prompt for network password

I have a domain-connected windows 7 machine that I bring home occasionally.

When I connect on the domain it runs a domain logon script which applies policies, deletes all my network drives and printers and sets up the ones for that domain.

When I am at home I just have a wired LAN with 1 Win7 pc, 1 Vista PC, 1 XP PC, 1 Linux-based NAS box, and 1 Mac. There are no servers, no policies, and no passwords or users set up anywhere.

I can connect from any machine to any other machine without being prompted for a username or password which is exactly how a home network should behave. Except when I connect FROM the Win7 box to anything else.

When I try to browse a computer on my home LAN I am prompted for a username and password. It DOES NOT MATTER what I put in - but I have to put anything in and press enter. It doesn't work if I click cancel or click ok without entering at least something.

Can I make this behaviour stop? It's annoying to have to connect, authenticate with dummy information just to print to my network printer or so Windows Media Centre can then retreive a list of my music from the central NAS box. It's annoying that the behaviour only takes place on the Win7 box. Not even the Mac wants authentication and it's usually prompty about every damned thing.

In your Network and Sharing Center how many active networks do you have. Are you using HomeGroup?

In Advanced Sharing Settings is password protected sharing disabled?

try this:
right click on your network places icon and choose properties. Change primary logon to "windows logon" and reboot.

and/or this:
1. right click on My Computer select properties
2. select the "computer name" tab at the top
3. where it says "To rename this computer or join a domain" click change
4. select the "workgroup" bubble and then click ok.
5. reboot.

Hope that helps, if it doesn't then someone else might come along that can help as soon as possible. good luck

ps. as I was typing this I did not see robans post, try his idea too it sounds like it will work. Also note that you must reverse the configuration if you want to authenticate your client at your workplace.

No I don't use HomeGroup because I do not have another Windows7 box on my home LAN, and it's not compatible with all the other systems I listed. Seems like a good idea this homegroup, but I don't run the one-size-fits-all network that Microsoft only ever seem to plan for (grumble grumble).

In my 'Home or Work' section the HomeGroup connections is set to 'Allow windows to manage homegroup connections (reccomended)'. I couldn't see the point of setting 'Use user accounts and passwords to connect to other computers' since on my home lan there ARE NO usernames or passwords on anything or set up, which is how it ought to be.

So basically you're suggesting I leave my domain (which requires a domain administrator to change the setting for) when i take my laptop home, then join it to my workgroup, then take it back to work and leave the work group and join the domain and then get the network administrator to drag the computer back into the correct AD node on the domain server once it has re-joined and rebooted each day? hmmm

If you wan't what you are asking for you WILL have to have the computer reconfigured each time you wan't to change the system from a client server network to a peer to peer network... To the best of my knowledge anyway this is the only way. If anyone else can find and easier route reconfigureing the system between networks please help frumbert.

Now... I don't think that you can just take a node on a client server network and tell it to operate on a peer to peer network without making a few significant changes to the system, there is NO magic switch or setting (that I know of) that makes the tedious tasks of configuring an easy one... I would be interested to find an easier way as well however. Frumbert, why exactly are you taking your computer home and connecting it to your network in the first place? Is it because you are transfering files from your work computer to the ones at home? Is it just fun? You hinted that you wan't to connect out (from your computer to others on the network) if so, for what reason? I only ask because perhaps there is a more practical method for what you want to do. You sound well versed when discussing networking, so I don't know if you know more then me or not... I hope I can help you out anyway though.