Before you enable file sharing, it's a good idea to confirm that the networked computers can communicate. Use the PING command to confirm the connections.

After successfully creating the basic connection between the computers on your network, configuring drive and folder sharing is an easy process that you can complete in just a few minutes.

Thanks to WinXP's Simple File Sharing technique, drive and folder sharing in WinXP Home Edition and WinXP Professional is quick and painless. Click Start and My Computer, then browse to the hard drive or folder that you want to share. Right-click it and click Sharing And Security. If you clicked a drive, WinXP displays a warning indicating that sharing the root of a drive isn't a great idea. Indeed, access to a hard drive lets someone change or delete system files, particularly if you're sharing the drive where WinXP is installed. But if you trust the users on your network and properly secure your Internet connection, sharing a drive root shouldn't be a problem—just be sure to explain to your network users that they shouldn't touch your system files. To continue, click If You Understand The Risk But Still Want To Share The Root Of The Drive, Click Here.

If this is the first time you're sharing a drive or a folder, another warning will appear. The warning indicates that you should use the Network Setup Wizard to configure sharing, but it doesn't tell you why. This wizard functions the same as if you manually configured your sharing, but it automatically turns on the ICF. Because you're using an alternate firewall, however, and because ICF can interfere with file sharing, stick with
the manual process. Click Just Enable File Sharing and click OK.

Unfortunately, Windows XP's ICF (Internet Connection Firewall) can prevent file sharing on a home network, so you'll need to use an alternate software or hardware firewall to secure your Internet connection.

The warning message goes away, leaving the Properties dialog box for your shared drive or folder, with the Sharing tab selected by default. Under Network Sharing And Security, click the Share This Folder On The Network checkbox and then type a name for the shared drive or folder in the Share Name field. Use a name that will be easy for other network users to recognize. For example, use "Joe's Pictures" instead of "Stuff" or "Pix." Also under Network Sharing And Security is the following option: Allow Network Users To Change My Files. If you select this option, other users can read, modify, or even delete all files stored on the drive or in the folder, so carefully consider the consequences before selecting it. Click OK when you're finished.

To connect to the shared drives or folders, click Start, click My Network Places, and then double-click the computer on the network you want to access. (Its name is usually the same as the person's username.) Double-click the icon representing the drive or folder you want to open. If My Network Places doesn't appear on the Start menu, right-click the Start button and click Properties. Click the Customize button on the Start Menu tab, choose the Advanced tab, click the My Network Places checkbox in the Start Menu Items box, and click OK.


Modify & Restrict Access

Sharing drives and folders in WinXP is easy enough, but you'll need to take some extra steps if you want to restrict access to certain network members. There aren't obvious settings for restricting shared drives or folders, but there is a trick you can use that works well. Right-click the drive or folder you want to restrict from certain network members, and click Sharing And Security. Click the Share This Folder On The Network checkbox, type in a share name, and add a dollar sign ($) to the end of the name (for example, type Letters$) and click OK.

When you share a folder on the network, use a descriptive name that network users can easily recognize.

This restricted folder won't appear on any of the computers on the network, but by mapping it as a network drive, network members can make it appear on their computers. For example, if you don't want your son to access the Letters$ folder from his computer, you don't need to do anything. But if you want to allow access to the folder from your spouse's computer, click Start and My Computer (on your spouse's computer), click Tools, click Map Network Drive, and select an unused drive letter in the Drive drop-down menu. Type the name of the shared folder in the Folder field, click the Reconnect At Logon checkbox, and click Finish. Repeat this process on each computer that you want to be able to access the folder.

If you're using WinXP Professional, you can also assign individual levels of sharing permission for each user on your network, but the process is a bit more complicated. First, you need to disable Simple File Sharing. Click Start and My Computer, click Tools, and click Folder Options. Select the View tab, scroll to the bottom of Advanced Settings, and deselect Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) checkbox. Click OK.

Next, you need to create user profiles for each user on your network. Click Start, click Control Panel, and click User Accounts. Click Create A New Account, type in a username for the network member, and click Next. Click the Limited radio button under Pick An Account Type, and then click Create Account. Click the new user account, click Create A Password, and type in a password that the network member will remember. Click the Create Password button, then repeat the entire new user account process for each network member.

Windows XP's Simple File Sharing feature makes folder and drive sharing a snap, but you'll need to turn it off if you use WinXP Professional and want control over user permissions.

Now it's time to configure your shared folders with permissions. In Windows Explorer (click Start, All Programs, Accessories, and Windows Explorer), right-click a folder you want to share and click Sharing And Security. Click Share This Folder, and if you want to change the name of the folder as it will appear on the network, type the new name in the Share Name field. Next click Permissions, click Everyone, and then click Remove. Click Add and type in a user account name that you added earlier in the Enter The Object Names To Select field. To add multiple usernames, type a semicolon (;) and a space after each username and type in another username. Click OK.

Back in the Permissions dialog box, click a username and then click to allow or deny actions for the user in the Permissions section (such as Change or Read). Repeat this process for each user. When you finish, click OK, and then choose the Security tab. (If you don't see the Security tab, you don't need to complete any more steps.) Click Add and type the usernames that you added in the Permissions dialog box, separating usernames with only a semicolon and a space. Click OK, and then click OK on the previous dialog box.

To open shared folders with permissions (also called "shares"), network users need to be logged into their computers using the usernames you created on your WinXP computer. With this in mind, it's a good idea to create user profiles using the same names that your network members use to log on to their Windows environments. If a computer running Windows 98 or Windows Me is configured to bypass the logon process, you can check to see what user is currently logged on to the computer by clicking Start and looking at the Log Off ( username), where username indicates the user currently logged on to the computer. If the correct user isn't logged in, the user will need to click Log Off (username) and log on again with the username you provided for the shares. If the Log Off command appears on the Start menu without a username, no specific user is logged on and the user will need to click it and log on.

Network members using WinXP might be prompted to provide a username and password when they connect to shares, unless those users also have user accounts with identical usernames and passwords on the computer they're trying to reach.


Share & Share Alike

When configuring your shared network, take time to analyze what you're actually sharing. Although you might fully trust the members on your network, it doesn't always make sense to share your entire hard drive, because network members could accidentally alter or delete important files. Scenarios such as this are particularly damaging because when someone on the network deletes one of your files, it doesn't appear in your Recycle Bin—it's gone for good.

There is usually an element of trial and error in a newly shared network, so use it to your advantage. Share one or two folders at first, and as your network members grow accustomed to file sharing, expand it slowly to encompass more information and new potential uses. Over time, you'll discover more reasons to take advantage of your network's sharing structure.

by Christian Perry