Can Vista and XP talk?

[Ray Reeves]

I have a Vista machine and an XP machine but have not succeeded in
connecting them on the ethernet. Each machine can see the other, but Vista
complains that it is not allowed access and XP complains he cannot find My
Documents etc. Naturally, the word "My" has been dropped.
XP talks about Work Groups while Vista talks about Domains. Xp will generate
an init file to run on Contact machines but Vista doesn't understand it.
Has anybody succeeded with this?

Ray Reeves

 

[Malke]

I have a Vista machine and an XP machine but have not succeeded in
connecting them on the ethernet. Each machine can see the other, but
Vista complains that it is not allowed access and XP complains he cannot
find My Documents etc. Naturally, the word "My" has been dropped.
XP talks about Work Groups while Vista talks about Domains. Xp will
generate an init file to run on Contact machines but Vista doesn't
understand it.
Has anybody succeeded with this?

Your post is a bit hard to follow as to what you've actually done but
yes, you can share files/folders/printers between XP and Vista. See the
general information below:


Here are general network troubleshooting steps. Not everything may be
applicable to your situation, so just take the bits that are. It may
look daunting, but if you follow the steps at the links and suggestions
below systematically and calmly, you will have no difficulty in setting
up your sharing.

Excellent, thorough, yet easy to understand article about File/Printer
Sharing in Vista. Includes details about sharing printers as well as
files and folders:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727037.aspx

For XP, start by running the Network Setup Wizard on all machines (see
caveat in Item A below).

Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally
caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two
firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party
firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on
all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating
system does not permit it. Read through the general networking tips
below and if you still are having difficulties, MVP Hans-Georg Michna
has an excellent small network troubleshooter here:

http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm

Taking the time to go through his troubleshooter will usually pinpoint
the source of the problem(s).

Here are some general networking tips for home/small networks:

A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network
(LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing
File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network
Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.The only
"gotcha" is that this will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you
aren't running a third-party firewall or have an antivirus with
"Internet Worm Protection" (like Norton 2006/07) which acts as a
firewall, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually
configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be
192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct
subnet. Do not run more than one firewall.

B. With earlier Microsoft operating systems, the name of the Workgroup
didn't matter. Apparently it does with Vista, so put all computers in
the same Workgroup. This is done from the System applet in Control
Panel, Computer Name tab.

C. Create identical user accounts and passwords on all machines. If you
wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular
user's account) for convenience, you can do this. The instructions at
this link work for both XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

D. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center:

1. If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user
accounts/passwords on all computers.

2. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the
Simple File Sharing enabled.

Simple File Sharing means that Guest (network) is enabled. This means
that anyone without a user account on the target system can use its
resources. This is a security hole but only you can decide if it matters
in your situation.

I think it is a good idea to create the identical user
accounts/passwords in any case when Vista machines are involved and it
isn't an onerous task with home/small networks.

E. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
Shared Documents folder. See the first link above for details about
Vista sharing.


Malke

 

[John Waller]

XP talks about Work Groups while Vista talks about Domains.

Is this your main issue?

Workgroups and Domains are two very different things and it's an either/or
situation, not both. You either join a domain or a workgroup depending how
your network is set up.

Both XP and Vista do Workgroups but Domains depends on which version of each
that you have.

XP Pro and XP Home both understand workgroups but only XP Pro can join a
domain.

All Vista versions can join workgroups but only Business, Ultimate (and
Enterprise) can join a domain.

Which versions of XP and Vista are you working with and how have you got
them set up?

 

[Tim Slattery]

I have a Vista machine and an XP machine but have not succeeded in
connecting them on the ethernet. Each machine can see the other, but Vista
complains that it is not allowed access and XP complains he cannot find My
Documents etc. Naturally, the word "My" has been dropped.
XP talks about Work Groups while Vista talks about Domains.

Vista certainly does Workgroups. In a normal home network setup, all
machines should be on the same workgroup, then they will be able to
see each other and use the resources that are shared by other
computers within the workgroup.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have a Vista machine and an XP machine but have not succeeded in
connecting them on the ethernet. Each machine can see the other, but Vista
complains that it is not allowed access and XP complains he cannot find My
Documents etc. Naturally, the word "My" has been dropped.
XP talks about Work Groups while Vista talks about Domains.

No, this last sentence is very much incorrect. Both XP (at least XP
Professional) and Vista support both workgroups and domains.

A domain and a workgroup are two different kinds of networks. A domain
is a server-oriented network, normally used only by large corporations
and universities.

A workgroup is a peer-to-peer network, without a server. By far, the
workgroup is the most common type found in homes and small companies,
and is most likely the kind of network you want.

Has anybody succeeded with this?

Yes. Me, for example.

