Sharing problems using XP Pro SP2

[Guest]

Hi,

I have a small home network with 4 computers connected to a hub and adsl
router. Before installing SP2 the network was working fine, in particular the
sharing of files. After installing SP2 on all 4 home computers, we now have a
problem gaining access to shared documnets or any folder we want to share on
2 of the computers.

When I try to access a shared doucment folder on one or both of these
computers, a pop-up window is displayed asking for a username and password.
The third computer is fine..no problems. I have checked on both of the
computers that I cannot access the shared folders and there is no password
installed.

Help!

 

[Malke]

Hi,

I have a small home network with 4 computers connected to a hub and
adsl router. Before installing SP2 the network was working fine, in
particular the sharing of files. After installing SP2 on all 4 home
computers, we now have a problem gaining access to shared documnets or
any folder we want to share on 2 of the computers.

When I try to access a shared doucment folder on one or both of these
computers, a pop-up window is displayed asking for a username and
password. The third computer is fine..no problems. I have checked on
both of the
computers that I cannot access the shared folders and there is no
password installed.

Help!

Service Pack 2 activates the Windows Firewall. If you are using a
third-party firewall, turn the Windows Firewall off. There is a Control
Panel applet for it. If you are only using the Windows Firewall, you
need to configure it to allow your lan. Use the applet in Control
Panel.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Hi Malke,

I have Sygate personal firewall pro running on all my home computers. So I
did switch off the Windows firewall. I have just re-checked it and the
windows firewall is off. What I cannot understand is why I can access the
third computer on my network with no problems, yet the other 2 require a
username and password to access them.

 

[Guest]

i had a similar problem but i have 2 computers you could try this......

go into control panel then into system (in classic view) and click on
computer name then click the network id button and go through the wizard on
all computers then restart them and hopefully this should solve your problem.

 

[SlowJet]

All computers require a user name and password to acces them, the problem is
the user name and password need to be varified by a complex control of 3
sets of credentials to ensure the user is indeed authorized to logon.

These 3 sets come from various sources, the smartest and most flexible is
from a person's brain to match the user account on the other machine. To do
it automatically requires some methods to be choosen and some rules to
follow and permissions granted.

Read the help file and you'll begin to get a flavor of how complex things
can get as some as you leave simple file sharing and MS's built in methods
and secuity.

But since you have an exsiting net that work before SP2 and you have PRO,
and you have the FW working for F&PS, then all you need is user accounts
with passwords on all machine's that will be sharing out a folder to that
user account. Then you need to set method and permissions on each machine.

That's why it is much easier to have a domain server and a centrial security
polocy.

One step over the line, pretty baby, one step over the line, and it's no
longer windows 9x with a DOS kicker.

SJ

 

[SlowJet]

That's is missleading and only solves part of the problem.
I forgot to say in my other post that after all the other settings I
mentioned he needs to run the network wizard on all the XP PRO macines
starting with the ISP HOST.

SJ

 

[Malke]

Hi Malke,

I have Sygate personal firewall pro running on all my home computers.
So I did switch off the Windows firewall. I have just re-checked it
and the windows firewall is off. What I cannot understand is why I can
access the third computer on my network with no problems, yet the
other 2 require a username and password to access them.

My guess is that SP2 disables the Guest account, which is a good
security practice. Probably the Guest account was enabled before, which
is why you could share files without having identical user accounts and
passwords on each machine. So, check in User Accounts (Control Panel)
to see if the Guest account is disabled. Either enable it (not really a
good security choice) or just add the user accounts/passwords to all
machines.

Malke

 

[Guest]

Hi Malke,

Yes, Guest account is disabled. Let me get this right, are you saying I
should enable username and password on each computer so, when each computer
boots up the windows logon screen is displayed and the only way to get in is
by typing in the correct password?

Thanks in advance,

BM

 

[Malke]

Hi Malke,

Yes, Guest account is disabled. Let me get this right, are you saying
I should enable username and password on each computer so, when each
computer boots up the windows logon screen is displayed and the only
way to get in is by typing in the correct password?

No. What I'm saying is that in a well-secured network, the Guest account
is normally disabled, whether you have a Windows network, a *nix
network, or a mixed os network. In that situation, with Guest disabled,
in a workgroup (as opposed to a domain) you need to create identical
user accounts and passwords on all machines. Here's an example:

1. Malke is on her machine.
2. Gabe is on his machine.
3. Malke's machine has a user account/password for Gabe.
4. Gabe's machine has a user account/password for Malke.
5. Then when Malke requests a file from Gabe's machine, Gabe's machine
sees Malke has an account and therefore authenticates her and releases
the file. That way, Malke does not get a prompt to enter a username and
password from Gabe's machine because Gabe's machine *knows* her. She's
"on the list". And so on.

This is because the Guest account is disabled on my network. If you
*enable* the Guest account on your network - if all your machines are
XP boxen* - then no authentication needs to take place. Which means
*anyone* who gets into a box can do *anything*. Very bad security.

*If you have a mixed os network (as I do), then you *do* need to create
the matching user accounts/passwords on all boxen because only XP uses
the "force guest" feature. Win2k, NT, and *nixes don't.

So, your choice. Either enable the Guest account or create matching user
accounts/passwords on all boxen that share resources.

HTH,

Malke