Windows Keeps Asking for Network Credentials When Accessing a Shared PC

You try to open a shared folder on another PC and Windows keeps showing Enter network credentials — and whatever you type, it loops or says the username or password is wrong.

Why: Reaching a shared PC means signing in to that PC. The prompt appears because Password protected sharing is on and Windows isn’t sending a valid account from the sharing computer. The two usual traps: you’re typing your own PC’s login (or a Microsoft account) instead of an account that exists on the sharing PC, or an old, wrong credential is cached and keeps getting reused.

Fix 1: Enter the right credentials in the right format

The username and password must belong to an account on the PC you’re connecting to, not the one you’re sitting at.

1. At the prompt, type the username as PCNAME\username — for example OFFICE-DESK\neel — using the sharing PC’s computer name and a local account on it.
2. Enter that account’s password.
3. Tick Remember my credentials so you’re not asked every time.

A Windows Hello PIN is not a network password. For a predictable authenticated setup, you can create a dedicated password-protected local account on the sharing PC and grant it the required folder access. Do not assume that an email address is invalid simply because the sharing account is a Microsoft account; the credential format and usable password must match that account.

Fix 2: Clear the wrong cached credential

If Windows saved a bad username/password it will keep reusing it and looping the prompt.

1. Press Win + R, type control, press Enter to open Control Panel.
2. Go to User Accounts → Credential Manager → Windows Credentials.
3. Under Windows Credentials, find any entry for the sharing PC (its name or IP, e.g. OFFICE-DESK or 192.168.1.20), expand it, and click Remove.
4. Reconnect to the share and enter the correct credentials when prompted (Fix 1).

You can also pre-load the correct login here: Add a Windows credential, set the address to the PC name or IP, and enter the PCNAME\username and password.

Fix 3: Verify permissions and keep authenticated sharing

On the sharing PC, leave Password protected sharing enabled. Confirm the selected account has both share and file-system access to the folder and a usable password; a Windows Hello PIN is not that account’s network password.

Switching password protection off does not guarantee the prompt will disappear. Guest access depends on the connecting Windows edition/build, signing/encryption requirements and policy. Current Windows 11 Pro can block guest authentication by default. Use a supported authenticated account instead of enabling insecure guest logons or disabling signing.

FAQ

What do I put for the username? For the local-account setup above, use PCNAME\username and that account’s password. Do not use a Windows Hello PIN or the credentials of an unrelated account on the connecting PC. A different sharing-account type can require a different credential format.

It worked yesterday and now asks again. A stale saved credential is the usual cause — remove the entry in Credential Manager (Fix 2) and reconnect.

I turned password protection off but it still asks. A cached credential is one possibility, but guest authentication may also be blocked by the client’s SMB security policy. Restore authenticated sharing and use an account granted access on the server.

Sources: Microsoft Learn — Guest access restrictions, Microsoft Support — File sharing over a network in Windows