I have two PCs running W7, one is a desktop with Home Premium and the other is a laptop running the Starter edition. They are both joined to the same Homegroup and both are visible to each other on the Network. From the laptop I can browse the shared folders on the Desktop. However from the desktop, I'm unable to access the laptop. The error message read: "Windows cannot access \\laptop name". I've been through the troubleshooting. I've unjoined and rejoined the homegroup. I've tried to connect without the homegroup and in every case the communication is always one way.

Are you sure that your users accounts have no blank password? Because blank passwords can cause problems with shared folders.

Hi, On the laptop 1. Make sure that you enable “Turn Public folder sharing on” and “Turn Network discovering on”. 2. Please make sure that you have shared files with the desktop user. Right click the shared folder, click Share with, click Homegroup (Read/Write). You could also select Specific people and add the desktop user with both read and write permissions. On the desktop 1. Run Home Group Troubleshooter to fix the problem. 2. Run Shared Folders Troubleshooter to fix the problem. Click Start, click Control Panel. In the search box, type troubleshooter, and then click Troubleshooting. Under Network and Internet, click Access shared files and folders on other computers. 3. Access the laptop using \\IPaddrees\sharedfolder You can visit the following guide for reference: Share files with someone Best Regards DalePlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.