Forum Discussion
Windows PC on Network shows up but I can no longer connect to it.
I have a Windows 7 desktop PC that's connected to my network. When I open File Explorer, I can see it on the network. Until a few weeks ago, I was always able to connect to it using Remote Desktop. Then all of a sudden, it stopped working. I have 2 Windows 11 laptops, both fairly new.
I have another Windows 10 desktop on the network and I can not only connect via Remote Desktop, but I can also clck on it in File Explorer.
I can't figure out what changed or how to fix it.
Thank you in advance for any help you can provide. This is what I'm seeing in File Explorer. I can connect with no problems to DELL_NAS. I can't connect to DESKTOP-PC.
2 Replies
hi Jim_S61 The fact that DESKTOP-PC still appears under Network means network discovery is working, but that doesn't necessarily mean RDP or file sharing is working.
A few quick tests:
On the Windows 7 PC, confirm Remote Desktop is still enabled under System → Remote settings.
From a Windows 11 laptop, try RDP using the PC's IP address instead of its name.
Test the connection with:
`Test-NetConnection <IP-address> -Port 3389`
For file sharing, try `\\<IP-address>` in File Explorer.
If the IP address works but `DESKTOP-PC` doesn't, the problem is likely name resolution. If the IP connection also fails, check the Windows 7 firewall and Remote Desktop service.
One other thing to keep in mind: newer Windows 11 releases have tightened SMB security, so an old Windows 7 SMB configuration can sometimes be visible on the network but no longer accessible.
The IP-address test is probably the quickest way to narrow this down.
Thanks. I will try what you suggest and see what happens. I'll come back and let you know what happened.
