How to Share Files Between Windows PCs (SMB)

Windows shares files using SMB (Server Message Block), which is built in — you do not install anything. This guide walks through turning on discovery and sharing, sharing a folder, the important difference between share and NTFS permissions, reaching the share from another PC, how password-protected sharing behaves, why you should leave SMB1 off, and how to fix the usual problems.

Step 1 — turn on network discovery and file sharing

By default Windows keeps a PC hidden on the network until you opt in. On the computer that will host the files:

1. Open Settings > Network & internet and make sure the active network is set to Private, not Public. (Click the network, then choose the Private network profile.) File sharing is meant for trusted, private networks.
2. Go to Advanced network settings > Advanced sharing settings. If you cannot find it, Microsoft's own instructions take the shortcut: type Manage advanced sharing settings into the search bar and open it from the results.
3. Under the Private networks profile, turn on Network discovery and File and printer sharing.

Those two switches are exactly the ones Microsoft's file sharing over a network in Windows guidance tells you to enable, and the same page is where the password protected sharing option covered further down lives, under All Networks.

Do this only on the PC hosting the share; the PC that connects to it does not need file sharing turned on, though network discovery helps it browse.

Step 2 — share a folder

There are two ways to share, both reached by right-clicking the folder.

Quick share. Right-click the folder, choose Properties, open the Sharing tab, and click Share. Pick who to share with — a specific local account or Everyone — set their permission level (Read, or Read/Write), and click Share. Windows shows the network path to hand to the other person.

Advanced sharing gives you full control. On the Sharing tab click Advanced Sharing, tick Share this folder, and optionally change the share name. Click Permissions to set who can connect (see the next step), then OK.

Step 3 — share permissions vs NTFS permissions

Two separate permission systems apply to a shared folder, and understanding both saves a lot of confusion.

• Share permissions apply only to access over the network. They control who can connect to the share and, broadly, whether they can read or also change files. You set them under Advanced Sharing > Permissions.
• NTFS permissions apply to the files and folders themselves, whether reached over the network or while sitting at the PC. You set them on the folder's Security tab, and they are far more granular.

When both apply, Windows grants whichever is more restrictive. Microsoft's file-server planning guidance states the rule directly — "the more restrictive permissions always apply" when share and NTFS permissions are combined. So if share permissions allow Read/Write but NTFS allows only Read, the effective result is Read. A common, clean approach is to leave the share permission at a sensible level for the group who should connect, and do the precise control with NTFS on the Security tab. When a share denies one person but works for everyone else, Microsoft's current troubleshooting guide sends you to check both sets of permissions for exactly this reason.

Step 4 — access the share from another PC

On the second PC:

1. Open File Explorer and type the share's path into the address bar in UNC form: \\ComputerName\ShareName. You can use the host's IP address instead of its name, for example \\192.168.1.50\Files.
2. If prompted, sign in with a user name and password that exists on the sharing PC. Tick Remember my credentials to avoid being asked again.

If you will use the folder often, give it a drive letter — see how to map a network drive in Windows 11, which also covers reconnecting at sign-in and storing credentials.

Password-protected sharing

Password-protected sharing is a setting (in Advanced sharing settings) that decides whether people must have an account on the sharing PC to connect. With it on — the default and the safer choice — anyone connecting needs a valid user name and password on the host. With it off, people can reach anything shared with the Everyone/Guest access without signing in, which is only appropriate on a fully trusted network.

Leaving password-protected sharing on and creating a dedicated local account for sharing is the tidiest setup for most homes and small offices: you share with that account, and connecting PCs sign in with it.

A word on SMB1 security

Do not turn on SMB1. It is an obsolete version of the file-sharing protocol with serious, well-known security holes and none of the protections built into later versions. This is not a matter of opinion: Microsoft publicly deprecated SMBv1 in 2014, SMBv2 superseded it back in 2007, and Windows 11 ships without the SMBv1 client or server after a clean installation. Microsoft's own wording on reinstalling it is blunt — it strongly recommends you don't, citing known ransomware and malware issues. Two modern Windows PCs share with each other over SMB2 or later automatically, so you never need SMB1 for PC-to-PC sharing.

The only time it comes up is a very old network device — an ancient NAS or printer — that supports nothing newer. Even then, the right fix is to update or replace that device. If you must enable SMB1 as a temporary last resort, turn it off again as soon as the old hardware is gone.

Troubleshooting

• The other PC cannot see the share. Confirm network discovery and file sharing are on, the network profile is Private, and both PCs are on the same network. Try the host's IP address in the path if the name does not resolve.
• You are asked for a password you do not have. Password-protected sharing needs an account that exists on the sharing PC. Create or use a local account there and connect with it.
• "Your organization's security policies block unauthenticated guest access." This is not a misconfiguration on your side — Windows stopped allowing insecure guest logons by default, and Microsoft documents this exact message as the most common Access Denied cause on modern clients. The fix is to connect with real credentials on the host or NAS, not to re-enable guest access.
• The PC never shows up under Network in File Explorer. That browse list used to be built by the Computer Browser service, which depended on SMB1 and was removed along with it. Microsoft's replacement guidance is to start the Function Discovery Provider Host and Function Discovery Resource Publication services and set both to Automatic (Delayed Start) — modern discovery then uses WS-Discovery instead. Typing the UNC path directly always works regardless.
• You can open files but not save. That is a permissions result — the more restrictive of share and NTFS is Read. Grant write access on both where appropriate.
• Names do not resolve at all. Work through DNS server not responding, or fall back to the IP address. For a server-hosted share with proper permissions from the start, see create a file share on Windows Server.