XP Home Network Help

[B_ScaredLittleBoy]

Okay. I've setup a little network. Home/Office network where everything is on the same connection. I have been tweaking it in preparation for a remote network with a central server (this PC).

I can access the shared folders by going to:

\\computer name\directory

But now when I try to go to

\\IP\directory

I come to a login screen with username as computername\Guest

and I don't know the password therefore I can't login to the shared folder.

Does anyone know how I can view/change the password for the guest account? I read an article that said enabling the Guest account would work but it hasn't. I assume there is a default password since its a default account. I did read that it was 'guest' but that doesn't work.

I also deleted the Guest account from User Profiles where it was listed as a Temporary user. All the other users were Local. That hasn't helped and it still asks me to login as a guest user when trying to access shared folders.

I also saw an article where changing the computer's name and domain took them to a screen to set user groups but I've never seen that.

I have a feeling this is something to do with XP Home? When I connect to my XP Pro PC all I have to do is type in \\IP\directory.

So...a little help and explanation please :redface:

 

[SotonDaddy]

Yes, XP Home has limited networking capabilities. Is it possible for you to upgrade to XP Professional? You're networking problems will go away then....

 

[Smartalk]

Hi Scaredlittleboy,

You need to log in as ADMINISTRATOR to change other account details, I think the default password is PASSWORD in lower case.

If you are thinking of having a master server which you are going to connect your network to. If my memory serves me right, I do not think you can do this with XP HOME version, this being one of the differences between the Home and Professional versions of XP. Yes it is possible to upgrade, which you will need to do.


Hope that make sense and that my information is correct. No doubt if I am wrong someone on here will soon put me right.......lol

Regards

Smartalk

 

[B_ScaredLittleBoy]

Thanks Smart. I am part of the Administrators group but I think you mean the original Administrator account :wink:.

I'll try that.

And by server I just mean having one directory available to all PC's, not really a dedicated server as such. Just a place where people (not many :redface can access files. It just saves me having to backup five different PC's and then overwrite the old data with the new etc.

Thanks though, I'll try it now. Might upgrade this PC to Pro anyway since by all accounts Pro is the best version of XP and the Home version is 'limited'.

Ta :smile:

So yeah...I do have the XP CD. Should I just upgrade this to XP? That seems easier than issuing user accounts and passwords etc. I also assume its safe since anyone wanting to access this PC would have to be listed in lmhosts and I also have a firewall.

Am I right in thinking when I upgrade to Pro typing \\IP\directory would work without asking me for a login? Because that seems like the simplest solution.

 

[dong20]

Am I right in thinking when I upgrade to Pro typing \\IP\directory would work without asking me for a login? Because that seems like the simplest solution.

No, the main difference between home and pro is proper domain support. This allows you to control access to shared resources by user.

A quick and easy way to get more granular control is to boot into safe mode and set file and share permissions manually. Because you're in a work group not a domain, accounts (thus permissions) exist at machine level. Sharing is at share level not user level. I.E. an account on machine A will not automatically exist or have access to machine B. Generally that's not necessary.

If you create generic share accounts on the target machine, say one for read only, another for Read Write and assign permissions that way. You then connect to that share with the appropriate credentials.

Easier to let XP handle it if you're unsure.

Have a read of this.

Windows File Sharing Made Easy

 

[B_ScaredLittleBoy]

Hmm okay Dong. So apparently Simple File Sharing is always on and cannot be disabled in XP.

I have File And Printer Sharing enabled too...so I don't know why its not letting me connect. I'll go into Safe Mode and look at the User Groups there. But I'm still thinking of just formatting to Pro :tongue:

 

[dong20]

Hmm okay Dong. So apparently Simple File Sharing is always on and cannot be disabled in XP.

No, you can turn it off. (also another tutorial on file sharing).

A full breakdown of Home V Pro is below. A few things I'd long forgotten! One downside is that I've found is that Pro runs a bit slower on the same hardware. Now I think about it, the safe boot trick prob won't work in Home. It's been donkeys since I last meddled with home, my bad. But unless there's some oddity at play what you want to achieve is a snap.

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp

 

[B_ScaredLittleBoy]

Yeah I was looking at the Administrative Tools > Computer Management snapin. Seems to be something in there that would help.

But Safe Mode keeps freezing after a few minutes every time so I can't get much done...

Also, the article said Home always had SFS enabled and there was no option for it in Folder Options. Pro is still looking really good :tongue:

 

[dong20]

Also, the article said Home always had SFS enabled and there was no option for it in Folder Options. Pro is still looking really good :tongue:

You can't 'disable' it as such as Pro. What you can do is tweak the access in safe mode. I rarely come across XP home these days.

This should help.

Disable Simple File Sharing in Windows XP Home Edition

 

[B_ScaredLittleBoy]

I thought I did tweak the access. I think I'll just upgrade it to XP Pro tomorrow. XP Home sux.

Thanks though