Marc59 said:
I am having a problem sharing files on my wireless network. The wireless
network seems to be set correctly and is working fine,However, I can't
seem to get the file sharing to work. Printer sharing works fine but not
files. Desktop is XPHome w/SP2, Laptop is XPMedia.
See these basic networking instructions:
Run the Network Setup Wizard on both computers, making sure to enable File &
Printer Sharing, and reboot. 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 2005/06)
which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. If you have third-party
firewall software, configure it to allow the Local Area Network traffic as
trusted. I usually do this with my firewalls with an IP range. Ex. would be
192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct
subnet.
If one or more of the computers is XP Pro (and Media Center is a superset of
Pro, so this is applicable to you):
a. 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.
b. 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.
Then 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.
If that doesn't work for you, here is an excellent network troubleshooter by
MVP Hans-Georg Michna. Take the time to go through it and it will usually
pinpoint the problem area(s) -
http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm
Malke
