How to Share Files Between Computers? Here Are 5 Solutions [MiniTool Tips]

The Benefits of Sharing Files Between Computers

File sharing refers to allowing others or yourselves to access your digital information or resources, such as texts, images, and so on. So what are the benefits of file sharing?

If the files you need are on one computer, but you can't use that computer for a while. However, if the files you need have been shared to other places or other computers, then you can access them from other places.

In addition, shared files can be accessed by multiple people, avoiding the problem that a file can only be accessed by one person.

How to Share Files Between Computers?

Actually, there are many ways to share files between computers. I will introduce five methods for you to share files between computers.

Use External Storage Media to Share Files Between Computers

Sharing files using external Storage Media is an old method, but this is the way most people take it. Using external storage media is useful when you only need to temporarily share files to other computers, or when you don't want to create a network share. Other than those, this method does not require you to connect to the network.

Then how to share files between computers using external storage media? You only need to connect external storage media to a computer, then copy the files to it. Then connect the same external storage media to other computers, and paste the files inside to another computer. This way you have achieved file sharing.

If your two computers have USB 3.0 ports, then in order to make file transfer faster, it is recommended that you use a USB 3.0 drive. When your files are large, the transfer speed is especially important because the fast transfer speed can save you a lot of time.

Use Transfer Cable to Share Files Between Computers

In addition to using external storage media for file sharing between computers, you can also share files using some special transfer cables. These transfer cables can be connected to two computers via USB ports, which is much faster than sharing files with external storage media, because this copy and paste occur on both computers at the same time.

And when using an external hard disk, you are basically transferring among three drives. Using a transfer cable is especially useful when you only have two drives.

So how to share files between computers through transfer cable?

• At first, plug both ends of the cable into the USB port of the two computers.
• Then open the file browser (holding Win + E at the same time)
• Next, find the new software near the USB or CD and run it on both computers.
• Finally, copy and paste the files you want to share.

Although this method is fast and convenient, these cables are very expensive, so I don't recommend you to use this method to share files between computers. After all, there are other better free ways to share files.

Use File Explorer to Share Files Between Computers

When you need to share files to another computer, you can use the sharing function built into the File Explorer. You don't need to spend extra money to buy transfer cable or external storage media, and you don't need to download third-party software. Then how to share files between computers on same network using File Explorer feature?

Step 1: Open File Explorer to find the files you want to share to continue.

Step 2: Choose one file or multiple files and right-click on it, choose Properties to continue.

Step 3: In the pop-up window, click Share... under Sharing tab to continue.

Step 4: In the pop-up window, select the person to share, then click Add, and then click Share to share the file.

Step 5: After the sharing is successful, a window will pop up. You can send the links to the person you want to share by e-mail or you can also copy and paste the links into another app. Then click Done.

Step 6: If the computers are on the same network, other people can open the File Explorer and enter the shared links in This PC to view the shared files.

Use OneDrive to Share Files Between Computers

You can also try to share files between computers via OneDrive. But if you want to share and view files using OneDrive, you need an account with OneDrive. Here's how to share files between computers Windows 10 with OneDrive:

Step 1: Type OneDrive in the search box and click the top one to open the files location.

Step 2: Right-click the files that you want to share and choose Share to continue.

Step 3: After entering the name or the email address that you want to send the files, click Send. You can also click Copy Link to get the sharable link to share it with other people.

Step 4: You can set the sharing preference for the OneDrive content. It includes the ability to allow editing, set expiration date and password.

When you share files with OneDrive, other users have got the sharable link can access your files even if your computer is offline. However, there is only 5GB free storage space, and you need to download the files to view them, so it may be a little troublesome for you.

Use MiniTool ShadowMaker to Share Files Between Computers

There is a piece of quick and safe backup software to share files with other computers – MiniTool ShadowMaker. You can use Sync feature of it to share files between computers and you can sync your files and folders regularly, so you don't have to re-sync each time you edit your files.

Note: If you want to use MiniTool ShadowMaker to share files between computers, then there should be a shared folder on another computer.

What’s more, MiniTool ShadowMaker can not only help you share files between computers, but also can help you back up data and restore it. And you can use it to clone disk to create a bootable external hard drive. So why don’t you just download MiniTool ShadowMaker and have a try?

Free Download

Here is the instruction of sharing files between computers through MiniTool ShadowMaker.

Step 1: Launch MiniTool ShadowMaker and click Connect to get its main interface to continue.

Step 2: Go to the Sync page and click Source to choose the files you want to share to continue.

Step 3: Select the files or folders you want to share and then click OK to continue.

Step 4: After having chosen files you want to share, then click Destination to continue.

Step 5: As you can see, there are five different paths you can choose. But since you want to share files with other computers, then you just need to click Shared. Then you need to click Add new and enter other computer’s shared folder’s path, User name and Password. Then click OK.

Step 6: After that, you can choose a folder you want to save the sharing files and click OK.

Step 7: After you have chosen the files you want to share and the destination, then you can click Sync Now to finish sharing files between computers.

After you have done these steps, then you can view the shared files on another computer’s shared folder.

As all we know, sometimes you may lose data because the computer is crashed or virus attack. So you can try MiniTool ShadowMaker to back up or sync important data in case of losing data. Besides, it can also help you to transfer your operating system to another computer.

How to Solve the Problems During Accessing to Shared Files?

Sometimes you may not be able to access shared files because of settings on your computer. Below I will introduce several ways to help you solve problems when accessing shared files.

Identify TCP/IP Address

To ensure accurate access to shared files, you can view shared files by using a TCP/IP address instead of the computer name in the network share link. So how to find the device's IP address?

Open Settings > click Network & Internet > Click Ethernet or Wi-Fi > double-click the connected network > copy and paste your IPv4 address under the Properties section > replace the computer name with the IP address in the network path.

If this method doesn’t work, you need to try the following one.

Set Network Profile to Private

If your computer is using the public network, then you may need the enter credentials to view the shared files. So in order to save this trouble, you can set the network profile to private by the following steps:

Open Settings > click Network & Internet > Click Ethernet or Wi-Fi > double-click the connected network > choose Private under the Properties section

After doing this, you may access shared files from the computer. But if there is still trouble that you cannot view the shared files, you can try the following method.

Allow Files Through a Firewall

Sometimes the firewall may prevent you from accessing the shared files, then you should turn off the firewall for a moment. Here is the way.

Open Settings > click Update & Security > click Windows Security > click Open Windows Security > click Firewall & network protection > click Private network > turn off the Windows Defender Firewall

This method can help you that you cannot access the shared files if it is a firewall problem. But if you cannot access the shared files, you need to adopt the following method.

Open Firewall Ports for File Sharing

So in order to view the shared files successfully, you may need to do the following steps:

Open Control Panel > click System and Security > click Allow an app through Windows Firewall > click Change setting > choose File and Printer Sharing and check the Private network option > click OK

After doing these things, you can access the shared files successfully.

This article really helps me how to share files between computers. And MiniTool ShadowMaker is a piece of useful software for me.Click to Tweet

Conclusion

This article introduces how to share files between computers and how to access the shared files successfully. The five methods are really good for sharing files between computers. And MiniTool ShadowMaker is really a piece of powerful software to sync files and folders.

If you have any confusion or advice, leave a comment below or contact [email protected].