Windows 10 offers a simple way to find and access nearby computers as long as they’re connected to a common Local Area Network (LAN) via Wi-Fi or cable, and Network discovery and File and printer sharing on those PCs is turned on.
Usually Windows 10 automatically asks whether you want to turn on Network discovery on your Windows as soon as you connect it to a LAN and/or Internet for the first time after installation. You can either allow the OS to do so if you’re on a safe network, i.e. in your office or home, or decline if on a public network like a coffee shop or airport.
Note: If you didn’t turn on Network discovery or missed the prompt while connecting to a safe LAN, you can always search for ‘Advanced Sharing Settings’ in the Cortana search box, and enable ‘File and printer sharing’ and ‘Network discovery’ for the network profile currently in use.
Once everything is in place, here’s how you can find other computers in your local network:
Step 1
Launch File Explorer
Click the File Explorer icon from the taskbar. This opens the File Explorer window with the Quick access container selected from the top of the left pane. The File Explorer window allows you to swiftly and quickly navigate through your entire hard drive, and view and access its contents without getting inside their parent folder.
Step 2
Find other computers in the local network
Click Network from the left pane. This selects the Network container, and displays all its contents in the right pane. The contents shown here are the nodes (PCs or other shared devices) that are connected to the same Local Area Network.
Step 3
Access network nodes
Double-click any PC or device present in the Network window. This opens the node, and displays all its contents as normal objects inside any regular folder. Needless to mention, you can only view the contents that have been shared by the administrator of the remote devices.
Usually Windows 10 automatically asks whether you want to turn on Network discovery on your Windows as soon as you connect it to a LAN and/or Internet for the first time after installation. You can either allow the OS to do so if you’re on a safe network, i.e. in your office or home, or decline if on a public network like a coffee shop or airport.
Note: If you didn’t turn on Network discovery or missed the prompt while connecting to a safe LAN, you can always search for ‘Advanced Sharing Settings’ in the Cortana search box, and enable ‘File and printer sharing’ and ‘Network discovery’ for the network profile currently in use.
Once everything is in place, here’s how you can find other computers in your local network:
Step 1
Launch File Explorer
Click the File Explorer icon from the taskbar. This opens the File Explorer window with the Quick access container selected from the top of the left pane. The File Explorer window allows you to swiftly and quickly navigate through your entire hard drive, and view and access its contents without getting inside their parent folder.
Step 2
Find other computers in the local network
Click Network from the left pane. This selects the Network container, and displays all its contents in the right pane. The contents shown here are the nodes (PCs or other shared devices) that are connected to the same Local Area Network.
Step 3
Access network nodes
Double-click any PC or device present in the Network window. This opens the node, and displays all its contents as normal objects inside any regular folder. Needless to mention, you can only view the contents that have been shared by the administrator of the remote devices.