New to Vista - currently have Vista Home Premium on new HP machine - Other machines on the network are running XP Pro. The Vista machine can access other PC's drives, but the XP machines have trouble accessing the C drive, and printing via printer attached to the Vista machine. The XP machines can access a folder added to the desktop, the public folder, and a file I created sitting in folder C:\Temp. I have "Network discovery", "File Sharing", Public Folder Sharing", and "Printer sharing" set. I have "Password protected sharing" off When I set up the C drive for sharing, I see reference that the drive is being shared, but never had option to change the sharing permissions - e.g, dialog - "Choose people to share with". The "Share" button on sharing tab is not available. Any ideas on why the printer and teh C drive is not accessible?
The method of drive sharing that was popular in XP (known as simple file sharing) is not allowed in Vista. As you have discovered, Vista limits what you can share. I suspect that Vista will not let you share the entire "C" drive because that contains folders that you are not allowed to access, let alone share.
In the future, the most desirable configuration is to use network devices for these functions, and not rely on your workstation for them. I realize this is not the answer you want, but it's the truth that people need to hear about now so they can plan for the future. You'll want your printer to have a network adapter. Plug the printer into a router, and you can can print to it from anywhere on the network. For file storage, get a NAS, Windows Home Server, or set up a Linux or OpenSolaris box with NFS, Samba, or something. In the present, to actually solve the problem now, Windows file sharing works fine in Vista. Just make sure all your Windows boxes have the latest service packs and updates. Vista must be on SP1 + the latest patches. Now make sure you are only running one firewall. If you have a third-party firewall, go into Services and stop and disable Windows Firewall. If you only have Windows Firewall, you need do nothing to it. Second, turn off the one firewall you are now running. This is for testing purposes. You should not be exposed to the Internet at this stage. Third, connect the boxes with network cables, and no WiFi access. Disable WiFi if necessary. Remember that with gigabit ethernet, you don't need a cross-connect cable or adapter if you are connecting machine to machine. In you still have fast ethernet or 10BaseT, you will need a cross-connect cable or adapter. To avoid this, it's easier to just plug both into a router or switch. Fourth, set up File and Print sharing. Test it thoroughly. Fifth, switch to WiFi if that is your desired config, troubleshoot it, and get it working. Sixth, turn on the firewall, and make sure everything is still working. That should do it. Seventh, if you want another fast way to share files, and hate Windows file sharing, you can use Live Mesh. Sign up at mesh.com.
