mapping network drives

schlitzschlitz Milwaukee, WI
edited August 2010 in Science & Tech
i recently put together a new desktop machine (xp pro) and now i'm attemping to access its drives from my laptop (xp home). both are on the same wireless network, same workgroup. i've mapped network drives many times in the past with no problems. simply enable sharing and bingo--drive is visible on the network, map the drive and done. now, i can see the shared drives on my laptop, but for some reason, it is asking for a username and password when i attempt to map the drive. no matter what i enter here it just brings the log on window back up and will not log on. i've never seen this before, usually it will just connect right up without requiring a username and password. i was able to map my laptop drive to the desktop machine with no problems. worked just as it always has...never asked for username and password. i'm guessing there has to be a setting on the desktop machine that needs changing, but i can't for the life of me figure out what. i've tried everything i can think of.

excuse my ignorance here...i would put my networking knowledge at slightly above average, but i'm certainly no pro. i just want to map the drives on my desktop so i can access them from my laptop. i've done this before, but this is the first time i've had this problem. ????

your help is appreciated. thanks!!

Comments

  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited August 2010
    you need to enter a username and password of an account on the PC hosting the share. Under XP you used to be able to simple share stuff but Vista rquires user authentication. My asumption is that this has been included on XP in a service pack. It prevents anyone that hacks onto your wireless network from accessing your file shares
  • schlitzschlitz Milwaukee, WI
    edited August 2010
    RichD wrote:
    you need to enter a username and password of an account on the PC hosting the share. Under XP you used to be able to simple share stuff but Vista rquires user authentication. My asumption is that this has been included on XP in a service pack. It prevents anyone that hacks onto your wireless network from accessing your file shares

    thanks, except no matter what username/password i enter, it just keeps bringing up the log in prompt and does not successfully log in. i made sure the user account on the desktop had a password set and has administrator rights...still no go. what is the correct syntax for the username? right now it is [computername]\[username]...am i missing something? how come i can connect from the desktop to the laptop (running XP media center) without having to enter a username or password? it just connects right up...mapping a drive took me all of five seconds. any ideas why mu username and password is not being accepted when trying to connect to the desktop from the laptop?
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited August 2010
    Difficult to say without knowing what accounts you have set up. I will use a hypothetical example below... By the way have you at anypoint changed the name of your account?

    Desktop setup
    PC Name: Desktop
    User Name: schlitz
    Password: XXX

    When you try to connect to your desktop from your laptop you get the popup appear asking you for logon details in username type //Desktop/schlitz and then whatever your password is when you log onto your desktop in the password box. If that doesn't work my guess would be that it is to do with permissions on the fileshares on your desktop. Try the logon details above and see how you get on...
  • schlitzschlitz Milwaukee, WI
    edited August 2010
    RichD wrote:
    Difficult to say without knowing what accounts you have set up. I will use a hypothetical example below... By the way have you at anypoint changed the name of your account?

    Desktop setup
    PC Name: Desktop
    User Name: schlitz
    Password: XXX

    When you try to connect to your desktop from your laptop you get the popup appear asking you for logon details in username type //Desktop/schlitz and then whatever your password is when you log onto your desktop in the password box. If that doesn't work my guess would be that it is to do with permissions on the fileshares on your desktop. Try the logon details above and see how you get on...

    i think you have that incorrect. i'm pretty sure it should be "Desktop\schlitz", right? well, today i created an entirely new account called "network user" just to see if it would work. i gave the account administrator rights and made sure to add it in the permissions for each share with full read/write ability. still have the same problem. the prompt on the laptop when i try to map the drive just will not accept the password, even though i KNOW it is correct. when i enter the username (using "desktop\network user") and password, the prompt just cycles, leaving the username i entered but seemingly not taking the password. no error or message of any sort is given. the prompt just comes right back up asking for a password again. this is getting pretty ridiculous. i've never had issues like this before just trying to set up a simple share over a network.

    any other ideas? your help is greatly appreciated. thanks.
  • kikxz_jrkikxz_jr
    edited August 2010
    schlitz wrote:
    i think you have that incorrect. i'm pretty sure it should be "Desktop\schlitz", right? well, today i created an entirely new account called "network user" just to see if it would work. i gave the account administrator rights and made sure to add it in the permissions for each share with full read/write ability. still have the same problem. the prompt on the laptop when i try to map the drive just will not accept the password, even though i KNOW it is correct. when i enter the username (using "desktop\network user") and password, the prompt just cycles, leaving the username i entered but seemingly not taking the password. no error or message of any sort is given. the prompt just comes right back up asking for a password again. this is getting pretty ridiculous. i've never had issues like this before just trying to set up a simple share over a network.

