Home group service. Troubleshooting homegroups. Common problems with using HomeGroup

15.09.2023

HomeGroup allows the user to avoid having to enter a username and password every time they connect. It also becomes possible to use shared printers and their configuration libraries.

Create a HomeGroup

You will need at least two computers running at least Windows 7, one of which must be running Home Premium or higher.

Preparatory stage

First you need to check whether your network is home. Otherwise you won't be able to create "Home group"

1. Go to "Control Panel" using start.

2. Go to "View network status and tasks."

3. In the underlined item, make sure that your network is home.

Otherwise, click on it and change it to home.

Create a HomeGroup

1. Click on the inscription "Ready to create."

2. Next, click on the button "Create a homegroup".

3. Check the boxes in the sections you want to provide access to and click "Further".

4. A random password will be created for you, which you are asked to print or simply save. Then click the button "Ready".

The homegroup has been successfully created, you can change access settings at any time using the section "Joining".

It is advisable to change the password to a new one that you can easily remember, so as not to lose access in the future in case of data loss.

Change Password

1. Under Change HomeGroup Settings, select "Change password".

2. Click the button "Change Password".

3. Enter a password that is convenient for you (at least 8 characters) and click "Further".

4. Finish changing the password with the button "Ready".

In commercial, educational and other small organizations it is very important to establish convenient, fast and secure file exchange. In such cases, instead of using the Internet to transfer data, computers are connected to a local network. Networks can be both large and small, have different topologies, that is, connection methods and types. There are two main types - client-server, when one computer on the local network plays the role of a server, and the others are workstations, and a peer-to-peer network, in which all computers are equal.

The second type of network is also called workgroup and is used where there is no need for centralized management. There are also home groups - so to speak, a special subtype of workgroups in which a password is requested when connecting a new device. Such groups are usually used for sharing files in small organizations and houses/apartments with several PCs, hence their name, by the way. A Windows 10 homegroup can include up to two dozen machines, and we’ll discuss how to organize and configure it below.

Creating and setting up a homegroup in Windows 10

So, how to create a homegroup in Windows 10? First, let's make sure that all computers meet three main requirements, namely: they must be connected to the same network (via a router or Ethernet), have the same workgroup name (System Properties - Edit - WORKGROUP) and run a system no lower than Windows 7.

Now let's proceed directly to the procedure itself. Let’s open the “Home Group” applet on our computer with the command control /name Microsoft.HomeGroup and the first thing we do is make our network private. To do this, click on the “Change network location” link in the current window, and then click the “Yes” button on the panel that appears on the right.

The contents of the window will immediately change, and the “Create Homegroup” button will become active. Okay, now let's configure some parameters. Click the “Change advanced sharing settings” link in the window and enable network discovery (should already be enabled) and file and printer sharing.

Returning to the “Home Group” applet window, click the “Create Home Group” – “Next” button and select the directories whose contents we want to make common to all users of the group.

At the last stage, you will be asked to write down a password that will be used to connect other computers to the created group. Save the password and click “Finish”. This completes the creation of a homegroup in Windows 10.

How to join a homegroup

The homegroup is ready, but so far it only has one computer. Let's connect other hosts on the local network to it. To do this, open the “HomeGroup” applet on another computer and when, after the automatic scan is completed, the message “The user has created a homegroup on the network” appears in the snap-in window, click the “Join” button.

Then click “Next”, select the necessary resources and enter the same password that was issued by the system when creating a homegroup on the first computer. The connection is complete. If desired or necessary, you can add arbitrary directories to the list of shared resources. There are at least two ways to do this.

The first method is to add the desired folder to any of the standard Windows libraries by right-clicking on it and selecting the appropriate option from the menu. The second method is just as simple. Right-click on the shared directory and select the option “Grant access – Home group (view and change).”

After this, the folder will immediately appear in the resources of the Windows Home Group. In addition, you can change the group access password (the new password must be shared with all group members) and temporarily disable access to any of the shared libraries. All of these actions are performed directly from the HomeGroup snap-in window.

