Viewing shared drives between 2 computers only going one way

[Doc]

I have 2 computers networked but while I can see all shared folders
and drives on machine A with machine B, when I switch to machine A I
only see the "shared documents" folder on machine B, I don't see any
of the drives on machine B even though I've got them all assigned for
sharing.

If I originate from within machine B, I can transfer files in either
direction no problem. But I want to be able to access machine B with
machine A.

Any idea what could be causing this?


Thanks for all input.

 

[Malke]

I have 2 computers networked but while I can see all shared folders
and drives on machine A with machine B, when I switch to machine A I
only see the "shared documents" folder on machine B, I don't see any
of the drives on machine B even though I've got them all assigned for
sharing.

If I originate from within machine B, I can transfer files in either
direction no problem. But I want to be able to access machine B with
machine A.

Any idea what could be causing this?

You forgot to tell us what versions of XP the two computers are running.
In general:

If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center:

1. If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user
accounts/passwords on all computers.

2. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the
Simple File Sharing enabled. Simple File Sharing means that Guest
(network) is enabled. This means that anyone without a user account on
the target system can use its resources. This is a security hole but
only you can decide if it matters in your situation.

3. Create shares as desired. 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. See the first link above for details about
Vista sharing.


Malke

 

[Cat Man]

You might try disabling firewall and try again.

 

[Doc]

You forgot to tell us what versions of XP the two computers are running.

Machine A - the one I can't get into the machine B from, is running XP
Media, machine B is running XP Home.

2. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the
Simple File Sharing enabled. Simple File Sharing means that Guest
(network) is enabled. This means that anyone without a user account on
the target system can use its resources. This is a security hole but
only you can decide if it matters in your situation.

It's enabled on the XP Media machine, don't see the option at all on
the XP Home machine.

3. Create shares as desired.

The drives on both machines I want to share are designated thusly but
the drives on the XP Home machine aren't visible from the XP Media
machine.

 

[Malke]

Machine A - the one I can't get into the machine B from, is running XP
Media, machine B is running XP Home.





It's enabled on the XP Media machine, don't see the option at all on
the XP Home machine.




The drives on both machines I want to share are designated thusly but
the drives on the XP Home machine aren't visible from the XP Media
machine.

1. On Machine A (XP MCE) disable Simple Sharing (there is no option to
do this in XP Home which is why you can't find it).

2. On Machines A and B create matching user accounts/passwords. You do
not need to be logged into the same account on all machines and the
passwords assigned to each user account can be different; the
accounts/passwords just need to exist and match on all machines. If you
wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular
user's account) for convenience, you can do this. The instructions at
this link work for both XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

3. On Machine A, check your firewall situation:

Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network
(LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing
File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network
Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.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 2006/07) which acts as a
firewall, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually
configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be
192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct
subnet. Do not run more than one firewall.


Malke