Intermittent XP-Seven sharing problem

[Mark Phelps]

Am using an XP machine as a central point for sharing files (not running a Server OS) and have set up multiple drives/folders for read-only sharing. Works fine with the other Windows machines (mix of Xp, Vista, and Seven).

But, if the XP box is not used for a while, it will go into power saving mode. Any attempts to access it from the Windows 7 box after that get rejected due to "insufficient permissions". So, I wake up the XP box -- but that doesn't fix it.

I have to reboot the XP box, and after it is fully up, I have to reboot the Seven box. Only then can I connect to the shares on the XP box again.

Same is true if I turn on the XP box after the Seven box is up an running.

BTW, I often use this arrangement to stream audio from the XP box, and it's really aggravating if I leave the room for a while, notice when I return that the XP box is in screen saver mode, and can no longer access the music folders from the Seven box -- and have to shut down and reboot both machines to restore access.

So, is there a way to force the Seven box to refresh its access of the XP box -- without having to go through the reboots?

 

[Mark Phelps]

No replies in a month! Fortunately, I was able to figure this out.

 

[alchmist]

I would love to know how you solved this problem

I've been beating my head against the wall the last couple of weeks, as I have encountered the same problem. I have intermittent access to the XP box (which is acting the server for the rest of the house) from the Windows 7 laptop. The other XP laptops and desktops work just fine. Any insights you might I have I would appreciate!

Thanks in advance.

 

[aem]

So you have set the XP machine to never turn off (HDD and all), and it still goes to power saving state?

Have you also tried the Wake-on-Lan option for the XP?

 

[dungbeetle]

I've been beating my head against the wall the last couple of weeks, as I have encountered the same problem. I have intermittent access to the XP box (which is acting the server for the rest of the house) from the Windows 7 laptop. The other XP laptops and desktops work just fine. Any insights you might I have I would appreciate!

I am having a similar problem and would love to know what the solution is. This has been going on for months and is very frustrating! A few more details:

• With everything booted up fresh, I can access shares on my Win 7 Home machine just fine.
• After several hours (usually overnight) my XP machine can no longer access the Win 7 Home shares.
• However, the XP box can still ping the Win 7 Home box.
• And the XP box can still access shares on a different Win 7 Ultimate machine.
• The Win 7 Ultimate machine never loses access to the Win 7 Home shares.
• If I reboot the Win 7 home machine, all is working again - until sometime during the next night.
• All machines are on a workgroup (not a homegroup) with the same name.
• As far as I can tell, network settings are the same on both Win 7 machines.

Any ideas?

 

[Mark Phelps]

Sorry folks ... I committed the very same "sin" that I berate others for -- I solved a problem and didn't say how.

I discovered that if the XP machine is booted after the Win7 box is running, opening the Network in file managers doesn't show the XP machine, and the networking panels don't show the machine, either.

Also, I was only concerned with the WIN7-to-XP direction -- because I use the XP machine as a file server. I read files from, and write files to, the XP machine from the Win7 machine. I never use the XP-to-Win7 direction, so I can't help if that isn't working.

Update:
To restore access to the WinXP box, I did the following:
1) opened Network and Sharing Center
2) Clicked See full map
3) Double-clicked the XP box to open it in Explorer

After that, the file managers saw the server box again.

 

[dungbeetle]

You can get off of your high horse about PM requests there big fella. Not expecting your "support", just looking for the solution you said you figured out. Thanks for posting the update!

 

[Mark Phelps]

You can get off of your high horse about PM requests there big fella. Not expecting your "support", just looking for the solution you said you figured out. Thanks for posting the update!

Sorry if I can off a little intense.

Just letting folks know that they need to use the forum, not PM.