Comments on: My Struggles Setting Up A Windows 11 Home Network – Part One

By: RandiO

RandiO — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 18:46:57 +0000

I prefer to employ dual-NIC (ETH) motherboards with Windows11 ‘Pro’ OS.
This allows me to partition my local network assets (LAN) separate from my cable-ISP router/modem assets (WAN), in a Windows “Bridged” configuration (LAN+WAN)..
But what I found to be very useful is Win11PRO network stack (re: Win11Home);
——————————–
[chatBotQ]>> Differences in Networking between Windows 11 Home versus Pro versions?
[chatBotA]>> Windows 11 Pro offers significantly advanced networking capabilities compared to Windows 11 Home, specifically tailored for business and enterprise environments.
Key Networking Differences
• Domain and Directory Integration: Windows 11 Pro supports Domain Join, Azure Active Directory (Microsoft Entra ID), and Azure AD join, allowing devices to connect to organizational networks for centralized management. Windows 11 Home lacks these capabilities entirely, preventing it from joining a corporate domain or managing devices via Azure.
• Remote Desktop Hosting: Only Windows 11 Pro includes the Remote Desktop host feature, enabling other devices to connect directly to the machine for remote control. Windows 11 Home can only act as a client, meaning it can connect to a Pro machine but cannot be accessed remotely via the built-in Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).
…
———————————
Adding a ‘Network Location’ within the Windows Explorer FileManager (Win+E), using the Wizard is quite convenient. Remote connections within the LAN are secure/protected and much simplified, although I have 16 networked hardware (NAS/smartDevices, streamers, printers, DanteAudio hardware, etc).

By: Graham Jones

Graham Jones — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:10:53 +0000

Just went through this myself. 3 PC’s all running W11 Pro. Something that used to take me 5 mins took me 3 hours of changing everything under the Windows Sun. I only got there in the end by using CoPilot, which cheerfully agreed with me when I declared “this is crazy”. Plus I lost count of the number of times I was told “I understand the problem and there is only one more step”. Fat chance! Fortunately, my background permitted me to understand the “rabbit holes” that I had to go down. Anybody without decent Windows knowledge wouldn’t have a hope!

By: Reg Watson

Reg Watson — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:15:09 +0000

Thanks Marc

Windows networking authentication/credentials issues – such fun !

In my experience Windows is increasingly fussy about not using passwords so I would turn ON password protected sharing and use one. You could also try adding credentials in Credential Manager, ensuring Function Discovery services are running, reset the firewall and try to access using actual IP to force a login that way. Finally a “have you tried turning it off and on again” reboot sometimes produces Harry Potter magic as well against the Microsoft Dark Arts !

Good luck and looking forward to Part 2.
Cheers
Reg

By: Marc Thomas

Marc Thomas — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 10:43:21 +0000

In reply to Mindblower.

Hello Mindblower
My research tells me that many thousands of Windows users are experiencing the same problems as I have outlined, up to and including this date.
Cheers
Marc

By: Mindblower

Mindblower — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:58:55 +0000

Hi Marc. Excellent article BTW. Reassuring that even those with much more advanced computer skills face problems which are extremely difficult and frustrating. Sharing these adventures with the regular computer user (myself included) makes me wonder how many others experience problems but are too shy to post their own failures as we learn from mistakes (I am reminded). What is true. these failures (for lack of a better word) all stem from the patched up (not fully tested) operating system, Mindblower!