I have 3 computers in my home network: the main computer, a laptop, and an old computer used for streaming vids and pix to the TV. I recently upgrading the main computer from XP to Win7, as well as upgraded the TV computer from Win98 to XP. The laptop and main computer are fine. The problem arises when I try to access files from either the laptop or main computer from the TV computer.
I've done a lot of research on this and I know that there are a lot of problems sharing files between Win7 and XP. For example, when trying to access files on the main computer from the TV computer, it kept asking me to login w/ a name and password. I disabled password file sharing on the main computer, and made sure that file and printer sharing is turned on for all 3 computers.
I've also read something about that the user name and password has to be the same on all the computers on the network, but that doesn't really make sense. The laptop and main computer don't have the same user name and they work fine. Besides, before I disabled password file sharing, I entered the proper name and password for the main computer and it still wouldn't let me connect.
So here's where I'm at now: I can see the shared folders from the main computer when I view Network Place on the WinXP machine. But when I click on any of those folders, it tells me something like "[Folder] is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the system administrator. Access is denied." I don't know what else to try.
No firewalls or security on either computer. The main computer had a boot drive failure, so the Win7 install was on a brand new drive. The TV computer never accesses the internet, and it doesn't really have any files on it anyway (the files are stored on the main computer) so I never bothered w/ firewalls or security suites.
Well I tried turning off Windows Firewall on the main computer, but that didn't make any difference. It's frustrating, becuz I know I must be close to having this solved -- the TV computer can see the shared folders on the main computer, so I know they computers are communicating. I just can't get permission for the TV computer to access those folders!
The other thing that might provide a clue is that the main computer cannot see the TV computer at all, even though sharing is turned on on the TV computer.
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\Users\m>nbtstat -n
Local Area Connection:
Node IpAddress: [192.168.1.2] Scope Id: []
NetBIOS Local Name Table
Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
MEDLIB2 <00> UNIQUE Registered
WORKGROUP <00> GROUP Registered
MEDLIB2 <20> UNIQUE Registered
WORKGROUP <1E> GROUP Registered
WORKGROUP <1D> UNIQUE Registered
..__MSBROWSE__.<01> GROUP Registered
From the nbtstat -n results on the TV computer it appears that either file and printer sharing is not enabled or something is seriously wrong.
In Network Connections right click on your wireless connection - Properties. Do you have installed and selected the protocols shown in my attachment (QoS Packet Scheduler doesn't matter)?
Make sure the following services are Started (Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Services).
Computer Browser
DHCP Client
DNS Client
Network Location Awareness
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Server
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Workstation
I checked the services u listed -- some were turned off, so I turned them all on. I also ran msconfig and made sure they would start at startup. Then I checked to make sure the Local Area Connection Properties were correct. They were checked, except that the QoS Packet Scheduler does not appear. Unfortunately, none of these changes seemed to make any difference.
I also reran the commands u posted above, to see if there was any change:
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
Name Type Status
---------------------------------------------
TV <00> UNIQUE Registered
WORKGROUP <00> GROUP Registered
TV <20> UNIQUE Registered
WORKGROUP <1E> GROUP Registered
C:\Documents and Settings\r>IPCONFIG /ALL
Windows IP Configuration
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : tv
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : house
With the same two computers let's see what we get with these two to six tests ...
To open a Command Window: Start - Run – cmd (command in 98SE) – OK
(if Run not on Vista’s or 7’s Start menu, just type cmd in the Search box)
To determine a computer's IP address: open a Command Window and type
ipconfig
Now for some troubleshooting:
1. On each PC open a Command window and type
ping IPofOther (where IPofOther is the IP address of the other PC)
Do you get Replies, or do you get packets lost?
If you got Replies,
2. Do the same ping except use the Computer Name of the other computer:
ping NameOfOtherPC
Replies or lost packets?
If you got Replies to either or both,
3. Then
Start - Run - \\IPofOther - OK
With luck after about a minute you should get an explorer window showing the other PC's shares. If not, what is the error message?
Well we made some progress... I got replies from main computer to the TV computer, and from the TV computer to the main computer. When I did Start - Run - \\IPofOther - OK on the main computer, I was able to read files from the TV computer, which I hadn't been able to do before.
When I did Start - Run - \\IPofOther - OK on the TV computer, the explorer window popped up. But when I tried to open 1 of the shared folders, I got the same error msg as before (except this time w/ the IP address instead of the computer name): "\\IP-of-main\[Folder] is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the system administrator. Access is denied."
To review (and double check) on the Windows 7: Network and Sharing Center - Change advanced sharing options - Home or Work - you have selected Turn on file and printer sharing and Turn off password protected sharing. Is the Public folder sharing on or off?
Right click on that folder you tried to access from the TV computer - Properties - Sharing tab - the folder is shared, right?
Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Network and Sharing Center\Advanced sharing settings - Home or Work
the following settings are selected:
Turn on network discovery
Turn on file and printer sharing
Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in the Public folders
Use 128-bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections
Turn off password protected sharing
Allow Windows to manage homegroup connections
Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Network and Sharing Center\Advanced sharing settings - Public
the following settings are selected:
Turn on network discovery
Turn on file and printer sharing
Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in the Public folders
Use 128-bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections
Turn off password protected sharing
I checked the folder I tried to access from the TV computer - Properties - Sharing tab - and the folder is shared. However, if I right-click on the folder and choose Share With, a pop-up menu appears w/ a padlock symbol next to "Nobody". I try to select "Homegroup (Read/Write)", but the padlock symbol is still next to "Nobody". Does that mean that the folder is locked somehow so that Nobody can access it?
Also, is it possible that the TV computer (which is old) doesn't support 128-bit encryption?
I have no idea what that is supposed to mean--I see it on my shared folders and on my non-shared folders. When you click on "Specific people..." with whom is it shared?
When I click on Specific People, it shows that the Homegroup has read/write permission, and the user account on the main computer is listed as the owner.
I think maybe the lock symbol means that if u select Nobody, then the folder is locked -- and nobody on a networked computer can access it.
Another thing I noticed that may provide some insight is that the main computer can't see the TV computer at all, unless I do Start - Run - \\IPofOther - OK. The TV computer doesn't show up in the homegroup when I look at the homegroup on the main computer. Since the TV computer doesn't seem to be part of the homegroup, that might explain why it is denied access to shared folders on the main computer. Of course, the question then becomes, how do I make the TV computer part of the homegroup??
IT WORKED!! Just to be clear, I right-clicked on the folder to be shared, selected Share with -- Specific people... Then I manually typed in "Everyone" and hit Add.
It seems so simple now... but what a PITA to get to this point! I think part of the confusion was that I had already shared the root of the drive w/ Everyone, but Windows doesn't like to share the root. It's also strange that u would have to manually type in Everyone, and that Windows knows that it doesn't refer to a specific user.
Oh yeah, the XP computer does show up on the Win7 machine's Network folder.
Terry, I really appreciate your help on this, and not giving up on this long and arduous process. Who knows how long it would have taken to figure this out w/o your help!
You're welcome. Glad we finally found something that works.
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