Workgroup ? Why ?

MouldyOldDough

My new laptop thinks that it is in a workgroup

Unless the internet is the group - this cannot be correct

The option is Domain - which, again doesn't look right ?

Speccy reports :

NetBIOS Name    MSI
DNS Name    MSI
Membership    Part of workgroup
Workgroup    WORKGROUP

booneruk

With Windows you're either in a workgroup or on a domain - You'd only be on a domain if you were part of a corporate network. Workgroups are simple networks, just one or a bunch of computers.

I presume you're looking at the system applet (mine below)


None of this actually matters though - I'd just leave it as workgroup. Is anything actually causing you a problem - do you have internet connectivity?

facade

My pc does too, except it isn't because workgroups don't exist any more, sometimes I can see it on the network, sometimes I can actually transfer files between pcs.

I think it is a legacy thing that windows installs and then messes up. I suspect all pcs are part of WORKGROUP by default.

Do you have a particular problem with it being in a workgroup?

Most of the time mine refuses point blank to connect to another pc unless I go through file explorer and put the address of the other pc in the titlebar (e.g. \\192.168.0.100) at which point it gives up and works.

Microsoft broke workgroups a long time ago, t'interweb is awash with videos, documents & answers to questions that explain how to make it work, except none of them do....

MouldyOldDough

booneruk said:

With Windows you're either in a workgroup or on a domain - You'd only be on a domain if you were part of a corporate network. Workgroups are simple networks, just one or a bunch of computers.

I presume you're looking at the system applet (mine below)


None of this actually matters though - I'd just leave it as workgroup. Is anything actually causing you a problem - do you have internet connectivity?

yes i do - just never noticed the workgroup thing before

MouldyOldDough

facade said:

My pc does too, except it isn't because workgroups don't exist any more, sometimes I can see it on the network, sometimes I can actually transfer files between pcs.

I think it is a legacy thing that windows installs and then messes up. I suspect all pcs are part of WORKGROUP by default.

Do you have a particular problem with it being in a workgroup?

Most of the time mine refuses point blank to connect to another pc unless I go through file explorer and put the address of the other pc in the titlebar (e.g. \\192.168.0.100) at which point it gives up and works.

Microsoft broke workgroups a long time ago, t'interweb is awash with videos, documents & answers to questions that explain how to make it work, except none of them do....

That's the problem - I don't "connect to other PC's" - I only use the internet

MouldyOldDough

Whilst I am here - my new device runs Win 11 - Which I was trying to avoid - but had no choice

I discovered that SYSTEM RESTORE is not set on by default - which is unforgivable

facade

MouldyOldDough said:

That's the problem - I don't "connect to other PC's" - I only use the internet

Don't worry about it, it is a legacy thing that doesn't do anything any more, it used to be really useful in the days of win7  when it worked properly.

booneruk

MouldyOldDough said:

Whilst I am here - my new device runs Win 11 - Which I was trying to avoid - but had no choice

I discovered that SYSTEM RESTORE is not set on by default - which is unforgivable

One feature I've never used in all the years of it being a thing, and always the first thing I go to disable after a new install. I consider it a space waster! I've not missed it

Neil_Jones

MouldyOldDough said:

Whilst I am here - my new device runs Win 11 - Which I was trying to avoid - but had no choice

I discovered that SYSTEM RESTORE is not set on by default - which is unforgivable

Because of the way Windows now updates which is effectively a whole new installation for the major upgrades, System Restore isn't the ideal way to undo those, that's what the Recovery thing in the System part of Settings is for.

And yes, System Restore is off by default on a new Windows 11 install, same as it was in Windows 10.  An upgrade from 7 (or 8) would have kept it on as well but all the previous points would have gone.

Anyway its no substitute for "proper" back ups.