Windows 7 - not getting a login prompt for win7 file share on xp laptop.

i have set up a folder for file sharing on my windows 7 Home premium PC so i can access it one my laptop running windows XP Pro.

when i try to access the Windows 7 shared folder from XP i don't get a login prompt and can access the folder with Read/Write access.

i have Windows 7 set to require a password and if i try to access the same folder from a vista PC i get a log in prompt like i expect but not on XP

On your XP PC are you clicking 'My Network Places' ?

yes i am clicking my network places the view workgroup computers.

whats strange is a few hours later i suddenly started getting the prompt for no apparent reason.

even though things are working now does any one have any idea as to why the prompt wasn't showing up before?

Your credentials were probably cached, so you wouldn't get a prompt until the cache was cleared. There's a local security policy you can change that will prevent password caching.

thanks for the info. since Home premium doesn't allow local policy editing is there a way to clear the cache manually?

Nope, but you can do a little trick that will make Windows automatically enter a wrong password, which will then force a dialog so you can enter the correct password.

Disable network password cache Windows 7 Home Premium

Using this method, worked for me.

File Sharing Set Up.pdf

Although a good guide for sharing in general, it doesn't really address the question of caching network passwords, and how to prevent that from happening on a Home Premium installation (as it doesn't have the ability to edit local security policies).

You can have it set to stop auto connection.

Yes, that's true, but it doesn't stop the caching issue. If you connect to the share, it won't ask for a password if it's been cached.