Common problems with using HomeGroup

As you can see, creating and setting up a homegroup in Windows 10 is not difficult. It is much more difficult to cope with the problems that sometimes arise, especially when it is not possible to establish their cause. And there can be many reasons for this. Let's briefly consider the most common of them.

What to do if you can't connect to your homegroup:

Make sure that all PCs connected to the HomeGroup are set to the same time. Open the “Date and Time” applet on all machines with the command control /name Microsoft.DateAndTime, switch to the “Internet Time” tab and, if necessary, synchronize the time on the Microsoft server.

A connection problem may occur if a user creates a HomeGroup on multiple computers on the same network. This mistake is often made by novice users. And although all PCs in a homegroup are equal, it is created on only one machine, and all the others only connect to it.

You will not be able to connect if for some reason the Network Member Grouping and Home Group Provider services are disabled in Windows services. Also enable the PNRP Protocol and PNRP Computer Name Publishing Service services.

Problems will arise if, after creating a HomeGroup, you change the network type from Home to Public or Enterprise Network. Also note that there should only be one network in the Network and Sharing Center.
For HomeGroup to work correctly, IPv6 must be enabled. Go to the “Network and Sharing Center”, click the “Change adapter settings” link, open the properties of the adapter used to connect to the Internet, find the item IP version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and make sure that the checkbox next to it is checked.

Homegroup no longer available after Windows 10 update

Open the service management snap-in with the services.msc command, find the specified service in the list, double-click its properties, set the startup type to “Automatic”, save the settings and restart the computer. In future versions, Microsoft will probably simplify the task, but for now we’ll connect like this.

Other problems

There may be other problems that prevent you from connecting to a Windows 10 homegroup. If you receive the error “Windows cannot set up a homegroup on this computer,” you can try resetting the function responsible for saving certificate store data. Open a Command Prompt or PowerShell console as an administrator and disable the Network Member Identity Manager service by running the following command:

net stop p2pimsvc /y

Now go to the location C:/Windows/ServiceProfiles/LocalService/AppData/Roaming/PeerNetworking in Explorer, delete the idstore.sst file from there, and then restart your computer.

Previously disabled services will start on their own.

And one moment. If problems with the Home Group occur after upgrading to Windows 10 from earlier versions of the system, open the “Turn Windows components on or off” applet with the optionalfeatures command and activate the SMB 1.0 protocol, which is disabled in the “ten,” just in case; it is also associated with network discovery.

Create a HomeGroup

When you open a homegroup, other users can access the contents of your computer. Music, movies, photos and more will be available for viewing and downloading.

To create a group, go to the Control Panel (read how to do this here). We display by category and select the “Network and Internet” category. Next, we need to go to the subcategory of the same name - “Home Group”.

First, let's make it private and allow access to other computers. Click on the active link “Change network location”.

You will see a pop-up message on the left side of your desktop. We are offered access to the network. We agree by clicking “Yes”.

Next we need to configure the sharing settings. Click on the active link “Change advanced sharing settings”. In the window that opens, be sure to check the “Enable file and printer sharing” checkbox. Also pay attention to your network discovery settings. They are usually enabled by default. But make sure that the marker is set.

Scrolling through the settings to the end, disable password protection, as shown in the screenshot. Save all changes by clicking “OK”.

We return to the main interface for creating a home group. After all the settings have been made, click on “Create a working group”. The icon will become active after you complete the very first step - allow access to the network.

Next, we configure access to folders. Set values for folders that you want to “share” with other users. This can be done for images, videos, photos, music documents, printers and other devices.

After this, a window will appear with a password, which will be needed to connect other computers to the home network.
Click “Finish” and complete the creation of the home group. Connect to the home group from the same window where it was created. A user on another computer enters the appropriate section of the Control Panel, the system scans for available networks, and then is prompted to “Join” the created one.

Homegroup alternative in build 1803

We have already said that the ability to create a home group was removed in the latest Windows 10 updates. The developers decided that local networks are an outdated method of sharing content.

