I'm trying to setup a network with my XP Pro desktop and my XP Home laptop.
The laptop won't allow me to share either my Program Files folder or my
WINDOWS folder because the operating system uses them. Is this because it's
XP Home, or have I set something up wrong?
I'm sorry, but that's how Windows XP works when it's installed on an
NTFS disk partition. It blocks networked access to the Program Files
and Windows folders and to individual users' folders within Documents
and Settings.
You can share subfolders within those folders, e.g. you can share
"C:\Program Files\Outlook Express" or "C:\Documents and
Settings\Username\Desktop" and access that folder from another
computer on the network.
In XP Pro, you can disable simple file sharing, which removes those
sharing restrictions:
1. Open My Computer and click Tools | Folder Options | View.
2. Scroll to the end of the advanced settings.
3. Un-check "Use simple file sharing (recommended)".
In Home, there's no easy solution. The safest thing is to share
individual subfolders, as mentioned above.
You can re-install XP Home on a FAT or FAT32 disk partition -- those
disk formats don't have any sharing restrictions. However, that would
lose the benefits of NTFS, which is more reliable and efficient and
can use larger disks. You'd also need to re-install all of your
applications.
I've heard of two possible solutions for XP Home on an NTFS disk
partition, but:
1. They're un-supported, un-documented, and un-tested by Microsoft.
2. There's no guarantee that they'll work.
3. They might cause data loss or corruption.
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 folder(s), set the
permissions, 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.
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