File Share problem with XP Pro and XP Home... This one is a stumper!

  • Thread starter Thread starter agaredo
  • Start date Start date
A

agaredo

Ok, I realize that many, many other posts have asked a similar
question, but I think my situation is unique. Here's my setup: I have
4 pc's on my home network. All are connected via a standard hub. My
broadband connection (DSL) comes through a hardware VPN device
(NetScreen) into the hub. This allows me to see my office network and
the internet. Of the 4 pc's, 3 are running XP Home, and the fourth is
running XP Pro. All the pc's use the same account name and password.
All the pc's are configured with the same workgroup name. All are
running Norton Internet Security. The Pro box is NOT using simple file
sharing. The file shares on the Pro box only give permission to the
common user account (not Everyone). Let's toss in one more wrinkle,
File Sharing is bound to IPX (not TCPIP) on all the pc's. The reason I
do this is because it prevents the hundreds of employees in my office
from accessing the files on my XP Home pc's (which always use the
Guest account for authentication). It all works just fine!!!

Now for the problem. I've built a new pc. It also runs XP Pro. I've
configured it identically to my other Pro box. On the network, it can
access any shared folder on the other pc's. NONE of them can access
the shared folders on the new pc. They can 'see' the folders, but fail
on authentication. The error is always the same:

\\<server>\<folder> is not accessible. You might not have permission
to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server
to find out if you have access permissions.
Access is denied.

Wait, it gets weirder. Two of the XP Home pc's were able to access the
shared folder on the new XP Pro pc, but only one time! After that,
they started with the 'Access is denied' error.

I've spent days trying to resolve this problem. I'm stumped. I've
tried disabling the Norton Internet Security. I've tried dropping and
recreating the shares. I've tried changing the account passwords. I've
tried removing the account passwords. I've tried changing the
workgroup. I've tried binding to TCPIP for file sharing. I've triple
checked every network configuration setting I know of. I've tried
connecting from a command prompt using Net Use. I've checked the event
logs. I've checked the Norton logs. I've spent hours looking over the
Microsoft knowledge base and Google threads.

At this point I'm about ready to re-install the OS. If anyone has any
suggestions, please let me know. Any help would be greatly
appreciated.
 
Is the username/password you use to log into the other machines the same as
the ACLs on the file shares is set to use? Also have you checked both the
sharing tab permissions and the security tab permissions?

Are any of the machines joined to a domain?

Don't use blank passwords, XP won't allow them for remote access. The
workgroup setting doesn't matter at this point.
 
I have the exact same problem. I can see the Home machine from the XP
Pro machine and access and delete file on the Home machine. The Home
machine sees the Pro machine but "network path not found" when I do a
browse, explore.

I had blank passwords and changed them on both machines.

What do you mean by joined to a domain? There are two machines in
workgroup MSHOME.

I've added permissions on the XP Pro but don't see any access from the
Home machine.

Are there any step by step cookbook on sharing XP Pro with Service
Pack 1a?

Thanks.

Garyinga
 
If you don't know what a domain is, you don't have one.

one way only networks with "network path not found" probably means a
firewall is preventing access.
 
I'm using the new Linksys Wrt54G. I've enabled the suggested ports
for UDP adn TCP.

I can not ping the Pro machine from the Home machine. I can ping the
Home machine from the Pro machine.

Thanks for any help!

Garyinga
 
None of the pc's are joined to a domain, all are in the same
workgroup. The XP Home pc's all use the same account, for example
"myhome". The XP Pro pc uses a different account, but I've created a
"myhome" account (limited), and added it the the file share
permissions for the shared folders. None of the "myhome" accounts have
a password, but I've tried that and it did not seem to work. I'll try
it again.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Ken Wickes said:
Is the username/password you use to log into the other machines the same as
the ACLs on the file shares is set to use? Also have you checked both the
sharing tab permissions and the security tab permissions?

Are any of the machines joined to a domain?

Don't use blank passwords, XP won't allow them for remote access. The
workgroup setting doesn't matter at this point.

--

Ken Wickes [MSFT]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


agaredo said:
Ok, I realize that many, many other posts have asked a similar
question, but I think my situation is unique. Here's my setup: I have
4 pc's on my home network. All are connected via a standard hub. My
broadband connection (DSL) comes through a hardware VPN device
(NetScreen) into the hub. This allows me to see my office network and
the internet. Of the 4 pc's, 3 are running XP Home, and the fourth is
running XP Pro. All the pc's use the same account name and password.
All the pc's are configured with the same workgroup name. All are
running Norton Internet Security. The Pro box is NOT using simple file
sharing. The file shares on the Pro box only give permission to the
common user account (not Everyone). Let's toss in one more wrinkle,
File Sharing is bound to IPX (not TCPIP) on all the pc's. The reason I
do this is because it prevents the hundreds of employees in my office
from accessing the files on my XP Home pc's (which always use the
Guest account for authentication). It all works just fine!!!