As an alternative, they call cloud services like OneDrive or Google online services for creating text files, tables, etc. Although many still use local groups.

Setting up a Windows 7 network for a homegroup

Firstly, for computers to work properly on the network, it is necessary to synchronize the time between them. It is necessary to set the current time on all computers on the network and make sure that it does not get lost.

Secondly. It is necessary to set IP addresses for computers so that they are on the same network. This function is usually assigned to the router or router. Then he assigns an address from a given range to each connected computer. If you don't have a router, then you need to configure the addresses manually.

1. In the notification area, left-click on the Network icon. In the window that opens, click on the link Network and Sharing Center

In the Network and Sharing Center that opens, on the left side, click Change adapter settings

The window that opens displays all the network connections of your computer. Choose the connection through which you will connect to your home network. This could be a wired network connection, a wireless network connection, or something else. Select it with the left mouse button and call up the context menu with the right mouse button. Select Properties

In the Network window that opens, we need to check the boxes for Client for Microsoft Networks, File and Printer Access Service for Microsoft Networks, and Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Select the last one and click the Properties button

In the TCP/IP properties, select Use the following IP address. In the IP address field, enter the address and subnet mask (for example, such as in the figure IP - 192.168.0.1 and subnet mask - 255.255.255.0)

On another computer on the home network, we do the same thing, only we set the address to 192.168.0.2. We set the same mask. If there is a need to connect a third computer to the network, set it to 192.168.0.3 and so on for the next computers.

The main thing is that you need to remember the IP address of your computer must be unique, like the address of your house.

If you plan to connect to the Internet, then it is advisable to immediately install a router and set up automatic distribution of addresses.

Almost everything is ready. It is necessary to check and, if necessary, set the same workgroup for all computers on the network.

Open the Start menu. On the Computer item, right-click (call up the context menu) and select Properties. We check the name of the workgroup and, if necessary, change it to WORKGROUP. To do this, click Change settings

In the System Properties window, on the Computer name tab, click Change

In the window that opens, you can specify the name and workgroup of the computer

Set it and click OK. Reboot if necessary. Everything is ready to create or join a home group.

Create and join a homegroup

Before you create or join a homegroup, you need to know your network location. The first time you connect to a network, you are prompted to set this location. Each location has different network connection settings and different firewall settings.

There are four network locations in Windows 7:

Public network. Applies when you are connected to the network in a public place. For example, in a cafe, train station or airport. This applies the most restrictive firewall security settings, disabling network discovery and the ability to create home groups. That is, your computer will not be visible to other participants in this network and you will not see anyone. Maximum security settings do not guarantee complete protection for you. Therefore, it is advisable not to use important resources that require authorization.

Enterprise network. This location has network discovery enabled, but does not have the ability to create or join homegroups

Home network. This includes network discovery and the ability to create home groups. It is worth choosing the “Home Network” location if you know all the computers on this network.

Domain network. When your computer in an enterprise is connected to an Active Directory domain, the network location automatically changes to Domain Network. In this case, all settings are set by network administrators at the enterprise.
To create a Home Group, we need to select the Home Network location.

This is done as follows

Go to the Network and Sharing Center and click on the Public Network link

In the Network Location Settings window that opens, select Home Network

In the next window we are notified that the network location has changed. Click Close

Now we have the opportunity to create a home group online or join an already created one. To do this, click on any of the links.

It is possible to create only one homegroup on a network. You can create it on any of the network computers. Other computers on the network can only join an already created group. Computers running any version of Windows 7 can join a homegroup. To create one, you need a more advanced version of Windows 7 than Starter or Home Basic.

You can find out the version of the operating system in the computer properties.

In the Home group window, click Create home group

Select the libraries to which we want to give access to group members and click Next

In the next window, we generate a password for the created home group. It's better to write it down right away. Click Finish

Now, when you select a home group in the Network and Sharing Center, you will see a window where you can change home group settings

Here you can Show or print your homegroup password if you have forgotten it. Change the password to any other. Leave your homegroup. Change advanced sharing settings and run the HomeGroup troubleshooter.

