Can't access shared drives/folders on network

[Guest]

Here's my situation. I have A small home office network consisting o
1 desktop running XP Home, 1 Laptop running XP Pro, and an old deskto
running Win98SE. The last acts as a print server and backup fil
server. All running through a Linksys router/gateway

All PCs get internet access fine. Both XP PCs will read/write to th
98SE PC. Both XP PCs print fine through the 98 PC. The problem is tha
I can not read/write to either XP PC. I
just get a denied access message. I have the MS firewall turned off
I use zone alarm) on both XP PCs. I've tried disabling Zone Alarm t
make sure that is not the problem ( It isn't). I am not running an
systems utilities such as system works, and I have the file and prin
shareing turned on for the appropriate drives

Anybody have any ideas

Thanks in advance for your hel
Rosco

 

[Chuck]

Here's my situation. I have A small home office network consisting of
1 desktop running XP Home, 1 Laptop running XP Pro, and an old desktop
running Win98SE. The last acts as a print server and backup file
server. All running through a Linksys router/gateway.

All PCs get internet access fine. Both XP PCs will read/write to the
98SE PC. Both XP PCs print fine through the 98 PC. The problem is that
I can not read/write to either XP PC. I
just get a denied access message. I have the MS firewall turned off (
I use zone alarm) on both XP PCs. I've tried disabling Zone Alarm to
make sure that is not the problem ( It isn't). I am not running any
systems utilities such as system works, and I have the file and print
shareing turned on for the appropriate drives.

Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks in advance for your help
Rosco

Rosco,

Zone Alarm is known for misbehaviour, particularly when disabled. If this is
Zone Alarm Pro, you have 2 options:
1) Re enable, add all PCs to the Local (Highly Trusted) Zone, and open the
following ports for file sharing in the Local Zone: TCP 139, 445; UDP 137, 138,
445.
2) Un install ZA totally, carefully, following all procedures provided by Zone
Alarm.

If this is ZA Free, you have only option 2.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Chuck]

Here's my situation. I have A small home office network consisting of
1 desktop running XP Home, 1 Laptop running XP Pro, and an old desktop
running Win98SE. The last acts as a print server and backup file
server. All running through a Linksys router/gateway.

All PCs get internet access fine. Both XP PCs will read/write to the
98SE PC. Both XP PCs print fine through the 98 PC. The problem is that
I can not read/write to either XP PC. I
just get a denied access message. I have the MS firewall turned off (
I use zone alarm) on both XP PCs. I've tried disabling Zone Alarm to
make sure that is not the problem ( It isn't). I am not running any
systems utilities such as system works, and I have the file and print
shareing turned on for the appropriate drives.

Anybody have any ideas?

Thanks in advance for your help
Rosco

Rosco,

Zone Alarm is known for misbehaviour, particularly when disabled. If this is
Zone Alarm Pro, you have 2 options:
1) Re enable, add all PCs to the Local (Highly Trusted) Zone, and open the
following ports for file sharing in the Local Zone: TCP 139, 445; UDP 137, 138,
445.
2) Un install ZA totally, carefully, following all procedures provided by Zone
Alarm.

If this is ZA Free, you have only option 2.

Also, with the XP Pro PC, check to see if Simple File Sharing (Control Panel -
Folder Options - View - Advanced settings) is enabled or disabled.

If you're going to use it on a network with XP Home and 98SE, you probably want
to enable SFS.

If SFS is disabled, check the Local Security Policy (Control Panel -
Administrative Tools). Under Local Policies - Security Options, look at
"Network access: Sharing and security model", and ensure it's set to "Classic -
local users authenticate as themselves".

If you set the Local Security Policy to "Guest only", make sure that the Guest
account is enabled, and has a non-blank password. If "Classic", setup and use a
common account with identical password on both computers.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Chuck]

----- Chuck wrote: -----



Rosco,

Zone Alarm is known for misbehaviour, particularly when disabled. If this is
Zone Alarm Pro, you have 2 options:
1) Re enable, add all PCs to the Local (Highly Trusted) Zone, and open the
following ports for file sharing in the Local Zone: TCP 139, 445; UDP 137, 138,
445.
2) Un install ZA totally, carefully, following all procedures provided by Zone
Alarm.

If this is ZA Free, you have only option 2.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

Chuck,
Thanks for your response. ... I'm not happy about the options, but thanks anyway
It's not fun being the bearer of bad news. Looks like I need a new Firewall.

Rosco

Yup. Checkout the discussions in comp.security.firewalls for advice in choosing
a new firewall. There are several free ones which will let you open ports AND
designate trusted zones.

And don't forget to check the SFS setting on the XP Pro computer.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.