Forum Discussion
Windows not accepting my network credentials
I try to connect my Windows11 laptop to my Windows11 desktop. All advanced network and sharing settings are set to the same values on both computers (network discovery ON, password protection OFF, file sharing set, etc...) . The connection works fine in 1 direction: on my desktop I can see the shared folders on my laptop.
But the other way around is not working: the desktop computer name is visible in File Explorer/This PC/network, but when I click on it and fill in the network credentials an error message 'user name or password is incorrect' is displayed. I use the email address and password from my Microsoft account to enter the network credentials, these are identical on both computers. I already spent days experimenting, without success. Please can anyone advise me further?
It sounds like you've already tried a lot of troubleshooting steps. Here are a few more things you can try to resolve the network credentials error:
- Clear Credentials from Credential Manager:
- Open the Control Panel and go to User Accounts > Credential Manager.
- Remove any stored credentials related to the desktop computer.
- Disable Credential Manager Service:
- Press Windows + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
- Find Credential Manager in the list, double-click it, and set the Startup type to Disabled.
- Use Computer Name and Account Name:
- Instead of using your email address, try using the computer name and account name as the username. For example, if your desktop computer is named DESKTOP and your account name is User, use DESKTOP\User as the username.
- Check Local Security Policy:
- Press Windows + R, type secpol.msc, and press Enter.
- Navigate to Local Policies > Security Options.
- Find Network security: LAN Manager authentication level and set it to Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated.
- Set IP Address to Automatic:
- Ensure both computers are set to obtain IP addresses automatically.
- Go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings.
- Right-click your network connection, select Properties, and double-click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
- Ensure both Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically are selected.
- Change Network Profile to Private:
- Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Status.
- Click on Properties under your network connection and set the network profile to Private.
These steps should help resolve the network credentials error.
- Clear Credentials from Credential Manager:
