New machine w/C=SSD--Various

The computer will arrive tomorrow or Thursday and then I'll set it up while my wife is still using her current, slowing dying machine.

1. Over time I've found that Windows does not like separating My Documents and subsidiary directories such as My Music and... The directory that I need to relocate on her machine is My Pictures. I do not want to eat up expensive real estate on her primary SSD drive with this stuff. I plan on moving the My Pictures that by default lives under C:\My Documents to the second drive. Is there way to handle this location change other than cut/paste that would make the OS more okay with the new location and other applications (Picasa for example)?

2. I want both our directories (except for obvious system stuff) to be totally available to each of us from each of our individual computers. Currently with her XP and my Win7 I could get to her stuff but not the other way around. Is there a global Win7 action that can be initiated on each Win7 computer that will automatically do as I wish from the top of the drive tree down on both drives of her computer and the single drive on my computer?

Mark

markg2 said:

1. Over time I've found that Windows does not like separating My Documents and subsidiary directories such as My Music and...
Mark

I have never found that to be true. I've had my "My Docs" folder on the D drive of my systems since the "My Docs" folder was included in Windows. Was that back in Win 95 or 98? Never caused me any problem ever. I ran XP Pro for over ten years on multiple system with this configuration and now Win 7. Never had a problem.

markg2 said:

2. I want both our directories (except for obvious system stuff) to be totally available to each of us from each of our individual computers. Currently with her XP and my Win7 I could get to her stuff but not the other way around. Is there a global Win7 action that can be initiated on each Win7 computer that will automatically do as I wish from the top of the drive tree down on both drives of her computer and the single drive on my computer?
Mark

That is very simple. I personally don't use the, IMHO the Stupid, Homegroup feature. For one thing it only work with Windows 7 and now 8 and does not work with XP.

All you have to do is Share the drives or folders and give full access. It is also advised to have a password on all accounts. You then turn off the Simple File Sharing option and select Use Passwords.

In all honesty I file the Homegroup feature way to confusing and it only allows access to certain areas of the system.

Now that we're getting specific I'll confess to having gone totally off the reservation on this My Docs thing. Further, now that I'm remembering why I did the following, posting my initial comment was a mistake since my reasoning had basis. I wanted in my data area what I wanted and not what MS decided to drop there. So I created a My Stuff folder and then created (didn't cut/paste or copy) a My Music and My Pictures (...+) under a further level of My Stuff making any connection in the OS totally obscured. If I need to find stuff that the OS wants to place in My Docs I just go to \users\mark\... Sorry about the false alarm on this one but it did serve the purpose of jogging a partially corroded memory<g>

The Share vs. Homegroup is a different story. Like I mentioned initially, for some reason I could never see certain folders on my wife's XP (My Programs for one) from my Win7 and she couldn't see any of my Win7 stuff despite my efforts to allow sharing at both ends. Based upon you saying that Homegroups has self limitations I'll again try the share route particularly since both computers will be Win7.

One question that should help is where on my Win7 would I find precisely how my computer is defined (part of a workgoup or something else and what name it's been given) so that when I'm prompted by her OS to join a network or whatever I'll maybe get it right the first time--which would be an unusual and welcome change.

With standard, Old Style Sharing, you should not be prompted to Join anything. You should be asked to type in a Username and password for that username to gain access to Everything that is Shared on the other LAN computer.

I own multiple computers, several in my home, desktops and a couple of notebooks both Windows and Mac, running a mix of XP and 7 along with OS X 10.7 and 10.8 on the Mac. I can get to every computer and every file on all those computer.
I have the same username and password on all of them, as they are all mine so why would I want a different username and password on each, but even when I take a system home to work on (part time Tech Support for friends/family and paid) all I have to do to log on to any of my personal computers is to enter my username and the password and I'm IN. Everything I have shared is accessible to me from that other system. Same goes if I need to go from one of my PC/Mac to the system I am working on, IE enter the Username and password for that computer and I have access to everything that is shared on that computer.

I personally have never worked with the Windows Homegroup system or used the XP version, Simple File Sharing. To me neither of those things are simple as they Restrict access to what MS THINKS should be shared and nothing else.

Also if you are running some type of Network/Internet security/virus software they are notorious for restricting access and doing it Willy Nilly at any time. Even turning them off sometimes does not stop them from blocking access to LAN computers.

I don't know maybe I have been lucky but I have never had any problems sharing, accessing, computers using the tried and true, old school, system. That is why Ethernet was first invented, to Link computer together over a Local Area Network.

>>>>You should be asked to type in a Username and password for that username to gain access to Everything that is Shared on the other LAN computer. I have the same username and password on all of them, as they are all mine so why would I want a different username and password on each<<<<<

You know, I've been conjuring up what password to use for the new computer since I'll be running/setting it up while she's still working her existing and didn't realize the credentials could be the same--excellent news.

The username is something else. I've been under the misconception(?) that you needed to have the Username 'Administrator' so as to have administrator rights once logged in. If that notion is incorrect, and it seems as if it is, how is it that you obtain those rights when using the established credentials?

I've run Norton 360 for years on both machines and didn't notice a problem. However, now that you mention same could be a problem even when turned off I'll test the sharing BEFORE installing N360.

Lastly and speaking again of sharing is there 1 command that will allow sharing of all non system folders down the tree or do you need to BOTH tell the system to all sharing and then right click each folder (and tediously) to allow the sharing of that folder?

Mark

Simple answer is Use the Same Username and Password that she Now uses. You can have Hundreds/Thousands of computer all having the same Username and password. All that has to be different is the Computer Name. Usernames and passwords are for Logging onto the computer not how it is seen on the LAN. The computer name is how it is seen on the LAN.

I share Drives and give myself, my username, Full Access, as they are MY Computers. That is all done in the sharing section of the drive or folder properties. I also add myself, my username, to the security section and again give myself Full Access, IE Full Control.

What I do not do is take ownership or change the inheritable permission of any system folders or to the ROOT of any drive. You could do that in XP but if you try it in 7 you will screw up the system making you have to Reinstall.