File sharing between Windows 7 and Windows 10

File sharing between Windows 7 and Windows 10 is the subject of today’s article. Sometimes, you may want to share files between two computers without using a USB flash drive, especially if the files you wish to transfer are large ones.

And you may be wondering if file sharing between Windows 7 and Windows 10 is possible. Well, it is, if you’ll get to know the right steps to take. We will be exploring how to carry this task out effectively in this article.

File sharing between Windows 7 and Windows 10: How to do it

Below, we’re exposing some different methods for file sharing between two computers and explaining each one thoroughly.

Via Email

All you need is to access your email accounts on both operating systems. Everyone uses an email service anyway in their daily lives. So, whether you use Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail/Outlook, or any of the other numerous mail services, you will be able to share files between Windows 10 and Windows 7 via email.

Follow the steps below:

STEP 1: Log in to the email accounts on both PCs;

STEP 2: On the source PC, go to “Compose message” in the email account and enter the recipient address as the email address signed in on the target PC;

STEP 3: Click the “File attachment” icon and start browsing the files you want to share from your file explorer;

STEP 4: Click on “Send,” and all the files will be sent to the email address on the target PC;

STEP 5: Go to the target PC and check the email inbox to download the received files.

Via Cloud Service

There are a variety of cloud services on which users can store files online. The beauty of using cloud services is that you can access your files from anywhere at any time and on any computer. You just have to log into the cloud service account and download the files you need.

Some of the cloud providers available include OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, etc. Let’s check out the steps to use OneDrive since we are sharing files between Windows 7 and Windows 10.

STEP 1: Open “OneDrive” on the source PC;

STEP 2: Locate the folder or file that you would like to share. Right-click on it and click on the “Share a OneDrive link”;

STEP 3: A link will be copied to your clipboard. Paste the link and send it as a message to the target computer;

STEP 4: Access the link from the target computer, and you will be able to access the folder or file.

Built-in Windows tools

Microsoft comes with some in-built tools that users can take advantage of to share files between two Windows computers. Here, we will check out two of those tools and the steps involved.

Create a Network-shared link using “Share/Shared With”

STEP 1: Click on the Start Menu and in the search box, type “Network”;

STEP 2: Click on “Network & Internet” in Control Panel;

STEP 3: Scroll down and select “Sharing Options”;

STEP 4: Turn on all the sharing options except “Password Protected Sharing.” Leave that one on and click on “Save Changes”;

STEP 5: Mark/Select the files you want to share with the other computer;

STEP 6: Switch to the “Share tab” and click on “Specific people”;

STEP 7: Click on the dropdown and select “Everyone”;

STEP 8: Select “Add” and then specify the type of access privilege you want between “Read/Write” or “Read-only”. Choose “Read/Write”;

STEP 9: Click on “Share,” and when the dialog box showing the shared folder path pops up, right-click on the shared folder path;

STEP 10: Send the link to the target PC through a messaging platform;

If you are using a Windows 7 PC, go to File Explorer and right-click on the file or folder you want to share. Click on “Share with,” and then “Specific people.” It will take you to “STEP 7”.

STEP 11: To access the files on the target PC through the link shared in STEP 10, Open File Explorer, and click “Network”;

STEP 12: Paste the link in the address bar;

STEP 13: The source computer will be displayed, and you will be able to access the files by clicking on it.

Network Shared Drive

To use this tool, both computers must be connected to the same LAN or Wi-Fi network so they can share files with each other using the network shared drive.

STEP 1: Launch the file explorer and right-click on “This PC/Computer”;

STEP 2: Click on “Map Network drive”;

STEP 3: Select the drive letter you want and make sure the drive has enough space to contain the folders and files that you want to share;

STEP 4: Type \\IP Address into the folder box and click on “Finish”;

STEP 5: On the receiving computer, launch File Explorer and enter the IP address of the mapped network drive;

STEP 6: Press the “Enter” key and access the shared files.

Wrap Up

While the option of using an external HDD or a thumb drive to share files between two computers exist, we have put together these steps as alternatives for users who may not have immediate access to an external storage drive.

These steps are straightforward and quite explanatory to make sharing files an easy task.

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