How to logon to other workgroup member

[Eugene Gardner]

I have 3 computers which are in a workgroup behind a NAT router, and I would
like to share each 'My Documents' folder for all users on all PCs - security
in the family is not an issue. All PCs are running XP Home with SP2.

Currently PC1 can see the shares on PC2 and PC3, but neither PC2 nor PC3 can
see those on PC1. I looked in the system event log and noticed several login
failures coincide with the times I try to access a share. I have identically
named accounts/passwords on all 3 machines. I have just created a new
account on each to double confirm this - same old problem.

The error message I get when trying to browse PC1's files is: "\\PC1 is not
accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource"

I can ping PC1 from the other computers, all have enabled Guest accounts,
there is no software firewall enabled, workgroup names are identical,
NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled by default, Computer Browser and RPC services
are started and there is a shared folder on all machines.

At the times I try to access a shared folder and get the above error
message, entries get written to both PC1 and the other PC's event (security)
logs. The events all look like this:

Event Type: Failure Audit

Event Source: Security

Event Category: (2)

Event ID: 529

Date: 13 Dec 2004

Time: 13:49:45

User: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM

Computer: LAPTOP

Description:

Logon Failure:

Reason: Unknown user name or bad password

User Name: Abigail

Domain:

Logon Type: 2

Logon Process: Advapi

Authentication Package: MICROSOFT_AUTHENTICATION_PACKAGE_V1_0

Workstation Name: LAPTOP



Event Type: Failure Audit

Event Source: Security

Event Category: (9)

Event ID: 680

Date: 13 Dec 2004

Time: 13:49:45

User: NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM

Computer: LAPTOP

Description:

Logon attempt by: MICROSOFT_AUTHENTICATION_PACKAGE_V1_0

Logon account: Abigail

Source Workstation: LAPTOP

Error Code: 0xC000006E

What am missing ? Where can I learn more about how accounts log on in such
circumstances ?

 

[Chuck]

I have 3 computers which are in a workgroup behind a NAT router, and I would
like to share each 'My Documents' folder for all users on all PCs - security
in the family is not an issue. All PCs are running XP Home with SP2.

Currently PC1 can see the shares on PC2 and PC3, but neither PC2 nor PC3 can
see those on PC1. I looked in the system event log and noticed several login
failures coincide with the times I try to access a share. I have identically
named accounts/passwords on all 3 machines. I have just created a new
account on each to double confirm this - same old problem.

The error message I get when trying to browse PC1's files is: "\\PC1 is not
accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource"

I can ping PC1 from the other computers, all have enabled Guest accounts,
there is no software firewall enabled, workgroup names are identical,
NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled by default, Computer Browser and RPC services
are started and there is a shared folder on all machines.

At the times I try to access a shared folder and get the above error
message, entries get written to both PC1 and the other PC's event (security)
logs. The events all look like this:

Eugene,

Firstly, with XP Home, the folder shared as "My Documents" can't be accessed
thru that share across the network. XP Home grants network access thru the
Guest account only, not thru a non-Guest account. The folders "C:\Program
Files" and "C:\Windows" are system folders, and "My Documents" (which is a
subset of each personal profile) is a personal folder.

All three shares can only be accessed by an administrator. Guest is a limited
user, not an administrator account.

To share any of the folders not the ones mentioned above you need to enable
Guest with Start - Run - "cmd", then type "net user guest /active:yes" in the
command window. That's not the same as the Users wizard in Control Panel.

Also, having the browser running on multiple computers can cause problems. The
browser is a very chatty protocol. With three computers, you only need the
browser running on two. Identify the two computers that stay online the most.
Make sure the browser service is running on those two only. Control Panel -
Administrative Tools - Services. Verify that the Computer Browser, and the
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper, services both show with Status = Started. Disable the
browser on the third.

Synchronise the browser setup. Power all 3 computers off, then power the two
browser computers on, and finally the third.

The Microsoft Browstat program will show us what browsers you have in your
domain / workgroup, at any time.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305

You can download Browstat from either:
<http://www.dynawell.com/reskit/microsoft/win2000/browstat.zip>
<http://rescomp.stanford.edu/staff/manual/rcc/tools/browstat.zip>

Browstat is very small (40K), and needs no install. Just unzip the downloaded
file, copy browstat.exe to any folder in the Path, and run it from a command
window, by "browstat status". Make sure all computers give the same result.

For more information about the browser subsystem (very intricate), see:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188001
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winntas/deploy/prodspecs/ntbrowse.mspx>

If that doesn't solve the problem, look at registry key
[HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa], value restrictanonymous.
<http://www.microsoft.com/windows200...2000/techinfo/reskit/en-us/regentry/46688.asp>
<http://www.jsifaq.com/subf/tip2600/rh2625.htm>
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=246261
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=296403

The above articles refer to Windows 2000. Remember WinXP is NT V5.1, and Win2K
is NT V5.0.

Have you used the Registry Editor before? If not, it's a scary tool, but it's
pretty simple once you get used to it. Here are a couple articles that might
help:
<http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...home/using/productdoc/en/tools_regeditors.asp>
<http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/registry>

Just remember to backup the key (create a registry patch) for
[HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa] before making any changes, if
appropriate.

From the Annoyances article:
You can create a Registry patch by opening the Registry Editor, selecting a
branch, and choosing Export from the File menu. Then, specify a filename, and
press OK. You can then view the Registry patch file by opening it in Notepad
(right-click on it and select Edit). Again, just double-click on a Registry
patch file (or use Import in the Registry Editor's File menu) to apply it to the
registry.

And Eugene, posting your email address openly will get you more unwanted email,
than wanted email. Learn to munge your email address properly, to keep yourself
a bit safer when posting to open forums. Protect yourself and the rest of the
internet - read this article.
http://www.mailmsg.com/SPAM_munging.htm