https://helpdeskgeek.

com/windows-xp-tips/share-files-between-windows-xp-and-windows-7-8-10/

Join a Windows XP Computer to

a Windows 7/8/10 Homegroup
Help older computers find and use it

Written by: Aseem Kishore, Twitter: @akishore
Posted on: November 17th, 2017 in: Windows XP Tips
Once you have setup a homegroup using Windows 7/8/10 on your network, the
next step is to fine-tune it so that all the older computers can find each other.
All Windows 7 and higher computers will easily be able to join the homegroup
by just using the password, but if your network contains computers running
older versions of Windows, you’ll have to put them into the same workgroup.

If computers running Windows XP are part of your network, it’s important to

use the same workgroup name for all of the computers on your network. This
makes it possible for computers running different versions of Windows to
detect and access each other. Remember that the default workgroup name is
not the same in all versions of Windows. 99% of the time it is just called
WORKGROUP, but in case it’s not, make sure to change it to that.

Configure Workgroup
To find or change the workgroup name on a computer running Windows XP
click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
In System Properties, click the Computer Name tab to see the workgroup name.
If it’s not WORKGROUP, click Change, and type the new name under Workgroup.

In Windows 7/8/10, you can verify the workgroup by going to the Control Panel
and then clicking on System. At the bottom, you will see the workgroup name.

Basically, the key to adding XP computers to a Windows 7/8/10 homegroup is

to make it part of the same workgroup as those computers. However, you will
run into issues when trying to access the Windows XP computer from Windows
7/8/10 or vice versa. Don’t worry though, a little bit of troubleshooting will fix
it.
Troubleshoot Windows XP Network Issues
The first issue I ran into was when I went to My Computer, clicked on My
Network Places and then clicked on View workgroup computers, I got the
following error:

Workgroup is not accessible....The service has not been started.

This got me Googling and I tried a whole slew of solutions including turning off
the firewall, trying to start the Computer Browser service, enabling NetBIOS, etc.
Though those items have to be working properly, they were not exactly causing
the problem. First, follow all the directions in this Microsoft support article to
make sure the basics are covered.

Once you have done that, try connecting from the Windows XP machine to your
Windows 7/8/10 computer by opening Explorer and typing in the network path
like below: \\Aseemvostro
In my case, the \\AseemVostro computer is a Windows 10 computer. Oddly
enough, even though I get the error when clicking on the View workgroup
computers link, I was able to access the shared folders on my Windows 10
machine. My Windows 10 machine logs in using a Microsoft account, so when it
asked for the username and password, I entered my email address and
password, which worked.

Also, when trying to connect to the XP machine from Windows 10, I kept trying
to enter the username and password for my local account on the XP machine,
but it simply wouldn’t connect. It finally worked after I did two things. First, I
clicked on the Setup a home or small office network link that you see in the
screenshot above. I went through the wizard, making sure to name the
workgroup WORKGROUP.

Secondly, I connected to the Windows 10 machine first from Windows XP. Once I
did that, I was able to connect to my XP machine from Windows 10 without any
issue. If you run into any problems, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll try to
help. Also, be sure to checkout my complete guide to troubleshooting
homegroups in Windows. Enjoy!

https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/how-to-set-up-and-join-a-workgroup-in-windows-10.2738861/
How to set up and join a Workgroup in Windows 10
Workgroups are similar to Homegroups in that they are how Windows organizes resources and
allows access to each on an internal network. Windows 10 creates a Workgroup by default when
installed, but occasionally you may need to change it. So if you would like to set up and join a
Workgroup in Windows 10, this tutorial is for you.

A Workgroup can share files, network storage, printers and any connected resource. Despite its
name, a Workgroup isn’t just for work. It can be for anything you like.

Set up and join a Workgroup in Windows 10

As mentioned, Windows 10 automatically sets up a default Workgroup when it installs so this step is
already taken care of for you.

1. Navigate to Control Panel, System and Security and System to access your computer details.
2. Find Workgroup and select Change settings.
3. Select Change next to ‘To rename this computer or change its domain…’.
4. Type in the name of the Workgroup you want to join and click OK.
5. Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.
6. Navigate to Control Panel, Network and Internet and View network computers and
devices to see other machines within that Workgroup.

If you typed the Workgroup name correctly, you should now be a member of that Workgroup.
Depending on how you have it set up, you may or may not be prompted for a password. Enter the
Workgroup password to access.

More great Windows 10 tips and tricks from Tom’s Hardware:

How to view the product key in Windows 10
How to enable or disable the Action Center in Windows 10
How to group your apps on Start in Windows 10

View all of our Windows 10 Tutorials

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/support-software/HomeGroup-Is-No-Longer-Part-of-Windows-10-
1151/

HomeGroup Is No Longer Part of

Windows 10
Written on May 2, 2018 by Geno Rosario
 Share:
Table of Contents
1. What Has Changed?
2. What You See After Updating
3. How to Share Printers
4. How to Share Files and Documents
5. As It Stands Now

What Has Changed?

With the release of the Windows Version 1803, one of the changes Microsoft has executed is to
remove the HomeGroup feature within Windows. (If you would like to manually update to 1803, just
hit "Check for Updates" in Windows Update).
We will focus on the Homegroup changes, but for the full changelog, Click Here

What You See After Updating

After you update your PC to Windows 10 (Version 1803):
 HomeGroup won’t appear in File Explorer.
 HomeGroup won’t appear in Control Panel, which means that you can’t create, join, or leave
a homegroup.
 HomeGroup won’t appear on the Troubleshoot screen when you go to Settings  > Update &
Security  > Troubleshoot .
 You won’t be able to share new files and printers using HomeGroup.