Now for the problem. I've built a new pc. It also runs XP Pro. I've
configured it identically to my other Pro box. On the network, it can
access any shared folder on the other pc's. NONE of them can access
the shared folders on the new pc. They can 'see' the folders, but fail
on authentication. The error is always the same:

\\<server>\<folder> is not accessible. You might not have permission
to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server
to find out if you have access permissions.
Access is denied.

Wait, it gets weirder. Two of the XP Home pc's were able to access the
shared folder on the new XP Pro pc, but only one time! After that,
they started with the 'Access is denied' error.

I've spent days trying to resolve this problem. I'm stumped. I've
tried disabling the Norton Internet Security. I've tried dropping and
recreating the shares. I've tried changing the account passwords. I've
tried removing the account passwords. I've tried changing the
workgroup. I've tried binding to TCPIP for file sharing. I've triple
checked every network configuration setting I know of. I've tried
connecting from a command prompt using Net Use. I've checked the event
logs. I've checked the Norton logs. I've spent hours looking over the
Microsoft knowledge base and Google threads.

At this point I'm about ready to re-install the OS. If anyone has any
suggestions, please let me know. Any help would be greatly
appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
And you checked the permissions on both the Security and Sharing tabs?

--

Ken Wickes [MSFT]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


agaredo said:
None of the pc's are joined to a domain, all are in the same
workgroup. The XP Home pc's all use the same account, for example
"myhome". The XP Pro pc uses a different account, but I've created a
"myhome" account (limited), and added it the the file share
permissions for the shared folders. None of the "myhome" accounts have
a password, but I've tried that and it did not seem to work. I'll try
it again.

Thanks for the suggestions.

"Ken Wickes [MSFT]" <[email protected]> wrote in message
Is the username/password you use to log into the other machines the same as
the ACLs on the file shares is set to use? Also have you checked both the
sharing tab permissions and the security tab permissions?

Are any of the machines joined to a domain?

Don't use blank passwords, XP won't allow them for remote access. The
workgroup setting doesn't matter at this point.

--

Ken Wickes [MSFT]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


agaredo said:
Ok, I realize that many, many other posts have asked a similar
question, but I think my situation is unique. Here's my setup: I have
4 pc's on my home network. All are connected via a standard hub. My
broadband connection (DSL) comes through a hardware VPN device
(NetScreen) into the hub. This allows me to see my office network and
the internet. Of the 4 pc's, 3 are running XP Home, and the fourth is
running XP Pro. All the pc's use the same account name and password.
All the pc's are configured with the same workgroup name. All are
running Norton Internet Security. The Pro box is NOT using simple file
sharing. The file shares on the Pro box only give permission to the
common user account (not Everyone). Let's toss in one more wrinkle,
File Sharing is bound to IPX (not TCPIP) on all the pc's. The reason I
do this is because it prevents the hundreds of employees in my office
from accessing the files on my XP Home pc's (which always use the
Guest account for authentication). It all works just fine!!!

Now for the problem. I've built a new pc. It also runs XP Pro. I've
configured it identically to my other Pro box. On the network, it can
access any shared folder on the other pc's. NONE of them can access
the shared folders on the new pc. They can 'see' the folders, but fail
on authentication. The error is always the same:

\\<server>\<folder> is not accessible. You might not have permission
to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server
to find out if you have access permissions.
Access is denied.

Wait, it gets weirder. Two of the XP Home pc's were able to access the
shared folder on the new XP Pro pc, but only one time! After that,
they started with the 'Access is denied' error.

I've spent days trying to resolve this problem. I'm stumped. I've
tried disabling the Norton Internet Security. I've tried dropping and
recreating the shares. I've tried changing the account passwords. I've
tried removing the account passwords. I've tried changing the
workgroup. I've tried binding to TCPIP for file sharing. I've triple
checked every network configuration setting I know of. I've tried
connecting from a command prompt using Net Use. I've checked the event
logs. I've checked the Norton logs. I've spent hours looking over the
Microsoft knowledge base and Google threads.

At this point I'm about ready to re-install the OS. If anyone has any
suggestions, please let me know. Any help would be greatly
appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Yes, I've checked the permissions for both the Security and Sharing.

