I’m creating a homegroup in my network that consists of a wireless router and two computers, one a wireless laptop and one a wireless desktop, both running Win7, with the laptop as the primary computer.
I’ve apparently created the homegroup successfully but when I try to get another computer to join the homegroup it tells me the password is incorrect. I’ve tried a bunch of different passwords, from “12345678” to “igotthehep” and none of them will be accepted when I try to join the homegroup from the desktop. I’ve done a little Googling and apparently other people having similar problems think the issue is tied to their using 802.11n, but I say balls to that, it should be working just fine.
Help me Straight Dope Message Board, you’re my only hope.
Are you using the homegroup password given when you set it up originally? The password is automatically generated when it is created. You should be able to retrieve it by opening the HomeGroup control panel and clicking “View or print the homegroup password” on a computer already joined to the homegroup (probably the laptop)
Also, go into the Advanced settings and ensure the “Allow Windows to manage…” option is selected in HomeGroup connections on all computers.
I saw it but it was some 10-character long mess of numbers and letters so I said “fuck that” and immediately changed it to a custom one. I don’t think it’s the password itself that’s the problem. Some connectivity issue maybe- networking computers isn’t really my thing.
Went ahead and checked, it was set to that as a default on both computers.
To clarify, you are typing the password shown currently in the laptop’s HomeGroup control panel?
Next thing to check are the firewall settings. HomeGroup uses a couple of ports and they need to be open between the computers. Open the Windows Firewall control panel and click the “Allow a program…” item in the sidebar. Ensure the HomeGroup entry is checked for both the enabled checkbox on the left row and under the Home/Work column. If you are using a third party firewall, ensure it is configured to allow HomeGroup connections (most up-to-date products have such an option). Otherwise, disable all firewalls for testing and try to connect.
Also ensure that any wireless isolation feature on the router is disabled, though this is probably already the case since the computers can detect each other to start the homegroup join process.
There is also a troubleshooter available in the HomeGroup control panel. It checks a number of system settings and configurations automatically. Run it on both computers.
Both computers must have a network type of “Home” in the Network and Sharing control panel, though this is probably already the case.
You can also leave the homegroup on the laptop and start the create process from the other computer. Homegroup is a peer-to-peer system and does not have a designated server computer.
I appreciate your help. It seems to be working now. I don’t know what the issue was. I do have to be running it on the desktop, though, which isn’t preferable. As far as I know I didn’t change anything, the network was just being a bastard.