Win XP cannot access its own files on Workgroup

We set up a 3 computer network – XP, ME, 95. ME & 95 can access all
files on the network including the XP. ME and 95 can print on a printer
attached to XP. The problem is XP cannot access any shared Workgroup
files from within the workgroup, INCLUDING THOSE RESIDING ON THE XP.
When the XP attempts to access a Workgroup shared folder residing on its
hard disk we get the following error:

“\\Xp\Sharedfoldername 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 access permissions.

Incorrect function.”

We get a similar error when we try to access ME or 95.

XP is running Windows XP Pro SP2.

What’s causing this and how do we correct it?

Hi,

I had a similar problem. I am on a peer-to-peer network with 2 colleagues
and upgraded to a new XP-pro machine; all machines are aconnected to a
wireless router. I could access the internet, but could not access the
workgroup -- got the same error message you did -- or the printer sitting on
the network. I tried a million things and went through all the
diagnosistics, talked to the people at my computer manufacturer, and
generally learned a lot more about networking than I really wanted to.
Anyway, I finally focussed on the Norton anti-virus stuff that came installed
with my computer. Turns out that this software is not only anti-virus but
also has a Norton firewall (I left the XP Firewall on but enable file and
printer sharing and other exception). So I went to security in the Norton
program, clicked on personal firewall, then the networking page. On the
networking page, I ran the "wizard", which allowed me to list my office's
wireless network as a trusted site. Et voila -- printing and file sharing
are now possible. Of course, being fairly clueless about these things, I
might have exposed myself to dangers from the internet. I take no
responsibility if you follow this advice. In any case, the XP firewall is
still enabled.

Why I received a box configured like this is a mystery. Why the
manufacturer who shipped this to me doesn't understand that shipped a
computer with a firewall with no "trusted" sites will choke off communication
is also a mystery. I guess most of their customers are companies with
full-time IT guys.

Good luck.


"Newsgroupie" wrote:

We set up a 3 computer network – XP, ME, 95. ME & 95 can access all
files on the network including the XP. ME and 95 can print on a printer
attached to XP. The problem is XP cannot access any shared Workgroup
files from within the workgroup, INCLUDING THOSE RESIDING ON THE XP.
When the XP attempts to access a Workgroup shared folder residing on its
hard disk we get the following error:

“\\Xp\Sharedfoldername 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 access permissions.

Incorrect function.�

We get a similar error when we try to access ME or 95.

XP is running Windows XP Pro SP2.

What’s causing this and how do we correct it?

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 11:19:44 -0500, Newsgroupie *email_address_deleted* wrote:

We set up a 3 computer network – XP, ME, 95. ME & 95 can access all
files on the network including the XP. ME and 95 can print on a printer
attached to XP. The problem is XP cannot access any shared Workgroup
files from within the workgroup, INCLUDING THOSE RESIDING ON THE XP.
When the XP attempts to access a Workgroup shared folder residing on its
hard disk we get the following error:

“\\Xp\Sharedfoldername 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 access permissions.

Incorrect function.”

We get a similar error when we try to access ME or 95.

XP is running Windows XP Pro SP2.

What’s causing this and how do we correct it?

Check the browser service on the WinXP computer. Control Panel - Administrative
Tools - Services. Verify that the Computer Browser shows with Status = Stopped
and Disabled. Enable the browse master on the Win95 and WinME computers
(reverse the instructions here):
http://cms.simons-rock.edu/faq_by_subtopic/node138.html

After checking / disabling / enabling as above, power all computers off to reset
the browser settings on each. Then power each computer back on.

The problem is that the browser on Windows 9x (95, 98, ME) doesn't work well
with the browser on Windows NT/2K/XP. Since two of your computers are Windows
9x/ME, you need to use those browsers, and disable the Windows XP browser.

The Microsoft Browstat program will show us what browsers (I'm not talking about
Internet Explorer here) you have in your domain / workgroup, at any time.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305

You can download Browstat from either:
http://www.dynawell.com/reskit/microsoft/win2000/browstat.zip
http://rescomp.stanford.edu/staff/manual/rcc/tools/browstat.zip

Browstat is very small (40K), and needs no install. Just unzip the downloaded
file, copy browstat.exe to any folder in the Path, and run it from a command
window, by "browstat status", on the XP computer.

For more information about the browser subsystem (very intricate), see:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188001
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=188305
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winntas/deploy/prodspecs/ntbrowse.mspx

The browser requires anonymous access, so look at registry key
[HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa], value restrictanonymous.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/en-us/default.asp?url=/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/en-us/regentry/46688.asp
http://www.jsifaq.com/subf/tip2600/rh2625.htm
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=246261
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=296403

The above articles refer to Windows 2000. Remember WinXP is NT V5.1, and Win2K
is NT V5.0.

Have you used the Registry Editor before? If not, it's a scary tool, but it's
pretty simple once you get used to it. Here are a couple articles that might
help:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/default.asp?url=/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/tools_regeditors.asp
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/registry

Just remember to backup the key (create a registry patch) for
[HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa] before making any changes, if
appropriate.

BTW, posting your email address openly will get you more unwanted email, than
wanted email. Learn to munge your email address properly, to keep yourself a
bit safer when posting to open forums. Protect yourself and the rest of the
internet - read this article.
http://www.mailmsg.com/SPAM_munging.htm

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.

Will this also work an a 2-computer network with both running XP?

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 23:37:01 -0800, "MIke Scott"
wrote:

Will this also work an a 2-computer network with both running XP?

For a 2-computer network, you need the browser running on one computer only.
Which one doesn't matter here - if either computer is down, you don't need the
browser. Just make sure it's running on one, but not the other.

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net