Solved Can't Share Users Files After Leaving Homegroup

[always depends]

Hello all,

I have been scratching my head for a few days on this and I'm tapped out and need help.

So here's the setup. File sharing was originally working fine (using traditional method). Then I thought I would try Homegroups. That turned out to not work for me because of many reasons, but the main one was Linux/samba access stopped working. So I thought I could simply leave the Homegroup on all of the PC's and go back to legacy file sharing but I have not gotten that to work.

I need to be able to see \\<host>\\Users\<username> (for only one username, I understand user A cannot see user B's files) across all of the PC's, but it's not working. One footnote: It only works for Administrator, and Public is also visible by all users. But the users cannot access their individual data on remote machines (Users dir). The exact error is not very helpful (Windows cannot access, check spelling).

Here's some highlights of what I've seen, what I've tried, and more details about my setup that might be helpful in this troubleshooting:

• [SIZE=-1]All PC's are Win7 Pro SP1 64 bit (not counting samba machines)[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=-1]Firewall is disabled and not an issue[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=-1]In general the firewall is not an issue because Administrator can see their files, and Public works for everyone[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=-1]Disabled Homegroup services (Homegroup Provider and Homegroup Listener) - services were stopped and set to "Disable" permanently - rebooted after change[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=-1]The users within my network are either members of Users or Power Users, intentionally not members of Administrators group
  [/SIZE]
• [SIZE=-1]No DC - This is strictly a workgroup setup - workgroup names match across all PC's
  [/SIZE]
• [SIZE=-1]"Use Sharing Wizard" is checked in Windows Explorer -> Organize -> Folder and Search Options -> View[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=-1]Network type is "Home" in Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center[/SIZE]
• [SIZE=-1]Network advanced property settings (Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change advanced sharing settings:[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=-1]Home or Work[/SIZE]
    • [SIZE=-1]Turn on network discovery[/SIZE]
    • [SIZE=-1]Turn on file and printer sharing[/SIZE]
    • [SIZE=-1]Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in the Public folders[/SIZE]
    • [SIZE=-1]Media streaming is off (not sure what happened here - it was on yesterday and I did not change it)[/SIZE]
    • [SIZE=-1]Use 128-bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections (recommended)[/SIZE]
    • [SIZE=-1]Turn off password protected sharing[/SIZE]
    • [SIZE=-1]Allow Windows to manage[/SIZE]
      • [SIZE=-1]Tried "Use user accounts and passwords..." as well, did not work[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I've hit a wall. Thanks so much![/SIZE]

 

[chev65]

Hello AlwaysDepends,

You will want to enable all services that were turned off. There is absolutely no reason to turn off any of the Windows services and it will only lead to problems later on. Also, do not turn off the Windows firewall, it does not prevent sharing and is required.

I should also point out that pretty much any third party anti virus software will cause problems with sharing. You can either disable security, uninstall the security completely using the uninstall tool or configure it to work with Windows sharing.

You never mentioned the most important thing, is the main Users folder shared out though the sharing tab?

With Windows 7 besides sharing the User folder you also need to share the C:>Users>User name folders in order for them to be shared. This is sharing 101 but it's important to check these basic steps first because they are easy to miss.

 

[Roderunner]

Hi always depends, welcome to Seven Forums.
Here is one method, but can only be used if the pc your trying to access is ON. View attachment File sharing 2.pdf

 

[always depends]

Hi chev65,

Regarding the Homegroup services being disabled by me - every web site I visited beyond this one said to disable Homegroup services if you have left the Homegroup and don't care to use it again, which describes my situation. If disabling services is such a travesty then Microsoft shouldn't have provided the ability to disable them. I don't agree with your reply on services.