A home group ceases to exist when the last member leaves it.

A few words about the troubleshooter. You can launch it from the Start menu by finding this tool using search

In the window that opens, check the box Get the latest troubleshooting tools online

There are a lot of people working at Microsoft so that we can fix common errors using this tool.

Now, if problems arise, not only with your HomeGroup, you can use the latest tools.

The home group has been created and the settings have been configured. Now you need to connect the remaining computers on the network.

On the computer that we want to connect to the HomeGroup, we will find this element

Since the group has already been created, we will be asked to join

We specify the libraries that we want to make publicly available and click Next

In the next window, enter the password for the home group and click Next

The computer is successfully connected to the homegroup. We connect all other computers in the same way.

Setting up sharing

All that was above are preparatory steps for the ease and simplicity of setting up shared access on the network.

Here's how you can share access with homegroup users: Open the explorer. We find and select the folder to which we need to give access. In the toolbar, click the Sharing button and from the drop-down menu select Homegroup (read) or Homegroup (read and write) if you want users to be able to change and delete files in this folder

Here you can deny access by selecting None of the users. The folder icon will be marked with a padlock.

When you create or join a homegroup, the corresponding section appears in the navigation area of the Explorer window. From here it is convenient to access shared folders of other computers on the network

After some time, you may forget which folders on your computer are shared. To remember, you can go online to your computer. This is convenient to do using Explorer using the Network item in the transition menu

You can view it, but it’s not convenient to control from here. There is a separate tool for this.

In the computer management window, on the left in the console tree, expand the Shared Folders item and select Shared Resources. The table in the center will display all your shared resources and here you can stop sharing access to any of them

You can open access from the Shared Resources section. To do this, open the Action menu and select New Share...

The wizard for creating shared resources will open, following the instructions you will share the folder

By default, libraries are shared as read-only. You can also give access to write from Explorer. Select the desired library in the explorer navigation area, call up the context menu and select Sharing and Homegroup (read and write)

The possibilities that setting up a home group opens up

A Windows homegroup is a type of peer-to-peer workgroup with members of a network domain. Devices that are part of a Windows home group can open and play files in shared folders. Media files located on one of the HomeGroup computers do not need to be copied to another computer to play them. Windows HomeGroup features include streaming multimedia content to various network devices: computers, TVs, smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, etc.

A Windows HomeGroup is also a quick way to share files between users of networked computer devices. To send, for example, a document for editing or an executable file to another computer on the local network, you need to place it in one of the shared folders, and on another computer, copy the file to your hard drive.

What are these shared folders? These are the user profile folders “Images”, “Videos”, “Music” and, if necessary, “Documents”. These folders are pre-installed with Windows and appear in System Explorer along with drives and devices as branches in the “This PC” section.

Also, all computers in a homegroup have access to printers connected to specific computers on the network.

2. What do you need to create a home group?

To set up a home group, you need to have a version of Windows installed on all computers on the network - PCs and laptops - no lower than 7, that is, Windows 7, 8.1 and 10. And, of course, the local network itself. This can be a network that connects all devices using a router (Wi-Fi router). This can be a network using a straight cable between computers. It can also be a network between a physical computer and virtual machines, which is provided by the hypervisor.

3. Create a home group

Well, we’ve sorted out the benefits of a home group, now let’s proceed directly to the setup process. We need the Windows Control Panel. In any version of Windows - 7, 8.1 or 10 - you can get to the control panel using the in-system search. Direct links to Control Panel are located in the Start menu:

In Windows 8.1 and 10, this is the context menu on the Start button;

Once in the Windows Control Panel using any of the methods, select the “Network and Internet” section.

