Candace said:
The original post was on December 26, 2006 at 10:30 p.m. It was titled
"Please Help - I have networked my laptop to my pc and can only open files
from pc in read only"
You were correct. I am having problems accessing the pc that is running
Windows XP Home. The laptop that is running Windows XP Media Center can
be
accessed by the pc and changed. The laptop can access the files from the
pc but only in read-only and I cannot make any changes to the files or
resave them back to the pc that is running Windows XP Home.
As per the below, I did steps 1 to 4 but when I right click "Documents" in
the right-hand pane, I only see Refresh and Help. I do not see properties
or security. This is driving me crazy.
The local computer shop says it is because my laptop is running Windows XP
Media Center. Are you saying that is not the problem? WHAT IS THE
PROBLEM? I'm a single mom and I am trying to fix this so the kids can use
my laptop to access their documents and make changes and print them on the
"fancy"
printer. I cannot afford to pay someone to look at this and yet I can't
seem to fix it. I don't get it. Everything is set up the same on each
computer and yet the laptop which is running Windows XP Media Center will
not allow me to make any changes to the pc that is running Windows XP
Home. ALL DOCUMENTS ARE ACCESSED IN READ ONLY MODE.
I have the two computers networked together by a router. My laptop has a
wireless router. I am running Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security so
that should be keeping others out, right?
I hope that Jesper will not mind me popping in at this point. First, you
need to calm down. You are having a problem that is very simple to solve
and you are making things far more complicated than they need to be. Let's
take it from the beginning.
1. Turn both machines on. Run the Network Setup Wizard (in Control Panel) on
both machines, one at a time. When you get to the end of the Wizard, choose
the option that you don't need to do anything else at this time (instead of
plugging in a thumbdrive or the like). Then reboot both machines.
2. 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. Since I can't see your computers, you'll have to determine if you
have a third-party firewall/firewall function or not.
3. Go to Control Panel>User Accounts on each machine and create identical
user accounts and passwords. I don't care if you weren't using a password
before; create one that you will remember now. You can always set the
machine to log in automatically afterwards. See this link for how to do
that:
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm - but do it *later*. You do
not need to be logged into the same accounts on both machines to share
files; the accounts and matching passwords must just *exist* on both
machines.
4. Now make your shares. On the Media Center machine, you can share whatever
you want. You can share the users' My Documents. YOU CANNOT DO THIS ON THE
XP HOME MACHINE (and yes, the capital letters were on purpose). 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 on the Home machine.
Now you should be able to copy files between the two machines. If you want
to share a printer connected to the desktop, go to the Printers applet and
right-click on the printer icon and then left-click on Sharing. Share the
printer. Depending on the printer, you may need to use its installation cd
on the laptop. Read the printer manual.
Malke
We're sorry this is so frustrating.