Although Windows 11 lets you share a folder with someone else on your network, you can map it to a drive letter in Windows Explorer.
If you want a folder in a more professional way parts then you create a network connection to the folder. Then the folder will appear as a local drive, and you or someone else on your network can quickly access it in the future.
How to create a network connection in Windows 11
Open Windows Explorer.
Click on “This PC” on the left. Click on the three horizontal dots at the top. Then click on “Make a network connection”.
Select the desired drive letters. Enter the location for the network folder or click Browse. Select the shared network folder. Click OK.
To connect to the network folder when starting Windows 11, enable the “Reconnect at login” option. If you need a username and password to connect to the shared folder, click “Connect with Other Credentials” and enter the requested login information. Click finish.
You will find the network connection you created in “This PC” in “Network locations”.
To close a network connection, right-click the network connection, click Show more options and then click “Disconnect.
I hope this helped you. Thank you for reading!
Good day. I have an HP Laserjet 300 Color MPF M375nw printer/scanner. I am trying to scan to a network folder from the printer from the control panel. To do this, I first enter the IP address of my printer in a browser and then I can set the settings correctly. For that I need to create a network folder. I keep getting the message that the printer/scanner cannot connect to the network folder. And that I need to check if the name of the folder is correct. I had 2 laptops running Windows 10 and it worked fine. I can even scan an old computer running Windows Vista. However, I can't do it in Windows 11.
When I enter the specified path (\\laptop name\users\anton\directory) into a browser, I get the correct directory. Entering an IP address instead of the laptop name does not help either. In Explorer, in the properties of the folder, I unchecked “read only” for the folder and its subfolders and I set the folder to shared. In the properties I also see the entered network folder as I entered it. My account name is “anton and girlfriend”, but the directory structure only shows anton. I used both “anton” and “anton and girlfriend” as usernames: both variants do not work. I also created a local account so as not to connect to Microsoft, but that doesn't work either. File and printer sharing and network discovery in the network settings are turned on.
I can scan to email and scan to USB stick is also possible. But scanning to a network folder should work, right?
Can you help me?
Hello, here are some more tips you can try.
1. Make sure the folder has the correct permissions. You must have both read and write permissions for the user the printer/scanner is trying to connect to.
2. Check that the Windows Firewall or other antivirus software is not blocking the connection. Try temporarily disabling the firewall and antivirus to see if this solves the problem.
3. Windows 11 may use a different version of the SMB protocol than Windows 10 or Vista. You can try to temporarily enable SMBv1 (although this is not recommended for security reasons). Go to 'Turn Windows features on or off' and check 'SMB 1.0/CIFS file sharing support'.
4. Make sure your network is set as 'Private' and not 'Public'.
Success!
Dear Stephen,
Thank you for your fast response. I'll go over the suggested points below:
1) in the network folder properties, “read only” is disabled (so there are write rights), the folder and subfolders are shared and file and printer sharing is turned on; all these options were already correct
2) I had already turned off firewalls, but this did not provide a solution
4) network is already set to private
3) I have no idea what an SMB server is and does and what security risks checking it poses, but I checked the 'SMB 1.0/CIFS file sharing support' box. And I can't believe my eyes: the test gives the message “The test was performed correctly”. My test scan ends up in the specified network folder. Things are going well for both the main account and the local account.
So thank you 1000 times, the problem is solved. I've put so much time into it, no one I asked knew the solution and you just know the answer. Hopefully you can explain something to me about the how and why of an SMB server.
Hello, SMB and CIFS are network protocols used to share files, printers, and other resources between devices on a network. It allows computers to access files and other resources on other computers within the same network. SMB 1.0 is outdated, it is not recommended to enable it due to previous attacks from ransomware, among other things. Some printers do need the protocol, such as your printer. It's a choice. Good luck!
When I click on the 3 dots it says 'network connection is not there.
Hello, first click on “This PC”, then you will see it. Good luck!
Hi, I recently reinstalled Win 11. Since then I have to enter network credentials when I want to access my other PCs on my network. Maybe tips?
Hello, you can create network credentials. This guide covers removal, but also provides insight into which settings you can use to create network credentials: https://www.pc-tips.info/tips/windows-tips/opgeslagen-netwerk-inloggegevens-wissen/
Success!
LS
Problem: Establishing a network connection.
System: Windows 11, device and domain (workgroup) names entered correctly.
NAS can be found by pinging 192.168.178.185 (Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss). However, cannot make a network connection: This PC, right mouse button, show more options, make a network connection: choose letter and select network: “NAS not visible!!! What is causing me to not see the folders on the NAS?”
Kind regards, Koos
Hallo,
check whether the folders on the NAS are shared on the correct network, or whether the user account you are trying to access the NAS folders with has the correct permissions. I suspect that there are some settings that are not correct in the NAS itself. Good luck!
Good afternoon, I often get a blue screen with a stop code, what can I do about this? Sometimes it happens three times in five minutes, which is annoying
Hello, it is often very complicated to determine the cause. If you use Windows 10 or Windows 11, I know from experience that it often occurs due to hardware connected to the PC, such as printers, an external hard drive or another USB device. You can try disconnecting the peripheral device. I hope this helps you.
Good luck! Greetings, Stefan