The window for creating a home group will open. As mentioned, the process of setting up a homegroup is made as easy as possible and is set up to follow a step-by-step guide. But this is provided that network discovery and sharing were activated immediately after installing Windows. In this case, you can immediately click the “Create home group” button. But if, for example, you are using Windows, which other users have previously worked with, and also if a modified assembly of the system is installed, the network settings necessary for the home group may not be available. Therefore, it is better to research them first. Click “Change advanced sharing settings.”

Expand the “Private (current profile)” tab. For HomeGroup to work, you need to enable the “Turn on network discovery” and “Turn on file and printer sharing” options.

This is the required minimum. But we can also make some adjustments to the home group settings for ease of use in the future. Expand the “All Networks” tab.

At the very bottom, activate the option “Disable password protected sharing.” This will allow users of network devices to seamlessly access files in shared folders and printers without the hassle of entering an account password. Click “Save changes”.

Returning to the home group creation window, click the “Create home group” button.

We will see the sharing settings window for the user profile folders mentioned above. By default, sharing is allowed for all folders except the Documents folder. This can be changed in the drop-down list next to this folder and also set it to public access. However, you can also remove sharing access for other folders for which it is set by default. We decide and click “Next”.

In the next window we will see the generated homegroup password. This password is generated on the first computer on the network where the initial setup is carried out - creating a home group. In the future, this password must be used on all computer devices on the local network when joining a homegroup. Therefore, the password must be recorded somewhere and somehow - printed, as suggested in the link below, or transmitted via Internet communication channels to other computers on the network.

Well, as for the process of creating a home group itself, it is completed. Click “Finish”.

Next, the “Home Group” section of the control panel will take on the format of a window with settings that can be changed at any time. At any time, you can block access to individual user profile folders or, conversely, open access. At any time, you can block access to individual network devices for playing multimedia content - televisions, set-top boxes, smartphones, tablets. You can view your homegroup password or make adjustments to your network settings at any time. Finally, you can leave your homegroup at any time.

4. Joining a HomeGroup

To become a member of an existing home group, we follow the same path as to create it.

Directly in the homegroup window we will see a notification that such and such a user has already created it and you can join it. In the same way as when creating a home group, we set up the network: we check that network discovery and sharing activity are enabled, and also disable password protection. Then click the “Join” button.

As when creating a home group, we set permissions for user profile folders. Click “Next”.

In the next window, enter the password - the password that was received during the process of creating a home group. Click “Next”.

That’s it – click “Done”.

Just like creating a HomeGroup, once you join it, the HomeGroup section of your control panel will turn into its settings.

Now you can begin active interaction between computers in your homegroup.

With HomeGroup, you can easily share various files between connected computers. Today we looked in detail at how to create and configure a home network. We hope our article helped you.

Homegroup is a functionality of the Windows operating system, introduced in version 7 and migrated to successor versions 8.1 and 10. Having appeared among the functionality of Windows 7, homegroup replaced the function of setting up shared folders for computers on the same local network as part of Windows XP. A homegroup is designed to significantly simplify the process of setting up shared resources on a small network. Thus, even an average person can set up a network connection and share folders with files for public access as part of the homegroup function. To do this, the user does not need to have extensive experience working with Windows-based computers. Actually, we will consider this process below.

So, how to set up a homegroup on Windows?

Issues considered:

1. Opportunities that setting up a home group opens up

A Windows homegroup is a type of peer-to-peer workgroup with members of a network domain. Devices that are part of a Windows home group can open and play files in shared folders. Media files located on one of the HomeGroup computers do not need to be copied to another computer to play them. Windows HomeGroup features include: computers, TVs, smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, etc.

Also, all computers in a homegroup have access to printers connected to specific computers on the network.

2. What do you need to create a home group?

3. Create a home group

In Windows 8.1 and 10, this is the context menu on the Start button;

Once in the Windows Control Panel using any of the methods, select the “Network and Internet” section.

Expand the “Private (current profile)” tab. For HomeGroup to work, you need to enable the “Turn on network discovery” and “Turn on file and printer sharing” options.

