Hey everyone! I'm running into a frustrating issue where I can't access network shares on Windows 11 24H2 computers in a WORKGROUP setting. Both PCs can see each other on the network, but I can't open or connect to the shares. Every time I try, I get prompted for a username and password, which it says is incorrect. I've already cleared and recreated credentials and tried using the format shared_computer_nameuser_name, just like you would on a domain network.
Here's the full scenario: I have two Windows 11 24H2 computers, both set to workgroup and private profiles, and I've made a ton of local policy changes, like adjusting settings in the registry related to users and permissions (forceguest, RequireSecuritySignature, AllowInsecureGuestAuth, etc.).
Interestingly, when I connect these computers to a network with a domain system, they can access shares on a Windows 11 Pro 24H2 machine that's part of the domain, but they still can't connect to each other as workgroup machines. It's like they're sending out the correct login details but not receiving access back.
I've followed various tricks to help fix this, including enabling plaintext passwords and tweaking security signatures in the registry, but none have worked. Anyone have suggestions or solutions? Thanks!
1 Answer
Sounds like you might be dealing with User Account Control (UAC) issues. Have you tried changing the LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy? Setting it to 1 can help reduce remote access restrictions on local accounts. You can check out the Microsoft documentation on this for more details.
Thanks for the suggestion! The login user is set as administrator on the host, and I did lower the UAC to the minimum, but it didn’t make a difference. Any other ideas?