Has anyone ever got homegroup function to work?

No matter what i do homegroup doesn't work for me.

-i have 2 pc's on my home network - 1 laptop, 1 desktop
-both homegroup passwords are entered
-folders are shared to homegroup read/write on both pc's
-nothing detected on laptop - nothing listed in network or homegroup
-laptop does appear in explorer on the desktop, but it says i don't have access to the files (this is an admin account)

I'd really appreciate some help here. Windows has me extremely frustrated. Troubleshooter is useless.

*i don't mean streaming, i mean sharing folders, thx.

The only time I had any problem with it was when I didn't have IPV6 enabled.

have you set the advance network sharing in w7?

turn on sharing so everyone...
turn on file and printer sharing
turn off password protected sharing

or

set share your folder to 'everyone'

There should only be 1 Homegroup password. Did you mean the password was entered on both machines?

Yes of course - 1 password, 2 machines.

have you set the advance network sharing in w7?

turn on sharing so everyone...
turn on file and printer sharing
turn off password protected sharing

or

set share your folder to 'everyone'

Yes all those settings on both machines.

Here are some specifics:

Screenshots from my laptop where these 2 folders are shared with homegroup read/write:



-Now on the desktop, I have access to the 'My Videos' folder via homegroup in explorer. However the 'Downloads' folder isn't there. In the 'Network' Location there are many folders listed, all of which state 'no access' except the 2 folders I have shared. So I can access under 'Network' but not 'Homegroup'.

-On the laptop, none of my shared folders from the desktop are listed under 'Homegroup' or 'Network'. Again, settings are the same on both pc's.

I do not get the big picture that simplifies for dummies how sharing works anymore. Until windows 8 and Windows 10 showed up this concept got lost in my mind. Prior to that it was network discovery and any folders that needed to be shared across the three PC's; Vista and two Win 7's worked just fine. In Explorer "Network" I could see the 3 PC's and auto sharing took place with "public" folders and the other folders that had read write permissions for "everyone".
Now I have win 10, Win 8.1, Win 7 Pro and I have a hard time seeing all three on each PC . On Win 7 I am asked to provide a network password, but not on the others. On the Win 10 I keep getting "you do not have permission" to access the folder.

Is there a tutorial that lays out the steps to ensure that I do not have to get the feeling that on my home network, as if I am trying to visit the Kremlin or the White House? I have no interest in passwords between my wife and myself. When the kids come over, they have a secondary WiFi access point that does not allow them access to our 3 pc's.

Help!

Thanks

Just a pointer, if you are sharing a normally restrictive folder (inside your own user folder) then also give NTFS permissions to first everyone (security tab of shared folder). Then if it works, move to the exact account you wish to use. I have no trouble accessing a share on 8.1 with 7 and XP machines at friend's work place. What could be happening is that the firewall/security software can be interfering.

I find the classic networking to be much more reliable than HomeGroup though. Right now, my laptop can not be seen from my desktop but can see the desktop itself. Services seem to be running. All I can think of at the moment is leave and re-enter the HomeGroup. But I won't bother for now :)