 

[Iain]

I have a Vista machine and an XP machine but have not succeeded in
connecting them on the ethernet. Each machine can see the other, but
Vista complains that it is not allowed access and XP complains he cannot
find My Documents etc. Naturally, the word "My" has been dropped.
XP talks about Work Groups while Vista talks about Domains. Xp will
generate an init file to run on Contact machines but Vista doesn't
understand it.
Has anybody succeeded with this?

Ray Reeves

I've successfully networked my old Win95 and my new Vista Ultimate
laptops. I've even mounted shared Win95 filespace on Vista machines.

Key issue here is ensuring workgroup names are identical on flat LANs on
each host. If I can do this with Win95, XP should not be a problem.

 

[Charlie Tame]

Ray, give them both the same password, even if only one letter, if that
gets you running you can work back from there, some things just cannot
work with an account that has no password.

 

[Ray Reeves]

Is this your main issue?

No, I merely remark on that because I cannot see anything about workgroups
in Vista

Workgroups and Domains are two very different things and it's an either/or
situation, not both. You either join a domain or a workgroup depending how
your network is set up.

Both XP and Vista do Workgroups but Domains depends on which version of
each that you have.

XP Pro and XP Home both understand workgroups but only XP Pro can join a
domain.

All Vista versions can join workgroups but only Business, Ultimate (and
Enterprise) can join a domain.

Which versions of XP and Vista are you working with and how have you got
them set up?

The latest versions.
They are both on Ethernet links which meet at my broad band modem

 

[Ray Reeves]

There's a lot of valuable info and I'm very much obliged..

I'm Ray with no password on both machines but now I'm thinking it is not
good to allow myself to call myself!

 

[Ray Reeves]

Thanks. I needed that encouragement! As a last resort I'll get back to you
as the ultimate guru. For now, how do I set the workgroup in Vista?

 

[Phillip Devoll]

i have a dell laptop with xp
a desktop with win 2000 and
2 toshiba laptops with vista and they all talk fine and cann access all of
the hard drive on the network even 2 usb drives on the dell laptop...

 

[Not Me]

I'm not on a Vista machine at the moment, but it is something like... XP,
right click My Computer>Properties
On the computer name tab, click the change name/join a network link
There should be a box for workgroup name, type in yours, then click
OK/Apply.
It may require a reboot.
--
A Professional Amateur...If anyone knew it all, none of would be here!
(e-mail address removed)
Change Alpha to Numeric to reply

Thanks. I needed that encouragement! As a last resort I'll get back to you
as the ultimate guru. For now, how do I set the workgroup in Vista?

 

[Jume]

open system properties (shortest way in pressing the windows logo key +
pause key)

way #1 : between the info displayed there are one "computer name", and at
its right, there is a "change configuration" link (im not running an english
version so the actual texts may differ), elevate permissions if needed

way #2 : in the left links, there is one "advanced system configuration" or
so (i have it in the last one), go there and elevate permissions if needed,
in the dialog opened go to the tab "computer name"

now that you are there, in the last button "change..." you can set the
workgroup/domain name

---

having no password im not sure if you must deactivate the "use sharing with
password protection" (sorry dont know how it appears in english editions
right now), located in the network center (here is the 5th option: net
detection - use file sharing - use shared folder - printer sharing - share
with password - share multimedia)

try however first without deactivating

 

[Don Harvey]

I had problems getting my laptop with XP Pro and this new Vista Premium
machine to connect and finally downloaded a copy of Network Magic someone
suggested on the Clarion language newsgroups. Instantly solved the problem.
If all else fails you might give it a try www.networkmagic.com

 

[MICHAEL]

I have a Vista machine and an XP machine but have not succeeded in connecting them on the
ethernet. Each machine can see the other, but Vista complains that it is not allowed access
and XP complains he cannot find My Documents etc. Naturally, the word "My" has been dropped.
XP talks about Work Groups while Vista talks about Domains. Xp will generate an init file to
run on Contact machines but Vista doesn't understand it.
Has anybody succeeded with this?

Ray Reeves

Ray,

Lots of good information at these sites-
the sites are done by MVP Bob Lin.

http://www.howtonetworking.com/index.htm

http://www.chicagotech.net/vista/vista.htm

http://www.howtonetworking.com/vista/vista.htm

http://www.chicagotech.net/workgroupnet.htm

http://www.wifimvp.com/


-Michael

 

[John Waller]

Which versions of XP and Vista are you working with and how have you got

The latest versions.

What I meant by versions was:

XP Pro or XP Home?

Vista Home Premium? or Vista Business? or Vista Ultimate?

 

[Ray Reeves]

XP Professional and Vista Home Premium

What I meant by versions was:

XP Pro or XP Home?

Vista Home Premium? or Vista Business? or Vista Ultimate?

 

[Ray Reeves]

Thanks, I never knew that

 

[Ray Reeves]

At last I'm getting somewhere!

I set up a guest name and password on Vista different to my user name on XP
and then I got in.

Thanks for the magnificent support;

Ray Reeves