    any other ideas? your help is greatly appreciated. thanks.
  • kikxz_jrkikxz_jr
    edited August 2010
    kikxz_jr wrote:
    i guess i have to add something here.... (the computers are connected to the same network right?...should u give a name for it..the default is MSHOME) and the PC you are connecting or sharing into must have a name also, for the default is like a series of A1:B2:C3:D4...and so on...SOME SORT of...right?..(if you change the options from the properties of my network places)

    got no more options.....(try this...it should help)

    SOLUTION
    step 1:go to my computer.. R-click properties.....replace computer name......
    step 2:then replace work group as you want
    step 3:restart system
    step 4:do this as well to any computer u would like to connect to the network
    Reminders: (computer names must differ from each other)
    (work-group should be the same as the others)
    (start sharing folders and everything)
    (start searching computers on local networks)
  • schlitzschlitz Milwaukee, WI
    edited August 2010
    kikxz_jr wrote:
    i guess i have to add something here.... (the computers are connected to the same network right?...should u give a name for it..the default is MSHOME) and the PC you are connecting or sharing into must have a name also, for the default is like a series of A1:B2:C3:D4...and so on...SOME SORT of...right?..(if you change the options from the properties of my network places)

    got no more options.....(try this...it should help)

    SOLUTION
    step 1:go to my computer.. R-click properties.....replace computer name......
    step 2:then replace work group as you want
    step 3:restart system
    step 4:do this as well to any computer u would like to connect to the network
    Reminders: (computer names must differ from each other)
    (work-group should be the same as the others)
    (start sharing folders and everything)
    (start searching computers on local networks)

    yeah, they are both in the same workgroup. here is what i have:

    workgroup name: the den
    desktop name: desktop
    laptop name: skippy

    i can see everything i'm attempting to map from the laptop. all shared drives are visible on the network. at this point it just seems like it won't accept any possible password i try. as a last-ditch effort, i will change the workgroup name and rename both computers and see what happens. i'm completely stumped here. thanks for your help...
  • schlitzschlitz Milwaukee, WI
    edited August 2010
    this is just driving me absolutely nuts. i renamed both machines and renamed the network. i'm still at square one. i can see all the shares from both machines. i can connect to a share on my laptop from my desktop, no problem at all. in fact, it NEVER even asks for a username or password. i STILL cannot connect to the visible shared drives on my desktop from my laptop. when i try to map it, it asks for a username and password but WILL NOT, no matter what i do, let me log on. it gives no error message, just pops up again asking for username and password. why does one machine ask for this and one not?? i even ran "net user guest" from a cmd prompt to check that the net guest acct was enabled, and it is. i've just about had it.

    the network is working fine. i can see everything that is shared from both computers. it's got to be a user or password issue, even though i've made sure that there is only one user account on the desktop machine, and obviously it has full administrator rights. damn, this is completely ridiculous.
  • trolltroll Windsor, Nova Scotia Icrontian
    edited August 2010
    Your problem with trying to access shares on the desktop is probably this, once you turn off Simple Sharing... Password etc all come into play:

    You might have turned it off at some point...


    Quoting M$:
    Simple File Sharing is always turned on in Windows XP Home Edition-based computers. By default, the Simple File Sharing UI is turned on in Windows XP Professional-based computers that are joined to a workgroup. Windows XP Professional-based computers that are joined to a domain use only the classic file sharing and security interface. When you use the Simple File Sharing UI (that is located in the folder's properties), both share and file permissions are configured.

    If you turn off Simple File Sharing, you have more control over the permissions to individual users. However, you must have advanced knowledge of NTFS and share permissions to help keep your folders and files more secure. If you turn off Simple File Sharing, the Shared Documents feature is not turned off.

    To turn Simple File Sharing on or off in Windows XP Professional, follow these steps:
    Double-click My Computer on the desktop.
    On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.
    Click the View tab, and then select the Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) check box to turn on Simple File Sharing. (Clear this check box to turn off this feature.)
  • RichDRichD Essex, UK
    edited August 2010
    Have you at any point renamed your user acount on your desktop?
  • schlitzschlitz Milwaukee, WI
    edited August 2010
    troll wrote:
    Your problem with trying to access shares on the desktop is probably this, once you turn off Simple Sharing... Password etc all come into play:

    You might have turned it off at some point...


