backward compatibility

[Roberto le Cornielle]

We have a small domain consisting of SBS2003 with workstations using
Vista Business and one Notebook with XP Pro.
The XP machine doesn't appear in the list of clients in Windows
Explorer\Network on the Vista machines, however the reverse is true
from the XP Notebook- all Vista machine appear under My Network
Places, and it can access files on the Vista machines, public plus
manually shared folders.
Is this a known compatibility issue ?

rgds
Roberto

 

[Kerry Brown]

Please post the results of ipconfig /all from the SBS server and from the XP
computer.

I have a question for you. Why do the clients need to see any computers
other than the server? In an active directory based network all of the
network resources should be available through active directory and the
server.

 

[Roberto le Cornielle]

Please post the results of ipconfig /all from the SBS server and from the
XP computer.

I have a question for you. Why do the clients need to see any computers
other than the server? In an active directory based network all of the
network resources should be available through active directory and the
server.

Kerry
Thanks for reading my post, but wouldn't you know it I just
checked again whilst getting the IPconfig data for you and it's all
working.
PS We have a shared drive on one Vista station [bad idea ?]and it
was no longer available to the XP Notebook for whatever reason, so whilst
checking it out I noticed the XP Notebook wasn't showing up on any
of the Vista stations.

rgds
Roberto

 

[Kerry Brown]

It's not a problem but yes, I think it is a bad idea. In a network with a
server all shared resources should be on the server. This simplifies backups
and controlling access to the data. You should also never share a drive. It
is better to create a folder then share the folder. This gives you more
options in the future in case you want to create additional shares on the
same drive. If it is the system drive then it is a major security faux paux
to share the drive.

--
Kerry Brown
MS-MVP - Windows Desktop Experience: Systems Administration
http://www.vistahelp.ca/phpBB2/
http://vistahelpca.blogspot.com/

Please post the results of ipconfig /all from the SBS server and from the
XP computer.

I have a question for you. Why do the clients need to see any computers
other than the server? In an active directory based network all of the
network resources should be available through active directory and the
server.

Kerry
Thanks for reading my post, but wouldn't you know it I just
checked again whilst getting the IPconfig data for you and it's all
working.
PS We have a shared drive on one Vista station [bad idea ?]and
it was no longer available to the XP Notebook for whatever reason, so
whilst checking it out I noticed the XP Notebook wasn't showing up
on any of the Vista stations.

rgds
Roberto

--
Kerry Brown
MS-MVP - Windows Desktop Experience: Systems Administration
http://www.vistahelp.ca/phpBB2/
http://vistahelpca.blogspot.com/

 

[+Bob+]

If it is the system drive then it is a major security faux paux
to share the drive.

Sort of like the default C$ shares that MS automatically sets up?

 

[Gordon]

Sort of like the default C$ shares that MS automatically sets up?

I think you'll find that the C$ "share" is for internal machine use only.
Try actually sharing the root of the C drive for network access- I think
you'll find you can't.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Vista disables access to the hidden administrative shares by default. I
agree that the hidden shares on older versions of Windows can be a security
problem if you routinely use an administrator account, particularly if you
use the "Administrator" account without a password. This is one of the
reasons I like Vista. It makes it hard to do all of the above

 

[AJR]

Roberto - many replies - but few address your post. Check KB922120
regarding LLTD - Link Layer Discovery Protocol which must be installed on a
XP computer to have it "visible" on Vista network map.

 

[+Bob+]

I think you'll find that the C$ "share" is for internal machine use only.
Try actually sharing the root of the C drive for network access- I think
you'll find you can't.

Not so. You can access a win2003 (or previous) $ share from anywhere
if you know to look for it.

 

[+Bob+]

Vista disables access to the hidden administrative shares by default. I
agree that the hidden shares on older versions of Windows can be a security
problem if you routinely use an administrator account, particularly if you
use the "Administrator" account without a password. This is one of the
reasons I like Vista. It makes it hard to do all of the above

The issue I see is that they are shared by default. Whether or not I
have an administrator account, I still know that the worlds most
dangerous share (C$) is there waiting for me. All I have to do on most
systems is hack a password (I know the username 99% of the time) and I
have full control of the system drive. This might qualify as
Microsoft's most ignorant move ever... especially since most users
don't even know the share is there to be disabled.

As for using an admin account without a password, you deserve what you
get when you do really stupid things

Vista security might be better if they hadn't made such simple, global
decisions about protection - as it is power users have to run as admin
most of the time to get work done.

 

[Kerry Brown]

The issue I see is that they are shared by default. Whether or not I
have an administrator account, I still know that the worlds most
dangerous share (C$) is there waiting for me. All I have to do on most
systems is hack a password (I know the username 99% of the time) and I
have full control of the system drive. This might qualify as
Microsoft's most ignorant move ever... especially since most users
don't even know the share is there to be disabled.

No disagreement here It's a real pain in the butt. I used to routinely
disable adminsitrative shares but inevitably something changed and they
reappeared. Now I just make sure all accounts have strong passwords and live
with it but I don't like it.

As for using an admin account without a password, you deserve what you
get when you do really stupid things

Vista security might be better if they hadn't made such simple, global
decisions about protection - as it is power users have to run as admin
most of the time to get work done.

That is the power of UAC. You can logon with an administrator account but
only get administrator powers through UAC. It's very similar to what some
Linux distros are doing now.

 

[+Bob+]

That is the power of UAC. You can logon with an administrator account but
only get administrator powers through UAC. It's very similar to what some
Linux distros are doing now.

Yeah... but it still drove me nuts