Shared folder over network suddenly asks for password

[Dr Bob]

I have 3 computers on my home network, Dad, Son and Laptop. Dad has XP Media
center addition, the other two XP Home (all with SP3). I backup Laptop work
files to Shared folder on Dad. Suddenly I cannot access shared folder on
Dad, which now asks for a password.

I do not have users password protected. I have tried every conceivable
password I have ever used, with no success.

Dad can ping Son and Laptop without any problems and son and laptop can ping
Dad. Neither Son nor Laptop can access shared folder on Dad.

I have disabled all firewalls. I have simple file sharing enabled on Dad
(media center apparently is like XP Pro in allowing this option).

I have run and rerun Network Wizard and even renamed all the computers to
see what happens. The shared folder on Dad continues to ask for a password
whenever I try to access shared folder on Dad from either Son or Laptop.

This occured I believe after I deleted another user account on Dad that
*was* password protected, but I did not need anymore. The shared folder on
Dad obviously has nothing to do with that account.

Guest accounts are active on all computers as I've read Microsoft Tec
Bulletins that say disabling Guest can cause problems accessing some network
resources.

This is *not* a problem with a lost password. Dad was never password
protected in the first place, other than the single user account now deleted.


All computers show up when I check for networked computers on Son, Laptop
and Dad. I have even placed Dad outside the router firewall, with no
success.

I have seen others with this sudden problem but no solution. Any help would
be appreciated.

...........Bob

 

[Jim]

I have 3 computers on my home network, Dad, Son and Laptop. Dad has XP
Media
center addition, the other two XP Home (all with SP3). I backup Laptop
work
files to Shared folder on Dad. Suddenly I cannot access shared folder on
Dad, which now asks for a password.

I do not have users password protected. I have tried every conceivable
password I have ever used, with no success.

Dad can ping Son and Laptop without any problems and son and laptop can
ping
Dad. Neither Son nor Laptop can access shared folder on Dad.

I have disabled all firewalls. I have simple file sharing enabled on Dad
(media center apparently is like XP Pro in allowing this option).

I have run and rerun Network Wizard and even renamed all the computers to
see what happens. The shared folder on Dad continues to ask for a
password
whenever I try to access shared folder on Dad from either Son or Laptop.

This occured I believe after I deleted another user account on Dad that
*was* password protected, but I did not need anymore. The shared folder
on
Dad obviously has nothing to do with that account.

Guest accounts are active on all computers as I've read Microsoft Tec
Bulletins that say disabling Guest can cause problems accessing some
network
resources.

This is *not* a problem with a lost password. Dad was never password
protected in the first place, other than the single user account now
deleted.


All computers show up when I check for networked computers on Son, Laptop
and Dad. I have even placed Dad outside the router firewall, with no
success.

I have seen others with this sudden problem but no solution. Any help
would
be appreciated.

..........Bob

Did you just press Enter when asked for a password?
Did the deleted account own the shared folder?
You have false info about the Guest account. Mine has been disabled for
four years now with no problem. (it has also been renamed).
Jim

 

[Dr Bob]

Hi Jim:

Pressing "enter" just results in the same request for a password. The
shared folder is part of the "all users" account under "Documents and
Settings." It iwas not part of the account I deleted.

As far as the guest account info, that came straight from Microsoft's
Technical bulletin. I don't have the number handy. It said that "certain"
network resources may not be available if "guest" is disabled. it did not
specify which resources. Frankly, I think I have had guest disabled at times
with no problem. I've read that guest should be disabled for security
reasons anyhoo.

I failed to mention that I am able to access the printer folder on Dad from
Son and Laptop (network printer is attached to Dad). I simply cannot access
*any* other shared folder on Dad from either Son or Laptop, regardless of how
I set the folder's permissions.

I have faught this for several days now and do not believe this has anything
to do with folder permissions, but something more fundamental regarding
connecting one computer to another via the Microsoft Home network.

Dad has its shield's up and I can't figure out why. Another fellow with the
exact same problem and I have been fighting this problem on another Tec site
with no solution yet. I cannot find anything within Microsoft's bulletins
that deals with this either. It's very frustrating, to say the least.

..............Bob

 

[John Wunderlich]

I have 3 computers on my home network, Dad, Son and Laptop. Dad
has XP Media center addition, the other two XP Home (all with
SP3). I backup Laptop work files to Shared folder on Dad.
Suddenly I cannot access shared folder on Dad, which now asks for
a password.

I do not have users password protected. I have tried every
conceivable password I have ever used, with no success.

Dad can ping Son and Laptop without any problems and son and
laptop can ping Dad. Neither Son nor Laptop can access shared
folder on Dad.

I have disabled all firewalls. I have simple file sharing enabled
on Dad (media center apparently is like XP Pro in allowing this
option).

I have run and rerun Network Wizard and even renamed all the
computers to see what happens. The shared folder on Dad continues
to ask for a password whenever I try to access shared folder on
Dad from either Son or Laptop.

This occured I believe after I deleted another user account on Dad
that *was* password protected, but I did not need anymore. The
shared folder on Dad obviously has nothing to do with that
account.

Guest accounts are active on all computers as I've read Microsoft
Tec Bulletins that say disabling Guest can cause problems
accessing some network resources.

This is *not* a problem with a lost password. Dad was never
password protected in the first place, other than the single user
account now deleted.


All computers show up when I check for networked computers on Son,
Laptop and Dad. I have even placed Dad outside the router
firewall, with no success.

I have seen others with this sudden problem but no solution. Any
help would be appreciated.

..........Bob

You say you have Simple File Sharing enabled. With Simple File Sharing
is enabled, all network access to shares is through the Guest
account... no matter which account you may specify, the access will be
through Guest. It doesn't matter whether the Guest account is
"Enabled" or not. What matters is whether Guest is "Active" or not.
On "Dad", bring up a command window and enter the command:
net user guest
and examine the line "Account Active" -- it must be "Yes" to allow
access. If it is not active, enter the command:
net user guest /active:yes

Having said all that,
1) Verify the user "Guest" on computer "Dad" does not have a password.
2) Right click on the shared folder on "Dad" and select "Security" and
make sure that access to this folder is specifically permitted for the
Guest user and/or "Everyone".
3) Under Simple File Sharing, folders in certain locations cannot be
shared. IIRC, those places include the "Program Files" folder, the
"Windows" folder, and and folders directly inside the "Documents and
Settings" folder. There are others that I can't remember. Try logging
into "Dad" with your normal login, make a folder under "My Documents"
named "My Shares" and try sharing that (that should be a safe place).
4) If the login window still comes up, try entering "Dad\Guest" in the
username field. This makes it clear that you are authenticating using
the Guest account on computer Dad.

Hoping one of these suggestions helps...
-- John

 

[GTS]

John W's answered the question nicely (re. what to check next). Note re.
the Guest account. Users sometimes use the Guest account which IS essential
for simple file sharing and the local guest logon. The latter can, and
ususally should, be disabled. This is a separate issue from the network
guest status which must be active for simple file sharing to work.

 

[GTS]

You're confusing the local guest logon which can, and generally should, be
disabled and the network guest user. The latter MUST be active for simple
file sharing to work.
--