Sharing Vista File With XP Machine

[jaygreg]

I'm trying to send a backup of my Quicken file from my Windows XP machine to
my new Vista machine. I've created a folder in the Quicken program directory
on Vista called "BU from XP". Here's the path shown on Vista: Computer >OS
(C)> Program Files (x86) >Quicken >Current Qdata>BU from XP.

When I go to the XP machine and look at My Network Places, I find in the
Name column:
* BU from XP machine on Xps435 (the name of my Vista computer)
* Current Qdata files from XP machine on Xps435
* Quicken 2008 HB on Xps435
* Quicken Data Files on Xps435
* Quicken on Xps435

When I double click any of the above I get ( for eaxample, the first one):
\\XPS435\BU from XP machine is not accessible. You might not have
permission to use this network resource. Contact the admin etc.

The network path was not found.

I can understand why it can't find the path; it's not the path. I would
think that what should appear in the My Network Places tree is a path like
the one in my first paragraph. I shared the files on the Vista by right
clicking an making my selection. I'm lost!

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I'm trying to send a backup of my Quicken file from my Windows XP machine to
my new Vista machine. I've created a folder in the Quicken program directory
on Vista called "BU from XP". Here's the path shown on Vista: Computer >OS
(C)> Program Files (x86) >Quicken >Current Qdata>BU from XP.

When I go to the XP machine and look at My Network Places, I find in the
Name column:
* BU from XP machine on Xps435 (the name of my Vista computer)
* Current Qdata files from XP machine on Xps435
* Quicken 2008 HB on Xps435
* Quicken Data Files on Xps435
* Quicken on Xps435

When I double click any of the above I get ( for eaxample, the first one):
\\XPS435\BU from XP machine is not accessible. You might not have
permission to use this network resource. Contact the admin etc.

The network path was not found.

I can understand why it can't find the path; it's not the path. I would
think that what should appear in the My Network Places tree is a path like
the one in my first paragraph. I shared the files on the Vista by right
clicking an making my selection. I'm lost!

Only the most poorly written and security-blind applications would
place any data files within the C:\Programs Files tree. (Quicken has
always been of this ilk, by the way.). In Vista, even more so than in
WinXP, this critical portion of the systems files is protected from such
poorly designed applications and the vulnerabilities they deliberately
introduce.

Try placing the data files in a public data folder location designed
for safe access and network sharing.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[jaygreg]

Still having a problem, Bruce. Moved the files and removed the "Share"
privileges for everything under the Programs branch. I've read the two types
of sharing files described in the Help section of Vista and chose to avoid
the Public folder. My misunderstanding of the alternative may be my hang-up
right now.

I placed the Qdata files here:
C:\Users\Me\Documents\QuickenDataFiles\Current Qdata files\BU from XP
machine. I marked the files for sharing by right-clicking but apparently not
because I'm now getting this message: "Unable to access the disk in drive
\:. Please make sure the drive is ready and the disk is not write-protected.
If backing up to a CD, make sure the disk is not full." This message is
associated with this path as listed on my XP machine:
\\Xps435\quicken data files\Current Qdata Files from XP machine\BU from XP
machine



I suspect:

(A) There's something I failed to do on the Vista machine to ensure access
to these files from the XP machine.

(B) These files would be accessible from XP without incident if I simply put
them into C:\Users\Me\Public.

(C) Both A & B are correct.



Could use a little more help please.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Still having a problem, Bruce. Moved the files and removed the "Share"
privileges for everything under the Programs branch. I've read the two types
of sharing files described in the Help section of Vista and chose to avoid
the Public folder. My misunderstanding of the alternative may be my hang-up
right now.

I placed the Qdata files here:
C:\Users\Me\Documents\QuickenDataFiles\Current Qdata files\BU from XP
machine. I marked the files for sharing by right-clicking but apparently not
because I'm now getting this message: "Unable to access the disk in drive
\:. Please make sure the drive is ready and the disk is not write-protected.
If backing up to a CD, make sure the disk is not full." This message is
associated with this path as listed on my XP machine:
\\Xps435\quicken data files\Current Qdata Files from XP machine\BU from XP
machine



I suspect:

(A) There's something I failed to do on the Vista machine to ensure access
to these files from the XP machine.