This is the required minimum. But we can also make some adjustments to the home group settings for ease of use in the future. Expand the “All Networks” tab.

Returning to the home group creation window, click the “Create home group” button.

Well, as for the process of creating a home group itself, it is completed. Click “Finish”.

4. Joining a HomeGroup

To become a member of an existing home group, we follow the same path as to create it.

As when creating a home group, we set permissions for user profile folders. Click “Next”.

In the next window, enter the password - the password that was received during the process of creating a home group. Click “Next”.

That’s it – click “Done”.

Just like creating a HomeGroup, once you join it, the HomeGroup section of your control panel will turn into its settings.

Now you can begin active interaction between computers in your homegroup.

Have a great day!

The homegroup functionality, which is available in Windows 10, makes it easy to connect devices to a common local network, even for an ordinary user. Therefore, if you are planning to create a shared network between your computers in the house, you need to learn how to create a home group in Windows 10 and configure it.

Creation and configuration

When you create a group, the folders that are installed with Windows 10 will be publicly accessible: images, videos, music, documents, printers, and devices (find out how to share folders in the article “”). Copy files into them that you want to open for other users.

Before starting the process, make sure that all the devices you connect meet the necessary requirements:

OS installed is at least Windows 7;
they are connected to the network via wired or wireless connection using a Wi-Fi router.

To set up a homegroup, go to .

RMB on the Start menu → control panel (turn on display by category) → Network and Internet → Homegroup.

Microsoft has made the process of creating a network as easy as possible, so follow the instructions. But to avoid any problems during setup, check the sharing and network discovery properties for the device.

In the “Home Group” window → Change advanced sharing settings... → expand the “Private” tab.
Select the radio buttons for “Turn on network discovery” and “Turn on file and printer sharing.”
Open the “All Networks” tab and select the “Enable sharing so that network users can read and write files in shared folders” and “Disable password-protected sharing” → save changes.

In the “Homegroup” window, click “Create a homegroup” → Next → specify the folders to which you share access (these are standard Windows 10 folders) → Next.

After setting up your home network, a password will appear on the first computer, which will be needed to connect other devices. This completes the creation process.

Connection

RMB on the Start menu → control panel (turn on display by category) → Network and Internet → Homegroup → Join → Next → open the access folders → Next → enter the homegroup password → Next → Done.

Possible problems

After upgrading your computer to Windows 10 (read how to do this in the article “”), problems often arise when using a home group: sharing does not work, you cannot change the password, leave the group or create one. To correct the situation, proceed as follows.

Turn off all computers on your home network except the one on which you are fixing the problem.
Go to: OS drive → Windows → ServiceProfiles → LocalService → AppData → Roaming → PeerNetworking → delete the idstore.sst file → reboot the device.
Important! At the same time, enable the display of hidden files and folders, otherwise the AppData directory will be inaccessible.
Go to the homegroup creation window → its creation icon will appear.
Turn on all PCs and connect to the network.

RMB on the Start menu → control panel (turn on display by category) → Network and Internet → Homegroup → group settings will be displayed → Show or print homegroup password.

Removal

To delete a homegroup, log out of it.

RMB on the Start menu → control panel (turn on display by category) → Network and Internet → Homegroup → Exit homegroup → select “Exit homegroup” → confirm the actions.

Conclusion

Creating a homegroup in Windows 10 is a process that is as simplified as possible. Follow the instructions and prompts of the system, after checking the necessary settings. In this case, access will only be granted to shared OS folders. If necessary, you can change your homegroup or leave it.

We described in detail how to create a home group on “ten”. It allows you to connect several computers into a local network to view content and exchange data.

We emphasized that the proposed settings are relevant for builds of Windows 10 below 1803. Starting from version 1803, the home group was removed from the “ten”. And this is the first reason why you cannot create a home group - its settings may simply not be on your OS.

But let's look at the problems that users encounter on early versions of the Ten.

Internet connection

Check your internet connection. It must be active for every computer that connects to your home network. Each PC must connect to the local group through one network (usually one router is used).

