Sharing all files

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 4:31 pm

Sharing all files

I want to share all files with two WinXP computers on my network.

I share "C" but if I drill down it will/may ask me to setup sharing with a sub folder.

Is there a way to share all?

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 4:35 pm

In My Computer, right click on C: and choose Sharing and Security. Click "If you understand the risk...". Click "Share this folder without using the Network Wizard." Then choose "Just share this folder" and click OK. Check the "Share this folder on the network" box, and if you want other computer to be able to modify the files, check the "Allow network user to change my files" box as well. Click OK, let XP do its thing, and everything should be OK.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 5:04 pm

Better yet, go into folder options and uncheck "Use simple file sharing" in the view tab, then connect to the c$ default share using an admin user/pass.

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 5:59 pm

Can't do that under XP Home, so might as well provide the lowest-common-denominator solution.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 9:19 pm

I did as dcrazy said but files within C: like documents and settings couldn't be accesed so I shared that folder then I couldn't get into a sub folder of that........

roid · Post by **roid** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 10:15 pm

that's because some folders within documents and settings are passworded to their respective users.
(note all the user specific info is stored here - desktops, startmenus, etc)

an administrator login may be able to bypass this. i'm not sure.

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 12:24 am

The admin logon for the PC can, but people who are "Computer Administrators" cannot.

JMEaT · Post by **JMEaT** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 9:24 am

I seem to recall a checkbox saying "Allow networked computers to see/change my files." In the user panel.

I'll have to dig around, I think I got it working on my laptop but not home PC.

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 9:31 am

Yeah that's the equivalent of installing File and Printer Sharing on 9x.

thewolfe · Post by **thewolfe** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 9:37 am

Just found this in the "Help"

"The Sharing option is not available for the Documents and Settings, Program Files, and WINDOWS system folders. In addition, you cannot share folders in other user's profiles."

I'm was trying to get my Quicklaunch folder amoung other files that is in Docs & Set.

Krom · Post by **Krom** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 11:16 am

Ugh, one more reason to get XP Pro.

DCrazy · Post by **DCrazy** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 11:37 am

Well, if you have XP Pro, you can turn off Simple File Sharing to get around the problem. With Simple File Sharing turned on (which it is by default) all remote users authenticate as Guest. This makes accessing the C$ share impossible. If you turn off Simple File Sharing on your computers, they will be able to access each other's C$ shares.

For example, if ComputerA has a user Thewolfe1 whose password is "abc", and ComputerB has a user Thewolfe2 whose password is "xyz", and Simple File Sharing is turned off on both computers, you will be able to type "\\ComputerB\C$" in the Run box of ComputerA, and provide the username "Thewolfe2" and the password "xyz" to get access to all files on that computer's C: drive. Likewise, from ComputerB, you can open up "\\ComputerA\C$" and provide the username "Thewolfe1" and the password "abc" to access ComputerA's C: drive.

If you really want to go hardcore, you can use the ADMIN$ share instead of the C$ share. In this case, you must authenticate as "Administrator" with the remote computer's Administrator password (not just a Computer Administrator user, the actual Administrator account).

This is basically what Krom was suggesting above, but this all depends on Simple File Sharing being disabled, which is impossible in XP Home.