# After Windows 7 Update, computer won't share files **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 26, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-windows-7-update-computer-wont-share-files/783092 "2017-03-26T20:11:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-windows-7-update-computer-wont-share-files/783092/1 "2017-03-26T20:11:30Z")
I have a computer that has three huge hard drives with a clean installation of windows 7 that I use as a juke box to store my files on for my laptop with windows 10. After whatever the latest update was, I can no longer share files between the two computers. I have reset the homegroup, deleted it off, set it up again, changed the password. I still do not have permission to share the hard drives from the windows 7 computer to the windows 10 ones. I cannot include the hard drives from the “share directory” option as it is grayed out. Does anyone have a successful way of doing this? The chief IT guy can’t seem to make it work here either. He says that the windows 7 installation will have to be redone, but it was done at our computer shop that does no longer do the windows 7 installs, and I need 7 for a particular program on the 7 computer. Any ideas? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-windows-7-update-computer-wont-share-files/783092/2 "2017-03-26T23:14:41Z")
As I recall, in Win7 if you wanted to share the root of a drive, you had to give read permissions to ‘everyone’. Apart from that, are you running as administrator with protection turned off? ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-windows-7-update-computer-wont-share-files/783092/3 "2017-03-27T00:37:55Z")
You’re not alone. My windows 10 and windows 7 machines will not share files, either. I use dropbox and thumbdrives. If it’s crucially important to you, I recommend you install a 3rd party file sharing program on both computers, because Microsoft seriously broke some things. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-windows-7-update-computer-wont-share-files/783092/4 "2017-03-27T12:21:02Z")
I’m going thru this mess. (Windows 7) I had sharing working just fine. Then I set up Windows Bridge so I could plug in my Pi Zeros directly into the USB port of my PC and let them access the Internet. Windows Bridge changed some key settings and I can’t figure out how to undo them. Ever since then the shared drives aren’t seen on the network. I’ve run thru all sorts of settings and nada. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-windows-7-update-computer-wont-share-files/783092/5 "2017-03-27T17:25:30Z")
Thanks for the tips everyone. It USED to work just fine but not anymore. I’m the administrator on both machines. Does anyone have a third party program they would recommend? If I had an idea of what the change was maybe I could go undo it. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-windows-7-update-computer-wont-share-files/783092/6 "2017-03-27T19:27:41Z")
> [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > Thanks for the tips everyone. It USED to work just fine but not anymore. I’m the administrator on both machines. Does anyone have a third party program they would recommend? If I had an idea of what the change was maybe I could go undo it. The classic way to do this is SFTP. Then you use a client like FileZilla that is drag and drop. You can either set the FTP server up inside windows 10, or there are no doubt 1 click third party programs out there.