A friend of mine mentioned that XP Home is crippled in a way that will
only allow a limited number of pc's on the network. He wasn't sure on
the actual number but thinks it's 4 or 5. Can anyone confirm this?

I'm also wondering if the security policies could be different for the
pc which was upgraded from ME to XP Pro and the pc which was built
from scratch as XP Pro? I'll have to compare the two.

Ken Wickes said:
And you checked the permissions on both the Security and Sharing tabs?

--

Ken Wickes [MSFT]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


agaredo said:
None of the pc's are joined to a domain, all are in the same
workgroup. The XP Home pc's all use the same account, for example
"myhome". The XP Pro pc uses a different account, but I've created a
"myhome" account (limited), and added it the the file share
permissions for the shared folders. None of the "myhome" accounts have
a password, but I've tried that and it did not seem to work. I'll try
it again.

Thanks for the suggestions.

"Ken Wickes [MSFT]" <[email protected]> wrote in message
Is the username/password you use to log into the other machines the same as
the ACLs on the file shares is set to use? Also have you checked both the
sharing tab permissions and the security tab permissions?

Are any of the machines joined to a domain?

Don't use blank passwords, XP won't allow them for remote access. The
workgroup setting doesn't matter at this point.

--

Ken Wickes [MSFT]
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.


Ok, I realize that many, many other posts have asked a similar
question, but I think my situation is unique. Here's my setup: I have
4 pc's on my home network. All are connected via a standard hub. My
broadband connection (DSL) comes through a hardware VPN device
(NetScreen) into the hub. This allows me to see my office network and
the internet. Of the 4 pc's, 3 are running XP Home, and the fourth is
running XP Pro. All the pc's use the same account name and password.
All the pc's are configured with the same workgroup name. All are
running Norton Internet Security. The Pro box is NOT using simple file
sharing. The file shares on the Pro box only give permission to the
common user account (not Everyone). Let's toss in one more wrinkle,
File Sharing is bound to IPX (not TCPIP) on all the pc's. The reason I
do this is because it prevents the hundreds of employees in my office
from accessing the files on my XP Home pc's (which always use the
Guest account for authentication). It all works just fine!!!

Now for the problem. I've built a new pc. It also runs XP Pro. I've
configured it identically to my other Pro box. On the network, it can
access any shared folder on the other pc's. NONE of them can access
the shared folders on the new pc. They can 'see' the folders, but fail
on authentication. The error is always the same:

\\<server>\<folder> is not accessible. You might not have permission
to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server
to find out if you have access permissions.
Access is denied.

Wait, it gets weirder. Two of the XP Home pc's were able to access the
shared folder on the new XP Pro pc, but only one time! After that,
they started with the 'Access is denied' error.

I've spent days trying to resolve this problem. I'm stumped. I've
tried disabling the Norton Internet Security. I've tried dropping and
recreating the shares. I've tried changing the account passwords. I've
tried removing the account passwords. I've tried changing the
workgroup. I've tried binding to TCPIP for file sharing. I've triple
checked every network configuration setting I know of. I've tried
connecting from a command prompt using Net Use. I've checked the event
logs. I've checked the Norton logs. I've spent hours looking over the
Microsoft knowledge base and Google threads.

At this point I'm about ready to re-install the OS. If anyone has any
suggestions, please let me know. Any help would be greatly
appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Yes, I've checked the permissions for both the Security and Sharing.

A friend of mine mentioned that XP Home is crippled in a way that will
only allow a limited number of pc's on the network. He wasn't sure on
the actual number but thinks it's 4 or 5. Can anyone confirm this?
Click to expand...

There's no limit to the number of computers that can network with
Windows XP Home Edition or Professional.

Home Edition allows a maximum of 5 other computers to connect to its
shared resources simultaneously. Professional allows a maximum of 10
other computers to connect to its shared resources simultaneously.
Computers that aren't actively connected to a computer's shared
resources don't count against the limit. When a computer disconnects
from a shared resource, it no longer counts against the limit. See
this site for more information:

Inbound Connections Limit in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314882
I'm also wondering if the security policies could be different for the
pc which was upgraded from ME to XP Pro and the pc which was built
from scratch as XP Pro? I'll have to compare the two.
Click to expand...

It might help to un-share and re-share the desired disks and folders.
Something could have gone wrong during the upgrade.

This web page should help:

Windows XP Professional File Sharing
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_filesharing/index.htm
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
 
Thanks for the help. I did eventually solve my problem; I dropped the
IPX protocol and bound to TCPIP for all file sharing.
 
I have the exact same problem. could you be more specific on how you solved it? It would be greatly appreciated.
 
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