Here are some useful articles about internet connection:

Windows 10 can't create a homegroup on this computer

This is the most common message when creating a local group. Usually the problem is:

the inoperability of some services that need to be reconnected;
IPv6 protocol is disabled;
Access to the idstore.sst file has been violated.

Let's talk in order about all the listed problems and ways to solve them.

Connecting services

We need to understand the activation of services related to the Peer Name Resolution Protocol (the so-called PNRP). Before proceeding to start the services, navigate to the PeerNetworking folder. Path – C:/Windows/ServiceProfiles/LocalService/AppData/Roaming/PeerNetworking.

To display the contents (and in general to go to this folder), we need to enable the display of hidden elements in Explorer (the “View” tab, the marker opposite “Hidden elements”). You will also need administrator rights when navigating to the LocalService folder.

We delete all the contents in this folder and then restart the computer. If you do not find this folder on your computer, proceed directly to the next step.

grouping of network participants;
PNRP protocol;
PNRP Computer Name Publishing Service.

Click on each one twice with the left mouse button. If the service is not running, click on the “Start” icon. Next, change the startup type to “Automatic”.

We restart the computer and try to create a local homegroup again.

Access for Local Service

The next method is to transfer full Local Service access to the MachineKeys folder. The folder we need is located along the path indicated in the screenshot. Be sure to turn on show hidden items.

Right-click on it and select “Properties” from the context menu. In the window that opens, click on the “Change” icon.

Local Service is not in the list of groups and users. You will have to add it by clicking on the corresponding icon.

Enter LOCAL SERVICE in capital letters in the field, and then click on “Check names”. If everything is entered correctly, two words will become underlined. After that click “OK”.

Then click “OK” to complete and restart the computer. Read more about setting up sharing in.

idstore.sst

Enter the command in the line netstopp2pimsvc/y.

IPv6 connection

Go to the network connections section. This can be simply done by pressing the Win+R key combination and entering the command ncpa.cpl.

Select a local network connection from the list, right-click and go to “Properties”.

Make sure that the marker next to the IPv6 protocol is set.

Click “OK” and restart the computer again.

Problems with build 1803

On Windows 10 build 1803 and higher, the homegroup has been removed. In principle, setting up a local group on it is possible, but problematic. It is better to use the alternatives that Microsoft offers - cloud services like OneDrive.

conclusions

Most Local HomeGroup problems on Windows 10 occur due to failure of services running under the PNRP protocol. The contents of the PerrNetwroking folder, in particular the idstore.sst file, also interfere with the creation of a homegroup. We remove it by first disabling the PNRP protocol manager.

Having trouble creating or joining a homegroup? Verify that all of the following conditions are met:

A The network location must be set to your home network

In Control Panel, open the Network and Sharing center page. If View your active networks shows Work network or Public network, click that link and select Home network. If there are multiple networks listed in this section, then homegroups will also not work. Read more about this in Chapter 6.

О Enable network discovery

In Control Panel, open the Network and Sharing center page, click the Choose homegroup and sharing options link, and then click the Change advanced sharing link settings). Select the Turn on Network Discovery and Turn on file and printer sharing radio buttons, then click Save changes. For more information about this page, see the “Setting up shared access to a folder” section.

Since you've opened this page, make sure that all computers in your homegroup have the same connection settings selected.

O Internet Protocol Version B is required

IPv6 is required for HomeGroup services to function correctly. In Control Panel, open the Network and Sharing center page and click the Change adapter settings link. Now right-click on the adapter through which you are connecting to your home network, select Properties and check the Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) box.

In addition, the router must support IPv6. If this is not the case, please refer to the Setting Up Your Wireless Router section.

A Homegroup services must be running

Open the Services Manager window (services.msc) and make sure the following services are running:

Function Discovery Provider Host;

Function Discovery Resource Publication;

HomeGroup Listener;

HomeGroup Provider;

Peer Networking Grouping;

Peer Networking Identity Manager;

SSDP Discovery;

UPnP Device Host.