Secondly, your reply about third party virus protection is also not completely accurate. I assume you're implying the only worthy virus scan suite is Microsoft Security Essentials. If you have done any research on that within the past year, you will notice that it has gotten lower and lower reviews, and even MS employees themselves have admitted that it's not the best option out there. Also as I previously mentioned, sharing was fine using third party firewall and third party virus protection until I joined the Homegroup. Leaving the Homegroup has been a pain but the rest of the setup has been static. So therefore sharing was not an issue for me using a third party virus scan and third party firewall. The firewall is also not an issue because Public folders are visible, and Administrator sharing works, using a third party firewall and third party virus scan.

This is most likely going to be a rogue setting somewhere, or an access rights issue.

To answer your other questions:

• I don't think I'd be able to see the Public folder across PC's if Users wasn't shared, but I apologize for assuming that. Yes, the Users folder is shared.
• Yes, I have shared the Users\<username> folders as well. When I click on them, they even indicate they are shared in the status bar but it's not visible for some reason. I tried sharing them using both Administrator accounts and the user's individual accounts, both to no avail.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

 

[chev65]

Hi chev65,

Regarding the Homegroup services being disabled by me - every web site I visited beyond this one said to disable Homegroup services if you have left the Homegroup and don't care to use it again, which describes my situation. If disabling services is such a travesty then Microsoft shouldn't have provided the ability to disable them. I don't agree with your reply on services.

Secondly, your reply about third party virus protection is also not completely accurate. I assume you're implying the only worthy virus scan suite is Microsoft Security Essentials. If you have done any research on that within the past year, you will notice that it has gotten lower and lower reviews, and even MS employees themselves have admitted that it's not the best option out there. Also as I previously mentioned, sharing was fine using third party firewall and third party virus protection until I joined the Homegroup. Leaving the Homegroup has been a pain but the rest of the setup has been static. So therefore sharing was not an issue for me using a third party virus scan and third party firewall. The firewall is also not an issue because Public folders are visible, and Administrator sharing works, using a third party firewall and third party virus scan.

This is most likely going to be a rogue setting somewhere, or an access rights issue.

To answer your other questions:

• I don't think I'd be able to see the Public folder across PC's if Users wasn't shared, but I apologize for assuming that. Yes, the Users folder is shared.
• Yes, I have shared the Users\<username> folders as well. When I click on them, they even indicate they are shared in the status bar but it's not visible for some reason. I tried sharing them using both Administrator accounts and the user's individual accounts, both to no avail.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

There are no rogue settings that I'm aware of, it's probably something simple that is being overlooked, maybe the time/date settings out of sync, despite what you may think third party A/V's are famous for causing problems like this and do so on a daily basis, I'd hate to waste my time here when a third party A/V is involved, been there, done that, way too many times. Good luck on your endeavor.

 

[Slartybart]

May I suggest that since you are here asking for help that you at least consider a member's advice. Ask as many questions as you need to understand why that advice was given - folks are real helpful around here, if you let them.

Chev65 is one of the best around here for networking, there mght have been a quicker resolution had the tone been set differently.

Hi chev65,

Regarding the Homegroup services being disabled by me - every web site I visited beyond this one said to disable Homegroup services if you have left the Homegroup and don't care to use it again, which describes my situation. If disabling services is such a travesty then Microsoft shouldn't have provided the ability to disable them. I don't agree with your reply on services.

I think it was a generalized statement re: AV programs. If you prefer one program over another, no one is going to force a particular app on you. It might be suggested to turn it off or uninstall something as a test. But it's your system - run your preferred apps.

Once in a while, depending on the application, it will be recommended that you remove it from your system to prevent the issue you reported. You can always put it back on to see if the problem returns or if there was an underlying issue that was resolved.

Secondly, your reply about third party virus protection is also not completely accurate. I assume you're implying the only worthy virus scan suite is Microsoft Security Essentials. If you have done any research on that within the past year, you will notice that it has gotten lower and lower reviews, and even MS employees themselves have admitted that it's not the best option out there. Also as I previously mentioned, sharing was fine using third party firewall and third party virus protection until I joined the Homegroup. Leaving the Homegroup has been a pain but the rest of the setup has been static. So therefore sharing was not an issue for me using a third party virus scan and third party firewall. The firewall is also not an issue because Public folders are visible, and Administrator sharing works, using a third party firewall and third party virus scan.