    Quoting M$:

    troll, you were right! simple file sharing WAS turned off on the machine. BUT, unfortunately, that did not solve the problem.

    i enabled simple file sharing on the desktop and rebooted. now when i try to connect to the shares from my laptop, i STILL get a log on prompt, but this time it has the username greyed out and autofilled with "computername\Guest" and it still will not accept any password. what account should i be logging in to the machine as? the desktop only has one user account which has never been renamed since the initial install of XP, and the guest user account is not turned on. so i would assume i would want to log in as this user, no? i tried clicking on the option "log in as different user" when mapping the drive, and it then allows me to enter a different computer\username, but it STILL will not accept my password. we're getting closer here...i can feel it...
  • trolltroll Windsor, Nova Scotia Icrontian
    edited August 2010
    Good possibility that the files were shared under normal sharing, therefore acls come into play barring you from connecting.

    1. I'd remove all previous shares from the Desktop and reboot it.

    2. Disable the Firewall on the Desktop just to be sure it's not causing your problem. I've also seen Norton Internet Security play havoc with shares before after someone has "Tried" to configure it. So disable anything Firewall-ish You may have as well.

    3. With the Simple file sharing turned on recreate the folders you want shared Selecting "Just Enable File Sharing" instead of the Wizard.

    3. Give the share a name that is different than the share name you gave it before, and check "Allow Network Users to Change Files" (Temporary for now)

    4. On the Laptop select from the Tools menu "Disconnect Network Drive" and remove all Mapped Drives.

    5. Recreate the Mapped Drives again.

    You should have access to files. :)

    After it all works then you can enable your firewall / norton / internet security etc... and see if it stops again. You can also remove the "Allow Users to Change Files" if you do not want that.

    Good Luck!

    ** If you still have no joy with this then you will have to create the same user on each machine with the same password, Disable Simple Sharing on the desktop, and that has to work.

    (Unless someone has played with the Policy Editor on the Desktop then it's a whole other can or worms.)
  • schlitzschlitz Milwaukee, WI
    edited August 2010
    troll wrote:
    Good possibility that the files were shared under normal sharing, therefore acls come into play barring you from connecting.

    1. I'd remove all previous shares from the Desktop and reboot it.

    2. Disable the Firewall on the Desktop just to be sure it's not causing your problem. I've also seen Norton Internet Security play havoc with shares before after someone has "Tried" to configure it. So disable anything Firewall-ish You may have as well.

    3. With the Simple file sharing turned on recreate the folders you want shared Selecting "Just Enable File Sharing" instead of the Wizard.

    3. Give the share a name that is different than the share name you gave it before, and check "Allow Network Users to Change Files" (Temporary for now)

    4. On the Laptop select from the Tools menu "Disconnect Network Drive" and remove all Mapped Drives.

    5. Recreate the Mapped Drives again.

    You should have access to files. :)

    After it all works then you can enable your firewall / norton / internet security etc... and see if it stops again. You can also remove the "Allow Users to Change Files" if you do not want that.

    Good Luck!

    ** If you still have no joy with this then you will have to create the same user on each machine with the same password, Disable Simple Sharing on the desktop, and that has to work.

    (Unless someone has played with the Policy Editor on the Desktop then it's a whole other can or worms.)

    no dice, man. i removed the shares from the desktop, rebooted, and reset the shares with new names. i don't run norton or any other firewall besides the windows firewall, and i can already see an exception set for file and printer sharing. i made sure none of the shared drives were mapped on the laptop, and i even rebooted the laptop for good measure. same results. when i try to map a drive, it still asks for username and password, autofilling the username with "computer\guest" and my admin password does not work. i only have one active user account on each computer, and the username and password is the same on both.

    now here's where things may get ugly...in my efforts to troubleshoot this problem over the past two weeks, i actually DID go into the policy editor and i may have changed some things...i can't quite remember. is there a way to reset the policy editor back to defaults? or am i looking at reinstalling XP?

    all of your information thus far has been a huge help...i've felt closer to resolving this issue since you started helping me than i have been yet. thanks so much!
  • trolltroll Windsor, Nova Scotia Icrontian
    edited August 2010
    You are quite Welcome!

    Nasty bit o' gear that policy editor...

    Here is M$'s take on resetting to default policy.
    http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;313222

    *Note*
    This solution does not restore all security settings that are applied when you install Windows.

    and

    After you complete these steps, standard user accounts may no longer appear on the log on screen when you start your computer or try to switch users. But they can be added back easily.

    (I have never done this... We got a few machines in that were policied by someone else a long time ago and after playing with them for a few days, certain things just didn't work so the quickest fix was a reinstall.)

    I hope the Reset works but...
    (Sometimes a flush is a good thing to get rid of the lingering $hit that hangs around. :) )

    Good Luck schlitz!
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