If you shared Documents or Printers via the Homegroup, you should be able to still share the
devices with no changes.  However, if you are looking to start sharing Printers or Documents, you
will need to use the following steps to start sharing:

How to Share Printers

To share an installed printer from the primary PC that the printer is connected to other machines,
you need to set up share settings for that printer.  
Once you have the printer installed, note the name of the primary PC. You can find the name
of the primary PC, by clicking the Start/Windows Key, and typing in "Computer Name", then
select "View Your PC Name".  It will be listed under "Device Name".
1. Select the Start button, then Settings, then Devices, then Printers & Scanners
2. Choose the printer you want to share, then select Manage.
3. Select Printer Properties, then choose the Sharing tab.
4. On the Sharing tab, select Share this printer.
5. If needed, you can edit the Share name of the printer (this share name is visible from the
other machines)

 
How to Share Files and Documents
Microsoft's official stance appears to be to move file sharing to OneDrive.
While that may not work for everyone, there is still a share tab so you can still share files individually:
While browsing File Explorer, "Share" will be one of the tabs at the top of File Explorer (as seen
below)

As It Stands Now
Currently, we are not seeing any issues with Printer sharing ceasing to function, but we thought we
would publish this article to get ahead of HomeGroup's removal.

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/support-software/How-to-enable-Network-Discovery-and-
configure-sharing-options-in-Windows-10-1008/

How to enable Network Discovery and

configure sharing options in Windows 10.
Written on September 1, 2017 by Penny Dycus
Share:

How to enable Network Discovery and configure sharing

options in Windows 10.
Network Discovery in the Windows operating system is a network setting.  In this setting you can set
whether or not other computers on the network can communicate with connected devices and
systems. If Network Discovery is enabled, sharing files and printers over a network becomes easier
to connect through a private network only for you to share.

If your Windows 10 computer or device can’t view other computers on the network, two things are
probably at fault; You either assigned the incorrect network profile (private instead of public) or
network discovery is turned off. Now, when connecting to a public network like those in airports and
cafes, be sure to set the profile to private so your computer is not shared.
1. Open the Settings window
2. Click Network & Internet
3. In the panel on the left, click either Wi-Fi or Ethernet (depending on your connection to the
internet)

4. You will need to locate (possibly on the right hand side of the page) Change Advanced Sharing
Option

5. Expand the network profile labeled Private (Current Profile)

6. In the Network Discovery section, select “Turn on network discovery”. Also, check the box that
says “Turn on automatic setup of network connected devices.”
7. Click Save Changes.
8. Close the Settings Window.

ENABLE FILE AND PRINTER SHARING

When you’re connected to private networks, Windows 10 automatically turns on the File and Printer
Sharing setting. This setting allows you to easily share folders, files, and printers with other
computers and devices in your network. However, if your network administrator adjusts this setting,
you may need to manually turn it on or off, depending on your needs.
Here’s how to activate the File and Printer Sharing setting in Windows 10 for your active network
connection:
1. Open Settings
2. Click Network & Internet
3. In the panel on the left, click on either Wi-Fi or Ethernet (depending on your connection to the
internet)
4. You will need to locate (possibly on the right hand side of the page) Change Advanced Sharing
Option
 5. Expand the network profile labeled Private (Current Profile)
6. In the File and Printer Sharing section, select Turn On File and Printer Sharing.
7. Click Save Changes.
8. Close the Settings Window.
 
Thank you for reading my article.  I personally have found this to be very helpful in my home.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/whats-new-windows-10-version-1803

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/support-software/Audio-Issues-Associated-with-Windows-10-
Builds-1709-1803-1185/

Audio Issues Associated with Windows 10

(Builds 1709 & 1803)
Written on June 15, 2018 by Geno Rosario
Share:
Table of Contents
1. What we are seeing in Support
2. Find out which Windows build you have
3. Creative Driver Issues
4. Realtek HD Audio Issues
5. Further Updates Pending

What we are seeing in Support

With the release of any new Windows build, there can be some quirks that need to be ironed out.
Those quirks often come out in the form of driver issues. We are seeing a couple of audio driver-
related issues pop up in Support related to 1803, and below you can find some quick fixes on how to
address these.

Find out which Windows build you have

You can check your build version of Windows within the operating system itself. To find out your
Build number, click on the Start button, and type in the words "winver" like so:
 Once you click on the "winver" command,
you will see this screen showing you which Windows version (aka build) you have:
Creative Driver Issues
With your build number in mind, we will start with the Creative audio card issue. We have had a few
cases where the Creative Sound Blaster Z failed to pass audio through any ports, as well as a
couple of cases where the audio card is no longer a listed Playback Device after updating to
Windows build 1803.
To resolve this, please head to the Creative Support Site and update your driver to the most recent
version found here (Marked March 2017) as seen below:

Updating this driver should bring your card up-to-date with Build 1803 and the card should show up
as a Playback Device again.

Realtek HD Audio Issues

The other issue we have seen popping up lately is a bit more unusual We were able to reproduce an
odd bug where a machine using only the Realtek onboard audio card would stop sending audio
through the Line Out port when there was a pending update from Build 1709 to Build 1803. We are
unsure about previous builds, but the issue seems to be specific to the update between these two
builds specifically when updates are set to be deferred. In each situation we have seen so far,
Windows Updates were deferred for 365 days. 
Please note: Puget Systems does not set updates to defer by default, so privacy adjustments
or Windows tweaks may be the cause of the deferred updates. 
Allowing Windows to proceed with the update to 1803 has resolved the issue each time so far.

Further Updates Pending

We will update this article when we have more information pertaining to audio issues we have come
across so far. There are also rumors of a pending Creative update for Windows 10, so once we see
this roll out we can do some additional testing.