Chapter 5 covers more about service management, and Chapter 6 covers technologies such as UPnP, SSDP, and DNS.

o Clocks must be synchronized

All computers must be set to the correct time and have the same time zones selected. To synchronize your clock, use the ability to update time data via the Internet.

Still having trouble joining a homegroup? Try one of the following solutions:

A Can't create a homegroup?

A new homegroup cannot be created if there is at least one computer on the network that belongs to an existing homegroup. If you do not want to join an existing homegroup, you will need to temporarily turn off the second computer or disconnect it from the network. Then you can create a new homegroup.

A Can't join a homegroup?

You can only join a homegroup if it has been previously created on another computer on the network (or another computer has joined it). Of course, there must be at least one other computer on your network (and it must be turned on). If you are not sure whether both computers are on the same network, follow the recommendations in the sidebar “What is the name of my computer?” us. 486.

If everything is fine, but you still don't see your existing homegroup, open the Network and Sharing center page in Control Panel. Click on the Change adapter settings link and disable all other adapters except the one through which you are connecting to the local network. In a system where there are multiple adapters - for example, cable and wireless - home groups do not work.

Firewall settings (other than Windows Firewall) may interfere with HomeGroups. Disable third-party firewalls on your computer and on the remote machine and try again.

O Incorrect password?

Stupid. But if you can't remember the character jumble that Windows generates for new homegroups, then set your own password, as explained at the beginning of this section.

A Can't access the second computer?

The second computer must be joined to the same homegroup as yours and must have access to at least one library. Otherwise, you won't see this computer in your Homegroup folder. If you are not sure that both computers are in the same home group, then open the HomeGroup page in Control Panel, click on the Leave the homegroup link, and then on the Leave home group button (Leave the homegroup). After this, try joining again.

A Do you see the second computer, but cannot open the library?

This is a common problem, but the solution is simple: leave your homegroup and then rejoin it as described above. If this does not help, then open Command Prompt in Administrator mode and run the command net use \\remote_computer, where remote_computer is the name of the second computer.

O HomeGroup is working correctly, but the file cannot be opened or edited? The cause of the problem lies in the permission settings. As discussed in the "Setting Permissions for Files and Folders" section, sharing permissions are different from file permissions, although the two types of permissions must be consistent.

o Which homegroup am I joining?

If you have multiple computers on your network and have at least two homegroups configured, you won't know which one you're asked to join until it's time to enter your password.

Windows only supports joining one homegroup at a time. However, several home f gi groups can function on a local network at once - for example, one for children and the second for their parents. Disconnect unnecessary computers from the network or temporarily turn off their power and try to join or create a homegroup again.

About the "HomeGroup is currently sharing libraries on this computer" message?

This is not an error, but the message is misleading. By "opens" we mean that Windows is setting up sharing. Wait a few minutes for the necessary permissions to be set and the message will disappear.

A The shared printer does not appear in the Homegroup folder?

When you first join a HomeGroup that has shared printers (or when you connect another computer that has shared printers configured to your HomeGroup), Windows prompts you to install remote printers. After this, shared printers are no longer displayed in the Homegroup pane, even if the Printers folder is shared.

See the next section for more information on connecting to a remote printer.

O An error was returned with a code starting with PEER or Oh?

For a list of error codes and related explanations, see http://msdn. microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd433181(VS.85).aspx.

A Don't like the Homegroup folder in Windows Explorer?

Unfortunately, it cannot be removed without completely disabling the HomeGroups service. However, you can "demote" her so that she appears inside the Desktop branch. This is discussed in more detail in the “Setting up the navigation area (Navigation)” section.

A Can't leave your homegroup?

If the system returns the error Windows couldn't remove your computer from the homegroup, this means that one or more services responsible for homegroups have stopped responding. Open Services Manager (services.msc) and stop HomeGroup Listener and HomeGroup Provider services Retry leaving the homegroup If unsuccessful, restart both services and try again.