Vista - Another XP and Vista Sharing Problem

I am having problems with sharing folders between all my computer. I have
just recently obtained a new notebook with windows vista on it. Ever since
then, I have been reading all kinds of threads but so far nothing has worked.
I have seen on most threads that comps see each other and such, and once I
changed my work grp on my vista, the computers where able to see it but the
vista still cant see them. I have four computers that are in this network
setup this way...

Desktop - XP Home - LAN
Notebook 1- XP Home - WLAN
Notebook 2 - XP Home - WLAN
Notebook 3 - Vista Home Premuim - WLAN

Now all of my xp's can share files without any problems. I am a beginner on
networking setups and so I dont know a whole lot, so if there is any
information that you can provide, it will be very appriciated. Thank you....

Cody M wrote:
> I am having problems with sharing folders between all my computer. I have
> just recently obtained a new notebook with windows vista on it. Ever since
> then, I have been reading all kinds of threads but so far nothing has worked.
> I have seen on most threads that comps see each other and such, and once I
> changed my work grp on my vista, the computers where able to see it but the
> vista still cant see them. I have four computers that are in this network
> setup this way...
>
> Desktop - XP Home - LAN
> Notebook 1- XP Home - WLAN
> Notebook 2 - XP Home - WLAN
> Notebook 3 - Vista Home Premuim - WLAN
>
> Now all of my xp's can share files without any problems. I am a beginner on
> networking setups and so I dont know a whole lot, so if there is any
> information that you can provide, it will be very appriciated. Thank you....

This link will take you through Vista networking very well:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/net.../vista_fp.mspx

Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally
caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two
firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party
firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on
all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating
system does not permit it.

Here are some general networking tips for home/small networks:

1. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network
(LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing
File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network
Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.The only
"gotcha" is that this will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you
aren't running a third-party firewall or have an antivirus with
"Internet Worm Protection" (like Norton 2006/07) which acts as a
firewall, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually
configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be
192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct
subnet. Do not run more than one firewall.

2. With earlier Microsoft operating systems, the name of the Workgroup
didn't matter. Apparently it does with Vista, so put all computers in
the same Workgroup. This is done from the System applet in Control
Panel, Computer Name tab.

3. Create identical user accounts and passwords on all machines. If you
wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular
user's account) for convenience, you can do this. The instructions at
this link work for both XP and Vista:

Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

4. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center:

a. If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user
accounts/passwords on all computers.

b. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the
Simple File Sharing enabled.

Simple File Sharing means that Guest (network) is enabled. This means
that anyone without a user account on the target system can use its
resources. This is a security hole but only you can decide if it matters
in your situation.

I think it is a good idea to create the identical user
accounts/passwords in any case when Vista machines are involved and it
isn't an onerous task with home/small networks.

5. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
Shared Documents folder. See the first link above for details about
Vista sharing.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Yeah, That site is what brought me here. I did everything on that and it was
what helped me put vista in the same work group as the other computers and
now that is why they can see it, but that is where ive left off on my
previous post. The vista just cant see the other computers and the deal with
the firewalls is that I have no clue what to do. Like I said before Im new to
networking and anything with it. I have norton on the vista and none of the
other computers have any. So that is pretty much where I am right now. Thanks
for the respond though....

Cody M wrote:
> Yeah, That site is what brought me here. I did everything on that and it was
> what helped me put vista in the same work group as the other computers and
> now that is why they can see it, but that is where ive left off on my
> previous post. The vista just cant see the other computers and the deal with
> the firewalls is that I have no clue what to do. Like I said before Im new to
> networking and anything with it. I have norton on the vista and none of the
> other computers have any. So that is pretty much where I am right now. Thanks
> for the respond though....

If you have a program, you need to figure out its options. Go into the
Norton (cr*ppy) program and find its options for allowing the LAN as
trusted. I wouldn't have a Norton product on any of my machines so I
can't tell you where to look. Or as a better solution, uninstall the
Norton garbage and use a better antivirus (NOD32, Kaspersky, even Avast
if you want free) and the Windows Firewall. Although I can't see your
computer from here, I'm going to guess that Norton is causing your issue.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Thank you very much. It was the Norton and they helped me trust the other
computers and now I am able to connect to them that way. Not as easy as xp
but now it works...

Cody M wrote:
> Thank you very much. It was the Norton and they helped me trust the other
> computers and now I am able to connect to them that way. Not as easy as xp
> but now it works...

Glad to hear you figured it out. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User