{"id":138,"date":"2021-08-29T15:14:19","date_gmt":"2021-08-29T15:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/?p=138"},"modified":"2021-10-05T17:00:08","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T17:00:08","slug":"windows-xp-simple-file-sharing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.practicallynetworked.com\/windows-xp-simple-file-sharing\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows XP Simple File Sharing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Windows XP Simple File Sharing<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Windows XP lets you share a computer’s disks and folders with other computers on the network, using a method called\u00a0Simple File Sharing<\/b>. And it really is simple. If a disk or folder is shared, everyone on the network can access it. There are no user permissions and no passwords. Because sharing in this way is so wide open, Windows XP tries to protect you from some potential security risks.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Note: Windows XP Professional has a much more powerful way to
\ncontrol file sharing. For full details, see our article on\u00a0Windows XP Professional File Sharing<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Right click the disk or folder that you want to share and select\u00a0Sharing and Security<\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The disk or folder that you share, along with all of the folders that it contains, will be accessible by other network users. If you’re sharing an entire disk, Windows XP gives a warning. The implication of the warning is that it’s better to share a specific folder, since only that folder (and its subfolders) will be accessible by others, and the rest of the disk will be inaccessible. Click where indicated if you want to go ahead and share the entire disk. This screen doesn’t appear if you’re sharing a folder.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The first time that you set up sharing, Windows XP displays a warning, urging you to use the\u00a0Network Setup Wizard<\/a>\u00a0for safety. Click where indicated to either run the Wizard or to do it yourself.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What great secret does the Wizard know that XP thinks you don’t? The Wizard automatically enables the\u00a0Internet Connection Firewall (ICF)\u00a0<\/a>to prevent other Internet users from accessing your shared disks and folders. If you have Service Pack 2 installed, the built-in Windows Firewall should already be running automatically, unless you turned it off.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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XP displays another warning. If you want the firewall enabled, select\u00a0Use the wizard to enable file sharing<\/b>. Otherwise, select\u00a0Just enable file sharing<\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Having successfully run the Wizard’s obstacle course, you may now specify a\u00a0Share name<\/b>, which users on other networked computers will use to access this disk or folder. For maximum compatibility with all versions of Windows, use 1-12 characters.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

By default, users on other computers have full access: they can read, write, and delete shared files. If you only want them to be able to read files, un-check\u00a0Allow network users to change my files<\/b>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Warning<\/span><\/b>: If a user has full access, deleting a file doesn’t put it in the Recycle Bin. Once it’s deleted, it’s gone for good.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Hiding a Shared Disk or Folder<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

What if you don’t want everyone on the network to be able to access a shared disk or folder? For example:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n