Sharing Win7 Files w/ WinXP

Hello,

I've read the post about sharing WinXP files with Win7. My issue is just the reverse. From my Win7 computer, I have no problem with accessing the WinXP station shared resources. In my attempts to share certain resources on my Win7 computer with the rest of my network I have completed the following:

1) Shared specific directories (folders) in the traditional manner by selecting the share option on the folder right-click drop-down menu.

2) Accessed Home Group (which, by the way, does not have any effect with previous versions of Windows) and Sharing Options.

3) Turned on Sharing options in Advanced Sharing Options. (PUBLIC folder sharing disabled because no files are needed from there)

4) Created Home Group which was inaccessible by previous versions of Windows.

5) Rebooted entire network to no avail.

So... what am I missing? If anyone can fill in any holes I've overlooked or give me other suggestions, I am open to them.

Config: Toshiba Satellite A665
Intel i3 Core proc
Win7 Pro 64-bit
500G HD 7200 rpm
4G RAM
Intel Centrino Wireless A/B/G/N

Thanks!

qballrail said:

Hello,

I've read the post about sharing WinXP files with Win7. My issue is just the reverse. From my Win7 computer, I have no problem with accessing the WinXP station shared resources. In my attempts to share certain resources on my Win7 computer with the rest of my network I have completed the following:

1) Shared specific directories (folders) in the traditional manner by selecting the share option on the folder right-click drop-down menu.

2) Accessed Home Group (which, by the way, does not have any effect with previous versions of Windows) and Sharing Options.

3) Turned on Sharing options in Advanced Sharing Options. (PUBLIC folder sharing disabled because no files are needed from there)

4) Created Home Group which was inaccessible by previous versions of Windows.

5) Rebooted entire network to no avail.

So... what am I missing? If anyone can fill in any holes I've overlooked or give me other suggestions, I am open to them.

Config: Toshiba Satellite A665
Intel i3 Core proc
Win7 Pro 64-bit
500G HD 7200 rpm
4G RAM
Intel Centrino Wireless A/B/G/N

Thanks!

Not to berate "homegroup" but on some systems ( especially with older hware) it has connectivity, and sharing issues because of IPv6. You can easily test it by making a new network connection using "workgroup"


Ken

[QUOTE=zigzag3143;867770]

qballrail said:

Hello,



Not to berate "homegroup" but on some systems ( especially with older hware) it has connectivity, and sharing issues because of IPv6. You can easily test it by making a new network connection using "workgroup"


Ken

As a usual practice, I place all machines on my network in the same "workgroup." Although it is not specifically named this, and I am not sure it matters WHAT name used (I get your point about using "workgroup"), but that is something I've tried. My apologies for omitting that one step.

That said, it seems the ONLY sharing options Win gives me are Nobody, Homegroup (read & read/write) and Specific people. Apparently, the final option requires a new user to be created. I don't want to have to create another user on my computer as I am the only user so it boots right into the desktop.

This is getting frustrating. It seems for all of the grand and glorious changes, improvements, and enhancements, MS forgot or intentionally made sharing more complicated. Homegroup really is a crock.

So, IS it actually possible to share Win7 files with other computers running previous versions of Windows? If so, please let me in on this seemingly deep, dark secret! I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks!

The deal is that Homegroups is simply not made to work with Op systems other than Windows 7. There is nothing wrong with it other than people attempting to make it work with older Op systems that it's not designed to work with. You will need to leave the Homegroup that you created first thing.

Although there still is no way to share with individual users unless you create another user account on the same machine. This was true with Vista and XP.

As for getting Xp to share with a Windows 7 machine, it's easier than you think but you do need to follow directions for that to work. If you have problems after following these directions than most likely your A/V software is blocking the connection.
How to make Windows 7 work with older Windows versions for networking and file sharing.

Sharing files and printers with different versions of Windows - Help & How-to - Microsoft Windows

chev65 said:

The deal is that Homegroups is simply not made to work with Op systems other than Windows 7. There is nothing wrong with it other than people attempting to make it work with older Op systems that it's not designed to work with. You will need to leave the Homegroup that you created first thing.

