Here’s a guide on how to solve Windows cannot access shared folders on Windows 10/11 PC. Sharing folders (shared folders) on a Windows 10/11 network is a basic feature that sometimes fails.
Many users have reported encountering an error “Windows cannot access shared folder” on PC
Windows 10/11
them when they try to access shared files.
This error message appears most likely due to a faulty network connection between the PC and the folder. You might also face this issue due to wrong sharing permission settings or invalid username and password for the account.
Related:
How to Overcome “No Internet, secured” on Windows 10 (PC/Laptop)
Why Can’t I Access the Shared Folder?
There can be many reasons why shared folders don’t work. There may be a misconfigured network, wrong drive settings, and misspelling of the folder names mentioned above.
And in some cases, the user accounts behind the folders have inappropriate permission settings.
Before discussing the fixes in this guide, it’s a good idea to first talk to who controls these shared folders. There might be some issues like they forgot to enable permission.
However, if you are the one controlling the shared folder, you will have to reconfigure it and grant network sharing permissions to facilitate such access.
Tutorials
this will guide you to solve Windows cannot access shared folder on Windows 10/11 PC.
Related:
How to Fix No WiFi Networks Found on Windows 10
How to Solve Windows Cannot Access Shared Folder on Windows 10/11 PC
1. Reconfigure network Sharing permissions
-
Open File Explorer and select the drive or folder on the computer that you want to share.
- Right click on the folder and select Properties.
- In the new Properties window, select the tab Sharing.
-
Click button Advanced Sharing in the middle of the window. This will open the Advanced Sharing window.
-
Click the checkbox at the top of the window to activate
Share this folder. -
insert Share name under Settings for the drive or folder you want to share.
-
You can limit the number of users who can access the shared folder by changing the number on the right.
-
Then click the button Permissions to open another small window.
-
select Everyone to allow everyone on the network or select a few by clicking on their username.
-
Activate Permissions for Everyone by checking all the boxes under Allow.
- Click Apply to save changes.
- Click ok to close the Permissions window.
-
In Advanced Sharing, click Apply then OK to apply the settings.
- Now you will see the Shared icon at the bottom of the screen.
Related:
How to solve DNS server not responding on Windows 11 PC/laptop
2. Grant security permissions
-
select drive or folder on the computer that you want to share.
- Right click on the drive or folder and select Properties.
- Select tab Security in the Properties window.
- Click Edit in the middle to change permissions.
- Click button Add.
-
In the Select Users or Groups pop-up window that appears, select
Advanced in the below section. - A new window will appear. Click Find Now on the right.
-
A series of search results will appear at the bottom of the window. Scroll down until you find Everyone.
- select Everyone in the list, then click ok.
- You will be returned to the Select Users or Groups window. select ok.
-
You will see Everyone listed in the Security window under Group or user name.
-
select Everyone then tick all the boxes in the box
Allow for everyone. - Click Apply at the bottom of the window to save changes.
- Click ok to close the Permissions window.
3. Disable the Password Protected Sharing option
- Click icon magnifying glass on the Taskbar.
-
In the Search bar, type Advanced sharing settings and select the first entry you see.
- Click All Networks to expand options.
- Choose an option Turn on sharing… under Public folder sharing.
-
Scroll down to Password protected sharing and select
Turn off password protected sharing. - Press Save Changes in the below section.
- Close Advanced sharing settings and restart your computer.
Related:
3 Ways to Disable Password Protected Sharing in Windows 11/10
That’s how to solve Windows cannot access shared folders on Windows 10/11 PC. I hope this article helped you! Thank you for visiting and don’t forget if you find this article useful, please share it with your friends too.
