As above, I have an Apacer Digital Media Tank with the capability to stream video from computer with attached external drive to the media tank using wireless connection.

After waiting 2 months for someone to bring me the compatible Apacer USB wireless dongle, I am at a standstill. The wireless dongle finds my router and connects to it. I can "see" my computer in the Tank's browser, but when I click to open and access my computer's video files I have a problem I have been unable to solve. I get a pop-up window asking for "Net User ID and password".

I am using Windows 7. Until now, I have never needed to understand Networking. Because I have 2 laptops (both Win 7) and this media tank, I'm trying to get up to speed but there are obviously things I 'm not understanding. Homegroups are supposedly an easier way (than Workgroups, although that is the only folder on the tank that opens to show my computer) to network computers and peripherals like my media tank, printers etc. So I created a homegroup and got the Windows password for other computers to join the group. I created a new User with password and tried that to log on. Assuming that it wanted to know who was joining the network. Log on Fail. Ok.. I tried my admin name and the Windows homegroup password. Log on Fail. This is using the Infrastructure protocol. Apparently, I could use the Peer to Peer protocol but by description, it sounds like Infrastructure is the way to go.

Does anyone have any insight/solutions?

After almost 3 weeks of off and on troubleshooting and reviewing many websites, I have found the solution!

As above, one laptop was accessible while the other would not get past the log-on. Here is why....

The successful laptop had Windows Live Messenger 2009 installed.

The unsuccessful laptop had Windows Live Messenger 2011 installed.

This alone was not the problem though.

The culprit was Windows Live Sign-in Assistant! It apparently breaks the smbclient software on many non-Windows devices. This is the software that allows sharing. Windows strikes again...

i deleted the 2011 version and found the 2009 version online. I had to do this because the Sign-in Assistant is integrated in the 2011 version. In the 2009 version Sign-in Assistant shows separately in Add/Remove and can be deleted.

Everything works. What a learning curve!