In Vista click on the Start menu and type printers into the search box and hit Enter. Let’s make sure we can connect to it and print a test document. Here you can see the HP printer connected to the Windows 7 machine is available.Īnd you can continue browsing through all available shared folders and files.Īs we showed above, you can see the printer connected to Windows 7. Then you’ll see the folders and devices that are shared.
#Network file sharing windows vista password#
I enabled password protection on the Windows 7 machine so we can take a look at the login screen that will be displayed before connecting. Now on the Vista computer, double click on Network and you should see the Windows 7 machine (where in this instance it’s MYSTICGEEK-PC). In this example both public and Users directories are shared. But now you can go through and see the User Shared folders. There was no need to enter a password to access the Vista machine because password protection is turned off. The Vista machine in this example is VISTAGEEK-PC. Open up Network on the Windows 7 machine, and you should see all of the machines on the network. Now that we have the correct settings on each machine, it’s time to put it to the test. Under Sharing and Discovery we need to turn on File Sharing, Public Folder Sharing, and Network Discovery.Īlso on the Vista machine you might want to turn off password protected sharing … but it’s completely up to you. Right-click on Network and choose Properties. On the Vista machine we need to double check and make sure it’s sharing settings are ready to go. Turning it off while you’re setting it up makes things a bit easier though by saving a step. Other wise you’ll need to enter the password for each machine in, which isn’t that big of a deal. Make sure these are enabled in both the Home or work and Public profiles.ĭepending on your setup, you might want to turn off password protected sharing. Now in Advanced Sharing Settings, make sure to turn on network discovery, file and printer sharing, and public folder sharing. Then click on Change advanced sharing settings… First type network and sharing center into the search box in the Start Menu and hit Enter. On the Windows 7 machine we need to set up a few things in Advanced Sharing Settings. In this example we are on a basic home network using Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit version) and Windows Vista Home Premium SP2 (32-bit version).
#Network file sharing windows vista how to#
Today we take a look at how to share files and printers between Vista and Windows 7 machines. With three different versions of Windows being used now, you’ll probably find yourself trying to share files or printers between them.