After originally creating a homegroup, I have since removed it because it does not work with previous OS, as you said. That was discovered by trial-and-error.

chev65 said:

Although there still is no way to share with individual users unless you create another user account on the same machine. This was true with Vista and XP.

On the contrary. XP & Vista were actually sharing without creating a new UA. Which is why I am frustrated that 7 won't share w/ XP or Vista.

chev65 said:

As for getting Xp to share with a Windows 7 machine, it's easier than you think but you do need to follow directions for that to work. If you have problems after following these directions than most likely your A/V software is blocking the connection.
How to make Windows 7 work with older Windows versions for networking and file sharing. Sharing files and printers with different versions of Windows - Help & How-to - Microsoft Windows

Thanks for that info. I am, however, able to access the XP station's shared resources INCLUDING a printer (and use it), believe it or not. I will check both of these links in any event in case I've missed something.

So, in summary, I am able to access the XP shared resources from 7. No access in reverse with either OS, XP or Vista. I guess I could just copy what I want to share onto my NAS device where every station has access, but that's cumbersome. There has to be a way to share w/ previous platforms though. It just doesn't make sense to increase security to PREVENT the end user from sharing out. One would think that on a Home Network (not to be confused w/ homegroup) this would be allowable while obviously not on a Public connection.


I hope this makes sense...

qballrail said:

chev65 said:

The deal is that Homegroups is simply not made to work with Op systems other than Windows 7. There is nothing wrong with it other than people attempting to make it work with older Op systems that it's not designed to work with. You will need to leave the Homegroup that you created first thing.

After originally creating a homegroup, I have since removed it because it does not work with previous OS, as you said. That was discovered by trial-and-error.

chev65 said:

Although there still is no way to share with individual users unless you create another user account on the same machine. This was true with Vista and XP.

On the contrary. XP & Vista were actually sharing without creating a new UA. Which is why I am frustrated that 7 won't share w/ XP or Vista.

chev65 said:

As for getting Xp to share with a Windows 7 machine, it's easier than you think but you do need to follow directions for that to work. If you have problems after following these directions than most likely your A/V software is blocking the connection.
How to make Windows 7 work with older Windows versions for networking and file sharing. Sharing files and printers with different versions of Windows - Help & How-to - Microsoft Windows

Thanks for that info. I am, however, able to access the XP station's shared resources INCLUDING a printer (and use it), believe it or not. I will check both of these links in any event in case I've missed something.

So, in summary, I am able to access the XP shared resources from 7. No access in reverse with either OS, XP or Vista. I guess I could just copy what I want to share onto my NAS device where every station has access, but that's cumbersome. There has to be a way to share w/ previous platforms though. It just doesn't make sense to increase security to PREVENT the end user from sharing out. One would think that on a Home Network (not to be confused w/ homegroup) this would be allowable while obviously not on a Public connection.


I hope this makes sense...

In that case, and assuming that you followed the Workgroup set up procedure correctly, if you still can't see the Windows 7 machine then your A/V is blocking it, plain and simple. The problem is that you will usually need to uninstall completely your A/V to fix these types of problem.

Networking between these Op systems works perfectly I can assure you but, people do not understand that A/V's no matter which ones you are using will cause endless problems with sharing.

Chev: You're correct about A/V's causing havoc on sharing. I'll look into that as well as ITGirl's suggestion about the firewall and let you know the results.

Thanks for replying... it's not over til it's over... ugh. ;(

Should not matter what workgroup is specified, so long as all computers on the network are in the same group. That said, all stations including my NAS are in the same group. When attempting to access Win7 shared files from the XP station, and the following message appears:

//[Win7] is not accessible, you might not have permission to use the network resource. Contact your admin.. bla bla bla Logon failure: user account restriction. Possible reasons are blank passwords are not allowed, logon hour restrictions, or a policy restriction has been enforced.

Admittedly, I have not password protected the only enabled account on the computer.

NAV is set to allow access by other network computers, Windows Firewall is disabled by Norton.

What am I missing?

Okay, oddly enough, I had to turn ON Homegroup! While I can now access my shared folders, everything under Users is accessible to the network, which is a bit more than I wanted. I guess I can't complain, I have the access I was looking for...

Thanks for your input.