[News] Microsoft to retire Windows HomeGroup feature

[StyM]

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/mic...p-feature.html

The latest Windows Insider build of Windows 10, Microsoft has ended the Windows HomeGroup option. Originally a part of Windows 7 in 2009 and continuing until now, HomeGroup was a way to share files and devices between computers on your network.

This change will go live in the Spring 2018 update to Windows 10.

The latest Windows Insider build 17063 happens to be 9th Insider Preview build of Windows 10 released after the Fall Creators Update. It comes via new ?RS4? (RedStone3) development branch and includes tons of new features. For instance, improved gestures for precision touchpads. However, the company has also decided to retire Windows HomeGroup.

The move from Microsoft marks the beginning of phasing out some old features. HomeGroup in Windows offered a fantastic way for setting up quick and easy sharing on home networks. The feature made its debut back in Windows 7 and continued to exist in Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and the more recent Windows 10 but the rollout of Insider Build 17063 sealed its fate.

A note about HomeGroup: Easily connecting to and sharing the important pieces of your digital life with those who matter most has never been easier with today?s Modern PCs and the cloud. Whether it?s connecting PCs and printers on your home network via the Share functionality in Windows or using OneDrive to share a photo album of your last vacation, Windows 10 makes connecting multiple devices and sharing content streamlined and simple. And it?s because of that evolution that with today?s build you?ll start to see us retire the HomeGroup service. HomeGroup was terrific for the pre-cloud and pre-mobile era, but today this functionality is built right into Windows 10 and apps. Starting with this build, the HomeGroup service is no longer operational in Windows 10. The user profile used for sharing and the file/folder/printer shares will continue to work.

[Sparky]

I don't know anyone who has actually used Homegroup. I always ignored it as it wanted to share my stuff that I didn't want shared. I only ever had certain folders shared sometimes, so... No loss to me.

[kromosto]

I don't know anyone who has actually used Homegroup. I always ignored it as it wanted to share my stuff that I didn't want shared. I only ever had certain folders shared sometimes, so... No loss to me.

Didnt we share folders by homegroup

[Sparky]

I never bothered to. Just used the "old" method of folder sharing without homegroup for various reasons (temporary shares with temporary PCs for example).

[zanzabar]

I don't know anyone who has actually used Homegroup. I always ignored it as it wanted to share my stuff that I didn't want shared. I only ever had certain folders shared sometimes, so... No loss to me.

It made it really quick and easy to share a non network printer, and I have set up hundreds of them with homegroup. Now that everything reasonable has wifi I dont see why you would use it anymore, and you cannot even use it easily with windows 8/10.

[[XC] Lead Head]

I personally never used it. Just used the "share folder" option. The share printer network option was never terribly difficult to use either.

[Buckeye]

Don't most people just use a NAS now a days ?

[kromosto]

if that is the case then no problem. I always thought share folder uses homegroup.

[StAndrew]

Anyone else still share files with usb drive?

[xytrius]

A server where all important files (regardless of category, text, pictures, audio, video etc.) should have a directory where all local files in each workstation are mapped.

A workstation should just run the OS and applications. A server should hold all data, the data should be backed up by external drives and Internet backup. There should be remote access to principle workstations.

[Sparky]

A server where all important files (regardless of category, text, pictures, audio, video etc.) should have a directory where all local files in each workstation are mapped.

A workstation should just run the OS and applications. A server should hold all data, the data should be backed up by external drives and Internet backup. There should be remote access to principle workstations.

You're talking corporate environment here, something Homegroup was never for. Off topic. Shame!!

[[XC] Lead Head]

Yeah, I don't think homegroup was ever used in any kind of corporate context, ever.

[xytrius]

You're talking corporate environment here, something Homegroup was never for. Off topic. Shame!!

Ah, yes, point taken; but I had another perspective.

Directory management must be a server implementation, you cannot just right click and share a directory, and this is illogical.

A centralized directory structure with backup is a have even if you are dealing with only three computers at home. Sharing of directories has to be at the server level, even with three computers.

I think that homes with only a single computer would be better off with a server and backup, along with remote access. Get an image of your OS and applications, data on the server; worry not about computer failure.

I/O from a computer with a shared drive, assuming audio/video sharing is a recipe for HD failure.

[Sparky]

Yeah, you or I might do that, but good luck telling average Joe they need a server at home. I actually need to create a new image of my PC, have not done that in ages.

Not sure why you're saying that IO from a shared drive on a computer is asking for HD failure. Video sharing would actually be easier as far as I/O goes because it would be a larger sequential block, generally speaking. Can't say I've had or seen any drive failures I could attribute to a shared folder on a workstation... Shoot, if shared folders are drive killers, we should see dead server drives all the time

[Buckeye]

Get yourself a nice Synology or QNAP NAS, very simple to run and share files, even stream videos depending on how good of a box you are whiling to buy.

As far as backups go, why would you want to do it across your network ? its so slow, unless you are running a 10G network. Forget about WIFI for this.
I use Arconis and backup to an internal SATA drive. One master image and it is incrementally backed up every day at 10am. Very simple to restore also.

I fully understand repurposing older equipment for this stuff, if that's what you want to spend your time on, messing around with setups etc. But a nice NAS like I said is so much easier.