Weird networking problem

[Guest]

iam having trouble network my laptop and desktop, they are both running
windows xp pro, the desktop computer can access shared folders and files on
the laptop without a problem however when i try to access shared folders on
the desktop from the laptop it prompts me to enter a username and password.
Now this has never happened before until i just recently formatted by laptop
and reinstalled everything, i never had to enter any usernames or passwords
before i did the format. any suggestions on whats going on??

 

[Steve Winograd [MVP]]

iam having trouble network my laptop and desktop, they are both running
windows xp pro, the desktop computer can access shared folders and files on
the laptop without a problem however when i try to access shared folders on
the desktop from the laptop it prompts me to enter a username and password.
Now this has never happened before until i just recently formatted by laptop
and reinstalled everything, i never had to enter any usernames or passwords
before i did the format. any suggestions on whats going on??

Running the Network Setup Wizard on the laptop should fix it. If it
doesn't, create matching user accounts on both computers: same user
name and password.
--
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

 

[Chuck]

iam having trouble network my laptop and desktop, they are both running
windows xp pro, the desktop computer can access shared folders and files on
the laptop without a problem however when i try to access shared folders on
the desktop from the laptop it prompts me to enter a username and password.
Now this has never happened before until i just recently formatted by laptop
and reinstalled everything, i never had to enter any usernames or passwords
before i did the format. any suggestions on whats going on??

Rakem,

On any XP Pro computer, check to see if Simple File Sharing (Control Panel -
Folder Options - View - Advanced settings) is enabled or disabled. With XP Pro,
you need to have SFS consistently set on each computer.

On XP Pro with SFS disabled, check the Local Security Policies (Control Panel -
Administrative Tools). Under Local Policies - Security Options, look at
"Network access: Sharing and security model", and ensure it's set to "Classic -
local users authenticate as themselves".

On XP Pro with SFS disabled, if you set the above Local Security Policy to
"Guest only", enable the Guest account, using Start - Run - "cmd" - type "net
user guest /active:yes" in the command window. If "Classic", setup and use a
common non-Guest account on all computers. Whichever account is used, give it
an identical, non-blank password on all computers.

On XP Home, and on XP Pro with Simple File Sharing enabled, make sure that the
Guest account is enabled, on each computer. Enable Guest, with Start - Run -
"cmd", then type "net user guest /active:yes" in the command window. Ensure
that the password for Guest is blank, with Start - Run - "control
userpasswords2"; select Guest, click Reset Password, click OK without entering a
new password.

On XP Pro, if you're going to use Guest authentication, check your Local
Security Policy (Control Panel - Administrative Tools) - User Rights Assignment,
on the XP Pro computer, and look at "Deny access to this computer from the
network". Make sure Guest is not in the list. Look at "Access this computer
from the network", and make sure that Everyone is in this list.

 

[Guest]

thanks for the help but it still isn't working the way i had it. the only
way i can access shared files on the desktop from the laptop is to give the
User account on the desktop a password and use that password to login to the
desktop. I never had to do this before and i dont need to use a password to
access files on the laptop from the desktop. I dont want the desktop to have
a password because my parents find the computer difficult enough to use
already without having to enter passwords every time they turn the computer
on..

 

[Carey Holzman]

www.careyholzman.com/net1.htm

Carey

 

[Chuck]

thanks for the help but it still isn't working the way i had it. the only
way i can access shared files on the desktop from the laptop is to give the
User account on the desktop a password and use that password to login to the
desktop. I never had to do this before and i dont need to use a password to
access files on the laptop from the desktop. I dont want the desktop to have
a password because my parents find the computer difficult enough to use
already without having to enter passwords every time they turn the computer
on..

Rakem,

OK, if you want unrestricted access between computers, enable Simple File
Sharing, and enable the Guest account, on each computer.

On each computer, enable Simple File Sharing (Control Panel - Folder Options -
View - Advanced settings).

On XP Pro with Simple File Sharing enabled, make sure that the Guest account is
enabled, on each computer. Enable Guest, with Start - Run - "cmd", then type
"net user guest /active:yes" in the command window. Ensure that the password
for Guest is blank, with Start - Run - "control userpasswords2"; select Guest,
click Reset Password, click OK without entering a new password.