I think you lost his attention.

This is most likely going to be a rogue setting somewhere, or an access rights issue.

To answer your other questions:

• I don't think I'd be able to see the Public folder across PC's if Users wasn't shared, but I apologize for assuming that. Yes, the Users folder is shared.
• Yes, I have shared the Users\<username> folders as well. When I click on them, they even indicate they are shared in the status bar but it's not visible for some reason. I tried sharing them using both Administrator accounts and the user's individual accounts, both to no avail.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I've recently been in some difficult threads, so I'm not sure I'm ready for another shouting match. Luckily, I don't have much experience in homegroups or sharing, so I'll back out of this thread.

Just thought I'd offer my opinions on getting people around here to help you resolve the issue.
If you don't like my opinions, that's ok, but please just mutter under your breath
"Why that #$#%$%$$ so and so... who does he think he is..."

I don't want you to waste your time writing up a flaming response. Time better spent trying to resolve the issue, don't you think. Too much energy is wasted on trival matters.

I hope another member with the experience needed drops by and you are a little more receptive to their advice. I think you lost Chev65 though.

-

 

[always depends]

Fair enough. I will ask questions.

If the firewall is an issue, I would not expect Public to be visible for everyone, and I also would not expect the sharing to work for only the Administrator account. Is that correct? If it is, I think we can rule the firewall out of the discussion completely.

 

[always depends]

I disabled the Bitdefender Total Security firewall and it did not resolve the problem. Should I have worn out my welcome here, I will return to post the answer should others find it useful. Thanks.

 

[Slartybart]

It might take a while for people to shake off that 1st impression. Hang in there, someone will stop in.

As I said, I don't have the expertise to help out on this thread.
I'll watch and learn - good luck.

Bill

 

[always depends]

I tried something new. I tried from the command line and got the following result:

C:\Users\miked>dir \\lombardo\users\miked
Logon failure: the user has not been granted the requested logon type at this computer.

I don't know where to look to fix this, but I'll start poking around the security policies, and continue Googling.

 

[Slartybart]

Hold off on secpol and google (maybe look but don't do)

It's harder to solve issues if you follow more than one path.

I'm taking a look at the tutorial section - there's a ton of GOOD information there.
I'll post a link to any tutorial I find that might apply and help.

Bill

 

[Slartybart]

These might or might not help, but they might give you an Aha!

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/43972-homegroup-add-computer-join.html

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/44464-homegroup-change-file-folder-sharing-settings.html

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/139783-homegroup-allow-prevent-computer-join-windows.html

Take a read of those. I know you said it's when you turn off homegroups.... I said I didn't know enough about homegroups. So I started at the basics.

Then instead of me spoon feeding you links to turorials, you can get comfortable around here and do a few searches. You understand the issue better than I do so you'll be able to be more specific in your searches.

I find it easist to use the search box [google custom search] at the top of every window.
Then instead of reading through hundreds of posts, I click the tutorial tab in the results. This gets me to the known solutions faster. If I don't find a tutorial, then I look through posts.

 

[Slartybart]

I'll take a stab at this one: I'm not certain that you read the answer as it was given.

Without going back to revisit the answer given, I'm going to assume (bad thing) that Chev65 was being more generic - turning off the firewall is not a good idea in general.

Whether or not Public would be visible: I think it would. You might have to cahnge firewall settings to allow certain traffic through, but visible - can't say.

Fair enough. I will ask questions.

If the firewall is an issue, I would not expect Public to be visible for everyone, and I also would not expect the sharing to work for only the Administrator account. Is that correct? If it is, I think we can rule the firewall out of the discussion completely.

 

[Slartybart]

Stick around, you haven't been here that long.

