odd networking problem

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Guest

I have 4 xp systems setup for a small business and all the systems are less
than 1 month old with fresh installs and patched to date. 1 system is setup
as a file server, all are behind a router. They all share a "data" folder on
the server, all are in the same workgroup. Last week 2 of the systems became
unable to access the share and are now asking for a password to connect to
the network share. If I try to connect to the share I get a username box with
guest (greyed out). No or any password will allow me to connect to the share.
I can see the share and access the internet but cannot open the share. I am
at a loss...any clues? All systems are up to date on virus protection,
etc....please help.
 
I have 4 xp systems setup for a small business and all the systems are less
than 1 month old with fresh installs and patched to date. 1 system is setup
as a file server, all are behind a router. They all share a "data" folder on
the server, all are in the same workgroup. Last week 2 of the systems became
unable to access the share and are now asking for a password to connect to
the network share. If I try to connect to the share I get a username box with
guest (greyed out). No or any password will allow me to connect to the share.
I can see the share and access the internet but cannot open the share. I am
at a loss...any clues? All systems are up to date on virus protection,
etc....please help.
Click to expand...

Bob,

Are you running XP Home, XP Pro, or a combination? This makes a big difference.

On any XP Pro computer, check to see if Simple File Sharing (Control Panel -
Folder Options - View - Advanced settings) is enabled or disabled. With XP Pro,
you need to have SFS properly set on each computer.

On XP Pro with SFS disabled, check the Local Security Policies (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".

On XP Pro with SFS disabled, if you set the above Local Security Policy to
"Guest only", enable the Guest account, using Start - Run - "cmd" - type "net
user guest /active:yes" in the command window. If "Classic", setup and use a
common non-Guest account on all computers. Whichever account is used, give it
an identical, non-blank password on all computers.

On XP Home, and on XP Pro with Simple File Sharing enabled, make sure that the
Guest account is enabled, on each computer. Enable Guest, with Start - Run -
"cmd", then type "net user guest /active:yes" in the command window. Ensure
that the password for Guest is blank, with Start - Run - "control
userpasswords2"; select Guest, click Reset Password, click OK without entering a
new password.

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.
 
Bob S. said:
thanks Chuck...i'll give it a try monday and post my results.
Click to expand...

Failing that, if you haven't installed any program you cant afford to lose
on the computer since this started, you might think about using Restore mode
to go back to a day before all this happened on the server and if that
doesn't fix things, on the machines that no longer contact the server.
 
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