Windows 7: "Advanced Sharing" gone from most folders' context menu

This request for help concerns my INability to access "advanced sharing" on most folders in Windows Explorer on a Windows 7 Home Premium computer (Computer C). This is a new problem. It used to be easy to do.
I am not talking about sharing the root folder, the Program Files folder, the Windows directory, or similarly restricted folders. This is not a network problem: Computer C can access all available shared folders on the LAN, it just can't be set up to add it's own.

After re-load by Best Buy (using my backup DVDs) of Windows 7 Home Premium, individually sharing many folders is no longer possible as it was before, and as it still is possible on other network computers that use Windows 7. One of these other network computers uses 7 Professional (Computer A), another one (also) uses Windows 7 Home Premium (Computer B). I easily could have caused the problem inadvertently in the setup proceedure that follows the first use of an OS.

The problem computer, C, now provides "advanced sharing" on the root folder and on the \Users subfolder. It does not provide that option on the context menus of most other folders. Instead , the "share with" context menu line leads into a drop-down with choices of "Nobody", "HomeGroup (Read)", "HomeGroup (Read/Write), "Specific people".

No HomeGroup is currently active on the machine, and I would like to have "Share with" lead to "advanced sharing" on most folders, so that they could be individually shared.

This Computer C (Windows 7 Home Premium OS) must share -- allowing full control -- folders and files with a number of XP computers, making HomeGroups uninteresting as method of sharing.
(Further, for different reasons, no computer on this LAN has IPv6 activated/checked, and it is undesirable to do so.)



I would like to RE-establish on Computer C (Windows 7 Home Premium OS) the system that allowed most individual folders to be individually selected for network sharing. Some of these are subfolders under a User's account folder (Music, Documents), others are subfolders of the C:\ root folder (\utilities, \system notes, \setup files).
This computer needs to be able to share these folders using "advanced sharing", as all the other Windows 7 computers on the network do. While any method to make "advanced sharing" of these folders would solve the basic problem, it would be nice to have the "advanced sharing" option available via "share with" on the context menu.

It is possible, that when turning the machine on for the first time, I may inadvertently have agreed to have a HomeGroup established. If so, I tried to cancel the setup of the HomeGroup, and apparently succeeded. Currently, neither the control panel nor windows explorer shows that a HomeGroup exists. Further, in trying to remove the context menu "HomeGroup" sharing listings, I have used services.msc to disable both HomeGroup listings. Under Network and Sharing Center>Advanced Sharing Settings>HomeGroup connections, I have tried both
- Turn OFF password protected sharing under password protected sharing and
- Allow Windows to manage HomeGroup connections under HomeGroup connections
and neither setting has restored "advanced sharing" to the context menu for most folders.

It is currently possible to use "advanced sharing" to share the folder "Users" on the hard drive, but that is a very time-consuming way of working on files 4 subfolders below that.

I would be very grateful for suggestions that would solve this problem!!!! I would be happy to change registry keys, should that be necessary. (I would like to avoid having to re-load the OS off the backup DVDs, but would do it, if necessary.)

Not to be rude , Bro Why u r Using different kind of editions ? Ultimate has all the features that Other Versions Like Home Premium , Home Proffessinal thats why such Collision Occurs . Windows 7 starter will not allow us to change the Desktop background , when u using Proffessional and Home Premium ,Vice versa You may loss some features ! Go to Ultimate Win 7

How about using workgroup ? Its simple and efficient in nuclear networks ! share a folder who needs to access and if a particular user should not use means Apply NTFS Permissions with admin account by going to the desktop system !! Why Chaos, Seriously ?

These tutorials may help you to restore the default folder behavior.

Folder View - Reset All Folders

Folder View Settings - Reset All to Default

Thanks for the thoughts, surensach. You are right, but in most cases the computers came with those OS, "free", and setting up 8 to 9 computers with a single, desired, OS would not be cheap. As to a work group, one exists and is used.
The LAN consists of
- a DHCP router (that also supplies the DNS of the ISP) and
- a work group, of which all compters are members.
(The LAN is not part of a domain-based network.)

Thanks for the links chev65. I read them and ran
64-bit_Windows_7_Reset_All_Folders_To_Default_Folder_Views.reg

Unfortunately, it didn't work.

The problem isn't really a folder view problem, it's a network and sharing problem, which by coincidence is visible in the Explorer context menu.

Happy to try other suggestions!

Hi,

chev65 was on the right path all the time.

The problem was entirely due to my stupidity and laziness. When I was setting up the new machine, I forgot to turn OFF sharing wizard under Folder Options. I have been punished: I had just reloaded Windows, and was setting up this newest reload, when I started the Folder adjustments and realized I had never finished them the last time. Thank you all VERY much for your patience and help.

I figured it had something to do with those tutorials but I wasn't sure where you were at on your end.

I always have the sharing wizard enabled but I guess that leaving it off would make it show the advanced sharing settings.