Feedback is great, post what you find.
Wait till someone says "Yeah that'll work" or "No, that's a bad idea" or "Try this"

The trick is no one wants to waste their time. You don't..I don't so if you want members to help, they will. Troubleshooting is a step by step process, a few or 100s of questions are asked. Some things are tried and fail, some things are tried and succeed - that's just the nature of it.

The path of least resistance is always the easiest.
If someone asks "what is the setting of...." then the answer is "That's set to 100"
If someone says do "xyzzy" hten do xyzzy and post the results.
There are some reports that might contian information that should not be made public (look at the results of any operation and strip out anything personal befoer putting in a post)

I disabled the Bitdefender Total Security firewall and it did not resolve the problem. Should I have worn out my welcome here, I will return to post the answer should others find it useful. Thanks.

Ya see what I'm trying to get to?
Post 1 says firewall disabled, the post I'm replying to say I disabled Bitdefender ... firewall.
Good information, calm follow though, assuming nothing -> better faster resolution

Everyone has a different take on the issue, you might not aggree with a proposed suggestion, that's fine.
Take the time to explain your reasoning and ask if there are any other ideas that will help.

You'll get lots of ideas, some good, some not so good. It's really hard when you can't see what you see. It's also really hard when you've tried who knows how many resolutions and don't have an answer. You know all those things that your tried, no one here does, so there is a catch up period.

I'm stepping out of the thread now. I'm not adding any real value.

Bill

 

[always depends]

Stick around, you haven't been here that long.

I disabled the Bitdefender Total Security firewall and it did not resolve the problem. Should I have worn out my welcome here, I will return to post the answer should others find it useful. Thanks.

Ya see what I'm trying to get to?
Post 1 says firewall disabled, the post I'm replying to say I disabled Bitdefender ... firewall.
Good information, calm follow though, assuming nothing -> better faster resolution

Sorry I should have been more clear in the original post. I meant that I disabled the Windows Firewall. I decided to follow up on the Bitdefender firewall but it turned out nothing helpful came of that.

I looked at the tutorials and didn't see anything that I could try, that I haven't already. Thanks a lot for sending those links.

I think this is an access rights issue based on the error I get from the command line:

C:\Users\miked>dir \\lombardo\users\miked
Logon failure: the user has not been granted the requested logon type at this computer.

The usernames and passwords are the same across all PC's so this is really strange.

 

[ComputerGeek]

The usernames and passwords are the same across all PC's so this is really strange.

fyi... Have you also checked Guest? That should also be true for the Guest account too

You might try to telnet to each machine to verify logon access

/* EDIT */
p.s. If a host is set to "Not password protected", then client logon access to the host is via the Guest account

 

[ComputerGeek]

One more thought... If users are having file access errors to their files on remote machines, perhaps you should try "Password Protected" file sharing.

 

[Slartybart]

Here's something easy: Use a System Protection Restore Point (RP) to get the system back to before you tried Homegroups.

This tutorial explains the process: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/700-system-restore.html
Step 7 tells you how to find older RP (people seem to miss this step)

Relax.... It isn't an install - sounds like it though doesn't it?
It doesn't affect user files, it only affects the system stuff.

edit: I was too lazy to go back and read post 1 - just wanted to add that all Windows machines will have to use the above Restore Point suggestion. You probably figured that out already.

 

[always depends]

Hi All,

I finally figured it out and fixed it. I had to go into the Credential Manager for the users on each machine and clear out all references to the HomeGroupUser, and then file sharing started working. There were rules entered for \\remotehost\HomeGroupUser and I had to clear them out. I guess when you leave the Homegroup, this residual information is left behind.

If anyone knows of a way to manage the Credential Manager from the command line, I would appreciate a quick start on that. I could write a login script that would fix everyone up and not have to do it each user on each machine manually.

Thanks all for the help. I really appreciate it, and apologies if I rubbed anyone wrong. That wasn't my intention.

 

[always depends]

If I mark this as solved, can people still add to the thread or is it locked?