Right. As I said, Vista is more secure than WinXP. You've once again
placed the files in a location that cannot be shared.

(B) These files would be accessible from XP without incident if I simply put
them into C:\Users\Me\Public.

Exactly. Notice the word "Public" in that path?

(C) Both A & B are correct.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[jaygreg]

Well Bruce... I've cancelled all the shared links and placed the Quicken
data files in the Public folder as you suggested... and I successfully
backed up the file from XP to Vista. At least I can proceed to my next task
of bringing a MyBook World Edition II on line.

However, I remain confused. If you search help for "Share Files" in Vista
you'll find reference to alternate ways of sharing files. The implication is
.... share from anywhere. You feel that's not true if I understand you. I
don't know enough yet to decide for myself.

I do know there are instructions for sharing folders and files if one
desires a higher level of security than placing these documents in the
Public folder. That was my original focus which seemed to fail on ever
attempt. In fact, I have ruminants on my XP machine directory tree from
these attempts that I don't know how to remove:

(A) My Network Places\Quicken 2008 HB on XPS435
(B) My Network Places\Quicken Data Files on XPS435

I'd appreciate comment if you have any. I'd like to get rid of them since
they go nowhere.

The correct path - which makes sense - turned up to be:
My Network Places\Entire Network\Microsoft Windows Network\(my network
name)\XPS435\Public\Documents.... then the Quicken folder and files.

Thanks for your help, Bruce.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Jay.

I don't know anything about networks, so I'll let Bruce handle that. But
many Quicken users hang out in the Usenet newsgroup
alt.comp.software.financial.quicken . While Quicken insists that it is not
designed to be used on a network, some of the users in that NG have used it
that way successfully.

As Bruce said, a major difference between WinXP and Vista is that Vista
enforces the rule that WinXP only prescribed: DO NOT put data into the
Program Files folder!

My own experience with Quicken started with the MS-DOS version in 1990 and
has "just growed" like Topsy through the many versions of Quicken and
Windows since then. Since I started dual-booting in about 1998, installed
my first x64 about 2004, and beta tested many builds of Vista and Win7, my
volume/folder/file structure is somewhat atypical. But you may be able to
find something useful in reading about it.

My Quicken files are in E:\QuickenW. Drive E: is a separate volume (named
"Data") that I created a dozen years ago, originally formatted FAT so that I
could access it from both Win9x, which could not read NTFS, and WinNT4,
which could not read FAT32; it's NTFS now, of course. With each successive
version, I've installed Quicken into that same folder - and I've let Quicken
continue its not-recommended practice of keeping its QDATA.QDF file in the
QuickenW folder, along with qw.exe and all the rest of Quicken. The
automatic backup folder, created and updated by Quicken, is
E:\QuickenW\BACKUP; my voluntary additional backups are elsewhere, including
removable storage that I can lock away from the computer. When I install an
updated Quicken, I do not let it install in the default Program Files (x86)
folder; I click Custom install and direct it to E:\QuickenW, overwriting the
earlier version there. By keeping it out of the protected Program Files
folders, I can rely on myself, rather than on Vista, to safeguard my data.

Quicken must be re-installed for each new version, of course, and for each
re-installation of WinXP/Vista/Win7. For each re-install, I insert the
Quicken CD and direct the install to E:\QuickenW. When re-installing
Quicken 2009 Deluxe after installing Win7 RTM, for example, Quicken Setup
simply re-wrote the same files that were on my HD already, but it also wrote
the necessary entries into the Win7 Registry. The I let Quicken immediately
update to the current release level, currently R 6 for Q2009.

This way, I have only a single copy of Quicken on my hard drive, but I can
access it from whichever Windows version I happen to be running at the
moment. Quicken doesn't care whether it is running on 32-bit WinXP Basic or
Win7 Ultimate x64. I can enter checks from Vista x86, then reboot into Win7
x64 and see those checks and my updated balances. The same .qdf file is
being used by both, but I never can have both OSes running at once on my one
and only computer, so there never can be a conflict with both trying to
update the same data at the same time.

So, why do I think this relates to your network question? Because the
little I know about networks leads me to believe that you could do the same
thing, so long as you have only a single Quicken installed in a location
accessible from any of your computers, using only a single .qdf file, and
you are careful to never let more than one computer at a time access it.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8064.0206) in Win7 Ultimate x64