Further announcement to make. Contrary to earlier recommendations on these forums, I have now set up a password on the Vista and XP pcs and this has resulted in the following: I now have access to my Vista pc from Windows 7 but I still can't access the XP pc - 'Access denied etc.,etc.' so I think the problem must be related to settings on the XP Home pc. Problem is, how do I set permissions to extend to 'everyone', it would appear you can only do this in Windows XP Professional.

On the machine your trying to access goto start, run type in CMD at the command prompt type in IPCONFIG this will give you the IP address of the machine so you can try the UNC path using the IP vs Hostname While the command prompt is open run the GPUPDATE from it.. see link below for more info on GPUPDATE and what it does http://support.microsoft.com/kb/298444 No you need to create the same local user acnt on all the PC.. open up a MMC console goto Start, run and type in lusrmgr.msc in the users folder create a like account on all PCs with the same password

Please enable Guest account in Windows XP. If it does not help, temparily disable firewall and check the result. On Windows Vista and Windows 7, please turn on "Network Discovery" and "File and Printer Sharing". Turn off "Password Protected Sharing". Make sure that all the shared folders are allowed to be accessed by the Guest account. Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread. ” The Guest Account is enabled in Windows XP. I have also tried temporarily disabling the Firewall but neither has worked. I have also tried the following many times to no effect:- Turn "Network Discovery" and "File and Printer Sharing" on, "Password Protection Sharing" turned off but what settings do I need to check to allow the shared folders to be accessed in the Guest account? When I check the folder in XP Home I cannot see the options that allow this. As the posts to date have not been 100% helpful I have not marked them so that's why they appear as they do. You can be assured that when someone does come up with a solution to this ongoing saga I will be only too delighted to mark it as helpful.

On the machine your trying to access goto start, run type in CMD at the command prompt type in IPCONFIG this will give you the IP address of the machine so you can try the UNC path using the IP vs Hostname While the command prompt is open run the GPUPDATE from it.. see link below for more info on GPUPDATE and what it does http://support.microsoft.com/kb/298444 No you need to create the same local user acnt on all the PC.. open up a MMC console goto Start, run and type in lusrmgr.msc in the users folder create a like account on all PCs with the same password Sorry, I must be a bit thick here but I have run ipconfig, obtained the ip address but how do I get to the next stage in trying the UNC path using the IP vs Hostname. This is something I have never come across before so where do I begin? I ran lusrmgr.msc on the XP Home pc but it returned a Local Users Group Window with the message "This computer is running Windows XP Home Edition. This snapin may not be used with that version of Windows. To manage accounts for this computer, use the User Accounts tool in the Control Panel." I have tested the new 'like user account' created on all machines but I still get the 'denied access' when trying to access Windows XP from Windows 7. At least I can now access the Vista pc from Windows 7 so that's a start. I feel sorry for those who have less experience when it comes to networking between 7 and other OS's.

I have found many well meaning suggestions aimed at helping others like me to resolve this annoying aspect of networking between Windows 7, Vista and XP but it seems like we are all banging our heads against a brick wall. I have tried every suggestion I can find on this and other forums but still my Windows 7 computer cannot access my XP Home or Vista machines. The message I see each time I try is as follows:- "\\WINXP (or \\VISTA) is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have permissions. The account is not authorised to log in from this station." You will of course appreciate that the 'administrator' is myself. I can access files and a printer on Windows 7 from the other two computers providing I place shared files in the public folder ... no problem with this. Before you ask ... Yes, I have checked that all three computers have the same Workgroup Name. Yes, I have got Network Discovery turned on. Yes, I have turned on file and printer sharing. Yes, I have turned off Password protected sharing. Yes, I have set my network location to Work network. Yes, the computers I am trying to access do show in my network window ... each and everyone of them can be pinged from each other. I even have a little utility called Wireless Network Watcher that shows that the IP addresses, MAC addresses and each computer by name can be seen on the network. I think I have exhausted all channels now but if there is something you think I've missed do let me know. Incidentally, I even forked out some of my hard earned pocket money on a downloadable manual on the subject. The author gave me 30 days to prove his manual wouldn't help and after many emails containing screenshots of all the pings and error messages, he conceded that he was baffled and couldn't be of further assistance. He graciously refunded my money.

Have you tried using IP in the UNC path vs hostname ex: \\192.168.1.0\ vs \\joespc\ id also do a gpupdate at a command prompt on all machines just to rule that out as well. also do you have the same account on all pcs.. meaning create a local account with the name user name password on all pcs then give it admin rights and login with it and see if you can access the shares after giving correct permission.

Please enable Guest account in Windows XP. If it does not help, temparily disable firewall and check the result. On Windows Vista and Windows 7, please turn on "Network Discovery" and "File and Printer Sharing". Turn off "Password Protected Sharing". Make sure that all the shared folders are allowed to be accessed by the Guest account.Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

1. Have you tried using IP in the UNC path vs hostname ex: \\192.168.1.0\ vs \\joespc\ 2. id also do a gpupdate at a command prompt on all machines just to rule that out as well. 3. also do you have the same account on all pcs.. meaning create a local account with the name user name password on all pcs then give it admin rights and login with it and see if you can access the shares after giving correct permission. Hi Jason, thanks for responding to my appeal. In answer to your questions 1. I haven't come across this suggestion before and have no idea which path to follow in order to try it. Please elaborate by example. 2. I have done a gpupdate on my Windows 7 and Vista PCs but in the Windows XP Home I get the following message: "gpupdate is not recognised as an external or internal command, operable program or batch file." 3. I tried this months ago but it seemed to create a conflict when the other two computers, Vista and XP Home were unable to see each other. I admit I have come across this suggestion before but unless I am misunderstanding the processes used to create this kind of environment it certainly doesn't work for me. When you ask "Do you have the same account on all pcs?" I assume you mean, have I set the same name of the Workgroup to each PC. If so, the answer is yes. Each PC has its own identity, ie: WINXP, VISTA, WIN7 but there is no password set up on either of them as has been suggested elsewhere many times. The Account Names on my Windows 7 and Vista PCs are identical but it is different on my Wife's XP Home machine. If this doesn't answer your question, perhaps you could elaborate by giving some examples. Giving correct permissions is easy in Windows 7 and Vista but XP Home does not appear to give access to these. I hope this helps and thanks again for responding.

Hi Arthur, I am desperate to get this sorted and have tried all your suggestions but with negative results. I do not understand the comments you make regarding 'Mark as Answer' and 'Unmark as Answer' as I have not found anything helpful at present.

I have already configured the file sharing permissions as suggested but the NTFS permission is a new one to me. Can you explain please?

Please configure both the NTFS permission and the file sharing permission lists. Make sure that Everyone and Guest can access the shared files. The 'Mark as Answer' and 'Unmark as Answer' section is not related to your issues. You can ignore it when troubleshooting. Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread. ”