Restricting access in XP Home

[Guest]

Hello All. First post on here. I have a network set up in our apartment, 4
desktops running XP Home and 1 laptop running XP Home. One desktop and
laptop are mine. There are some folders we all want to share with each
other. We are having no problem with that. However, I want to share my 2nd
hard drive on my desktop but only so my laptop can access it. I've been
digging around to try and find a password protection option or restricted
access option and am finding nothing. Can anyone else help me out here?
Thanks in advance!!!

 

[AmericanTechie]

Hello All. First post on here. I have a network set up in our apartment, 4
desktops running XP Home and 1 laptop running XP Home. One desktop and
laptop are mine. There are some folders we all want to share with each
other. We are having no problem with that. However, I want to share my 2nd
hard drive on my desktop but only so my laptop can access it. I've been
digging around to try and find a password protection option or restricted
access option and am finding nothing. Can anyone else help me out here?
Thanks in advance!!!

The problem is Windows XP Home gives you less options that Professional.
XP home uses simple file sharing which basically means everyone can
look at your shares. Getting late or I might be able to think of some
tricks, maybe someone else will have something for you.

Read the article below for more info...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304040

Otherwise you could do something like use a firewall to keep out all but
the IP address of your laptop, but setting up a firewall with file
sharing can be a real pain. This is not fireproof but it might keep
people out that don't know any better.

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Hello All. First post on here. I have a network set up in our apartment, 4
desktops running XP Home and 1 laptop running XP Home. One desktop and
laptop are mine. There are some folders we all want to share with each
other. We are having no problem with that. However, I want to share my 2nd
hard drive on my desktop but only so my laptop can access it. I've been
digging around to try and find a password protection option or restricted
access option and am finding nothing. Can anyone else help me out here?
Thanks in advance!!!

Windows XP doesn't have passwords for shared disks and folders, and
there's no way to restrict access to shared disks and folders based on
which computer wants access.

Windows XP Home Edition's normal behavior is to give access to all
users on all computers. Here are some [admittedly clumsy] ways that
Microsoft provides to control access to a shared disk or folder:

1. Create a hidden share and only tell selected people about it. I've
written a web page with details:

Windows XP Simple File Sharing
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/filesharing.htm

2. Create a compressed folder and define a password for it. Everyone
who accesses the folder, from the local computer or from the network,
must specify the password to access the files in the compressed
folder. This Microsoft Knowledge Base article has details:

HOW TO: Use Compressed (Zipped) Folders in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306531

I've heard of two other possible solutions, but:

o They're un-supported, un-documented, and un-tested by Microsoft.
o There's no guarantee that they'll work.
o They might cause data loss or corruption.
o I haven't tried them, and I don't know whether they're safe.

If you want to try them, at your own risk:

1. Back up your important data first so that you can restore it in
case of problems.

2. Run System Restore to create a restore point that you can go back
to in case of problems.

Here they are:

1. Start Windows XP in "Safe Mode with Networking" (which temporarily
disables "Simple File Sharing"), share the desired disks or folders,
set permissions based on user accounts, and reboot normally, or:

2. Follow the procedure shown here:

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_home_sectab.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

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the info Steve. I'll probably try those tonight when I get home.
Got another related question, and that is if anyone knows why this feature is
not included in Windows XP home. It seems that sharing something on a
network but not wanting to share it with everyone would be common enough that
they would provide a way to do it. but once again, thanks for the help.

-Josh

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

Hello All. First post on here. I have a network set up in our apartment, 4
desktops running XP Home and 1 laptop running XP Home. One desktop and
laptop are mine. There are some folders we all want to share with each
other. We are having no problem with that. However, I want to share my 2nd
hard drive on my desktop but only so my laptop can access it. I've been
digging around to try and find a password protection option or restricted
access option and am finding nothing. Can anyone else help me out here?
Thanks in advance!!!

Windows XP doesn't have passwords for shared disks and folders, and
there's no way to restrict access to shared disks and folders based on
which computer wants access.

Windows XP Home Edition's normal behavior is to give access to all
users on all computers. Here are some [admittedly clumsy] ways that
Microsoft provides to control access to a shared disk or folder:

1. Create a hidden share and only tell selected people about it. I've
written a web page with details:

Windows XP Simple File Sharing
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/filesharing.htm

2. Create a compressed folder and define a password for it. Everyone
who accesses the folder, from the local computer or from the network,
must specify the password to access the files in the compressed
folder. This Microsoft Knowledge Base article has details:

HOW TO: Use Compressed (Zipped) Folders in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306531

I've heard of two other possible solutions, but:

o They're un-supported, un-documented, and un-tested by Microsoft.
o There's no guarantee that they'll work.
o They might cause data loss or corruption.
o I haven't tried them, and I don't know whether they're safe.

If you want to try them, at your own risk:

1. Back up your important data first so that you can restore it in
case of problems.

2. Run System Restore to create a restore point that you can go back
to in case of problems.

Here they are:

1. Start Windows XP in "Safe Mode with Networking" (which temporarily
disables "Simple File Sharing"), share the desired disks or folders,
set permissions based on user accounts, and reboot normally, or:

2. Follow the procedure shown here:

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_home_sectab.htm

Thanks for the info Steve. I'll probably try those tonight when I get home.
Got another related question, and that is if anyone knows why this feature is
not included in Windows XP home. It seems that sharing something on a
network but not wanting to share it with everyone would be common enough that
they would provide a way to do it. but once again, thanks for the help.

-Josh

You're welcome, Josh. I don't know what Microsoft was thinking. I
think they just blew it with respect to Home Edition and sharing.

Another possible solution would be to assign static IP addresses to
all of the computers and then configure a firewall program to allow
access from selected addresses and deny access to selected addresses.
--
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

 

[johntavares214]

Try creating a username and password for yourself, making sure that the
username and password is identical on both laptop and desktop. You can
then share the drive, from within the Share Permissions give
permissions to your username. Make sure to remove the entry for
Everyone having access to your shared folder.

To answer:
Got another related question, and that is if anyone knows why this
feature is
not included in Windows XP home. It seems that sharing something on a
network but not wanting to share it with everyone would be common
enough that
they would provide a way to do it.

Nothing is common sense with Microsoft. They do things their way. One
thing with Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home is that if
something gets shared, the Everyone group has full access to that
share. They do this to assist the "not so technical" by allowing them
to easily share resources without having to know much about workgroup
security.

Good Luck.
- John