As a remote worker, I own two Windows 10 laptops that are wirelessly connected to the same router at home. To log into my personal laptop, I use a Microsoft account, while for my work laptop, I use my company email address, which can also be accessed through DOMAIN\USERNAME. Even though my work laptop is not joined to the domain and is a member of WORKGROUP, it is connected to my company’s Azure AD as shown in the Windows Settings. Although my user account is not visible in the Local Users and Groups, it is listed as a member of the local Administrators group as DOMAIN\USERNAME. While I can VPN to my company network, I generally don’t need to.
Now, I am wondering how to access network shares on my work laptop from my personal laptop. However, when I attempt to connect using \COMPUTERNAME, I am prompted to enter my credentials. Despite trying all possible combinations, I receive an error message saying “The user name or password is incorrect.”
[email protected]
DOMAIN\USERNAME
domain.com\username
MicrosoftAccount\[email protected]
PCNAME\USERNAME
I’ve verified that I can log on locally to my work laptop with [email protected] or DOMAIN\USERNAME, so I know I have the correct credentials and password.
3 Answers
Introduction
As a remote worker, accessing files and resources across different devices can be a challenge. One common issue is accessing network shares on a non-domain Windows 10 PC using a domain user account. In this post, we will explore how to use a domain user account to access a file share on a non-domain Windows 10 PC.
Understanding Domain User Accounts
A domain user account is an account that is created and managed by a domain controller in an Active Directory environment. This account allows users to access network resources, such as printers, files, and applications, across different devices within the domain. A domain user account is identified by a username and password, which is used to authenticate the user and grant access to domain resources.
In a non-domain environment, a local user account is used to grant access to resources on a device. This account is created and managed locally on the device and is not part of a domain. The local user account is identified by a username and password, which is used to authenticate the user and grant access to local resources.
Connecting to a File Share on a Non-Domain Windows 10 PC
To connect to a file share on a non-domain Windows 10 PC using a domain user account, follow these steps:
1. Open File Explorer on your personal laptop.
2. In the address bar, type \COMPUTERNAMESHARENAME, where COMPUTERNAME is the name of the non-domain Windows 10 PC and SHARENAME is the name of the shared folder you want to access.
3. Press Enter.
4. You will be prompted to enter your credentials. In the username field, enter DOMAINUSERNAME or [email protected], where DOMAIN is the name of your company’s domain and USERNAME is your domain username.
5. In the password field, enter your domain password.
6. Click OK.
If you are unable to connect using DOMAINUSERNAME or [email protected], try using the non-domain PC’s computer name as the domain. For example, if the non-domain PC’s computer name is PCNAME, enter PCNAMEUSERNAME in the username field.
Enabling File and Printer Sharing on a Non-Domain Windows 10 PC
To enable file and printer sharing on a non-domain Windows 10 PC, follow these steps:
1. Open the Control Panel on the non-domain Windows 10 PC.
2. Click on Network and Sharing Center.
3. Click on Change advanced sharing settings.
4. Under the Private network profile, make sure that Turn on network discovery, Turn on file and printer sharing, and Allow Windows to manage homegroup connections are all turned on.
5. Click Save changes.
Configuring Firewall Settings on a Non-Domain Windows 10 PC
To configure firewall settings on a non-domain Windows 10 PC, follow these steps:
1. Open the Control Panel on the non-domain Windows 10 PC.
2. Click on System and Security.
3. Click on Windows Defender Firewall.
4. Click on Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall.
5. Click Change settings.
6. Scroll down and make sure that File and Printer Sharing is checked for the Private network setting.
7. Click OK.
Conclusion
Accessing network shares on a non-domain Windows 10 PC using a domain user account can be a challenge, but it is possible with the right configuration. By following the steps outlined in this post, you can easily connect to file shares on a non-domain PC and access the resources you need to work remotely.
To access a file share on a non-domain Windows 10 PC from a different PC, you will need to use the correct credentials for the user account on the non-domain PC that has access to the file share.
Here are the steps you can try:
- On your personal laptop, open the Start menu and type in “\COMPUTERNAME” (replace COMPUTERNAME with the actual name of your work laptop). Press Enter.
- You should see a list of available file shares on your work laptop. If you do not see the file share you are trying to access, it is possible that your user account does not have permission to access it.
- To access a file share, right-click on it and select “Map network drive”.
- In the “Map Network Drive” window, choose a drive letter for the file share and enter the path to the file share in the format “\COMPUTERNAME\SHARENAME” (replace COMPUTERNAME and SHARENAME with the actual values).
- Click on the “Finish” button.
- You will be prompted for your credentials. Enter your work laptop’s user account credentials in the format “DOMAIN\USERNAME” or “[email protected]“.
- If you are unable to access the file share with the correct credentials, it is possible that the file share has been configured with different permissions or that your user account does not have the necessary permissions to access it. In this case, you will need to contact your system administrator or the person who set up the file share to request access.
It is also possible that the issue is related to network settings or firewall configurations. In this case, you may need to verify that the network settings on both laptops are configured correctly and that the firewall is not blocking access to the file share.
I hope this information helps! Let me know if you have any questions or if you need further assistance.
Despite asking the same question on two different websites, nobody has been able to offer a solution to the issue as it was originally presented. Based on feedback received from other sources, it appears that connecting to a target computer using domain account credentials is not feasible unless the source computer is connected to Azure AD, even if the target computer is not joined to the domain. One solution is to join the source computer to Azure AD, which can be done by going to Settings, then Accounts, then Access work or school, and finally Connect.
However, since this is a personal laptop, the user does not want to connect it to their work Azure AD. Therefore, the other workaround is to create a local account on the target work computer, grant access to the file share, and then connect using this account. Although this workaround requires creating an additional account that will never be used for local login, it seems to be the better of the two undesirable choices.