet all of my other computers can access my laptop without any issues. I am running Windows 7 Ultimate x64 on my laptop, and my other 2 computers are running Windows 7 Professional x64. I have provided a screenshot showing the error message that I get.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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there is a few possiblities, perhaps it could have something to do with the homegroup. or the sharing wizard. or the router settings. or the pc's firewalls...the error says 'problem with network name' try checking the network sharing center settings on the PC's

it's the firewall if the computer is running vista or Windows 7. when you first plug in a network it asks you for the network type: Home, work, Public and those set your firewall. turn it off to test, but i wouldn't leave it off or its not recommended.

but the thing is, it used to work with the firewalls turned on on all machines. I have tried with the firewalls off, and still nothing. Computers should be able to network together with the firewall turned on anyways.

but the thing is, it used to work with the firewalls turned on on all machines. I have tried with the firewalls off, and still nothing. Computers should be able to network together with the firewall turned on anyways.

you are correct, but if the settings are not set right in the firewall they will block each other and for added security they set permissions for specific users or computers to allow a folder share. Third party AV/firewalls are the worst at this and have seen them even block the gateway address at times. if you can ping the other machine then its a permission issue. Also, how are you trying to access the other machine? using the hostname of the computer or the IP? try accessing the remote computer using just ip\c$ since its a hidden share and uses the default permissions.

yes I can ping the other machine which makes me think it is a permission issue, but I'm not quite sure where to find the permissions for accessing the computer. I am familiar with setting permissions for shares, but since I can not even access the shares that is a bit useless to me. I have tried accessing the computer through Network, and by typing the network path of the computer using computer name or IP address. The strangest part about this is that it was working until just recently. I don't recall changing any permission settings whatsoever.

this may be a shot in the dark....but open 'computer' aka windows explorer

click 'organize' and then 'folder and search options'
from this new window click the 'view' tab, scroll down
and uncheck 'use sharing wizard'
and then try all you have tried before...

under the "Run Command" type compmgmt.msc then in folder shares i would check your permissions on the folders to see what is viewable.

Thanks for the input guys, but I'm still not having any luck after trying your suggestions.

just to test, turn off the firewalls on both machines, set folder share and security to allow everyone on a simple folder. Also, have you checked the settings on the network and sharing center? can the other 2 computers share files between each other?

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