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Windows XP Home: Sharing Disks and Folders
Once the network has
been checked / configured, you can
access other systems via
"My Network
Places"
To allow other systems to access data on your disks / in your
folders, you have to give
Permission for this : you have to share
your disks and/or folders :
(the procedure for sharing on the Home Edition is different
to Sharing
on XP Professional )
Select the disk to be shared (for example in "My
Computer") and right-click on the disk-icon
to get the context / popup-menu : Select "Sharing
and Security...."

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Compared to previous version of Windows,
Microsoft has put in much more information
to warn users on security issues, and this is
an example : Sharing a complete disk can
be a security problem. |
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Sharing only folders is more
selective and not such a high
security problem :
Once you have selected the
folder to be shared, make
either a Right-click to get the
Context/Pop-up menu and
select "Sharing and Security..."
or select from the
"File and Folder Tasks"
(on the left side) to :
"Share this folder" |
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Different to
previous versions of Windows,
where it is sufficient to just have File and Print
sharing
installed to be able to share, Windows XP suggests
to run first the "Network Setup Wizard" |
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If you know how to handle later the setup of
the firewall, you can select to share files without
running the Network Setup Wizard :
- confirm again, that you just like to enable File
Sharing
and you skip the Wizard.
However, if you are new to networking and not sure
about the security issues, it is a good idea to use the
Network Setup Wizard: |
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The "Network Setup Wizard":
starts up :
it allows to setup different
network configurations,
I am running it here to
Share files and folders.
No selection possible here,
just continue with "Next"
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"Before you continue...."
Microsoft has added a lot of
Help information, which you
should review, if you are not
familiar with an issue.
As an example, see below
the "steps for creating a home
or small office network".
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"Select a connection Method.":
The Wizard can setup your network
to include already Internet Connection
sharing, there are some very well
documented example, which you
should view before continuing. |

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"Other Internet connection
methods":
For this example, I selected
to configure the network
without an Internet Connection
(I will handle that later)
Again, see the example of such
a network in the help. |

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Once you have run the Network
Setup Wizard,
(or if you had decided to skip it),
the checkbox to share become active :
I share my drive, define the name to be displayed
on other systems as the Sharename and I allow
other network users to change my files.
Note: this is different to NT4 and Windows2000,
where I can assign permissions based on
usergroups and even single users, but similar
to the security settings on Windows95/98/ME.
If you need to have User-level security, you need
to use Windows XP Professional.
Unlike Windows95/98/ME,
I could not find
a possibility to protect a network share with
a password : once you have shared a disk or folder,
everyone has access to your data.
I found the following explanation on
Windows XP Simple Sharing and
ForceGuest
in the Windows XP Professional Resource Kit.
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Once a disk or folder is shared,
the icon will show it via the "holding hand :" 

You can check the
usage of the shared resource via the network (files used, users connected).
Unlike the Windows XP Professional Disk /
file Security , Windows XP Home does
not allow
to define security settings in the Properties of a disk or folder
on NTFS formatted drives, because
Microsoft like users with the need for advanced security settings
to purchase the Professional
Edition of Windows XP.
However : The security system is available under Windows XP Home
Edition, if you are
willing to use the Command-prompt to execute the
"cacls" program , below the Online-Help
information ("cacls /?") (or
use "Safe Mode" to define your security settings ) :
Displays or modifies access control lines
(ACLs) of files
CACLS filename [/T] [/E/ [/C] [/G user:perm] [/R user [...]] [/P
user:perm [...]] [/D user [...]]

Another possibility :
"Safe Mode"
When starting up your system, press the F8-key ( before getting
the Windows XP startup screen)
to get to the "Windows Advanced Options Menu"
, where you select to boot in "Safe Mode" :

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When displaying the
"Properties" of a
disk or folder in "Safe Mode",
then also
Windows XP Home (and Windows XP
Professional with "Simple File Sharing = ON")
will display the tab "Security", allowing to
view / change the security settings on a disk
formatted in NTFS. |
More on the Windows XP
Simple Sharing, Security and ForceGuest
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