Sharing Windows and Program Files folders

Ken Blake, MVP wrote:


Although the \Windows folder itself is unlikely to have anything
needed by another computer on the network, a subfolder beneath
\Windows might. For example, another computer might want to copy a
font in \Windows\Fonts.

Possibly


Similarly, a subfolder of \Program Files might have data files or
configuration files within it, and that too might be useful to a user
on another computer on the network running the same application.

Very unlikely these days with XP.......

Gordon wrote:

Ken Blake, MVP wrote:


Although the \Windows folder itself is unlikely to have anything
needed by another computer on the network, a subfolder beneath
\Windows might. For example, another computer might want to copy a
font in \Windows\Fonts.

Possibly


Similarly, a subfolder of \Program Files might have data files or
configuration files within it, and that too might be useful to a user
on another computer on the network running the same application.

Very unlikely these days with XP.......


Not as unlikely as all that. For example, I run a little freeware program
called AllChars which lets me type many common special characters (many of
these are used in other languages) by pressing the ctrl key followed by a
two character mnemonic combination. It has an .ini file providing its
customization settings in \Program Files\AllChars. When I installed the same
file on my laptop, I wanted to copy that ini file there.

\AllChars, beginning with the letter "A," was the first example I found when
I looked through the \Program Files folder here. If I were to look further I
could almost certainly find other examples.

But I'm not arguing that either of these is terribly likely--rather my point
is that "There's absolutely NO point in sharing..." is much too strong a
statement.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
But I'm not arguing that either of these is terribly likely--rather
my point is that "There's absolutely NO point in sharing..." is much
too strong a statement.

I think that where I was coming from is that if the OP has to ask about
this, then sharing folders like C:\programs and C:\Windows could lay the OP
open to all sorts of dangers.....

I really don't want to be rude, Gordon, but why is it so hard to get through
to you?

Two examples -- I may want to be able to copy files from the Favorites
folder or from the Desktop folder of one computer to another. Both are in
the Windows folder and I cannot do what I want to do unless I can share that
folder. See also the examples which Ken provided -- as he says, they may
not be likely, but who are you to say that they should not be possible?

As I said in an earlier post, "I actually want to share all folders, and
I'm quite happy to accept the risks that may entail." You replied to that
post, so I presume you must have read what I said.

Thank you to others for the helpful suggestions -- looks like XP Pro is the
way to go.

--
Lindsay Graham
Canberra, Australia
-----------------------------------
Please reply via the newsgroup/mailing list, so that all may benefit from
the discussion.

"Gordon" wrote in message
...
Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
But I'm not arguing that either of these is terribly likely--rather
my point is that "There's absolutely NO point in sharing..." is much
too strong a statement.

I think that where I was coming from is that if the OP has to ask about
this, then sharing folders like C:\programs and C:\Windows could lay the
OP open to all sorts of dangers.....

Gordon wrote:
Lindsay Graham wrote:

Thanks, Malke -- I'll try your suggestion for the particular example
that I gave.

I don't want to go into all the reasons here, but I actually want to
share all folders, and I'm quite happy to accept the risks that may
entail.



There's absolutely NO point in sharing the Program Files folder OR the
Windows folder - you can't DO anything with them, or with files within them
over the network.


I just got through, a few days ago, moving the object code of
some old DOS games from my older computer to the new one,
which doesn't have a diskette drive, by sharing Program Files.
The alternative would have been to copy the installation
diskettes to CDroms and install from them. Worked like a
charm.

Lindsay Graham wrote:
I use WinXP Home SP2. I want to be able to share ALL folders (not just
those that Microsoft thinks I should) across a small home network which
comprises XP and 98SE computers.


Then you'll need to obtain and install another, less secure OS. Or
give up on the idea of any security whatsoever and format the hard drive
as FAT32 and then re-install WinXP and the applications.


One simple example of why I want this is
so that my wife can save a file to the Desktop of my XP computer (which was
easy to do when I used a Win98 computer).

Research suggests that I should be able to do this by booting the XP
computer in Safe Mode and then sharing the relevant folders.


What research? Where did you find documentation that claims you can
share protected operating system folders or files?


But I've done
that (and at the WinXP end, it appeared to share successfully). But from
the Win98 computer, I still cannot access the desired XP folders.

Any ideas on how I can do this?

PS I'm finding Microsoft's constraints according to how it thinks we should
operate increasingly frustrating!!



Then use another OS, one that meets your particular needs. There are
many alternatives from which to choose.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Anthony Buckland wrote:


I just got through, a few days ago, moving the object code of
some old DOS games from my older computer to the new one,
which doesn't have a diskette drive, by sharing Program Files.
The alternative would have been to copy the installation
diskettes to CDroms and install from them. Worked like a
charm.

That's not a very common occurrence these days, is it?

Lindsay Graham wrote:
I really don't want to be rude, Gordon, but why is it so hard to get
through to you?

Two examples -- I may want to be able to copy files from the Favorites
folder or from the Desktop folder of one computer to another. Both
are in the Windows folder

Eh? No they are not. Are you SURE you are using Windows XP?

Lindsay Graham wrote:

Two examples -- I may want to be able to copy files from the Favorites
folder or from the Desktop folder

Another point - the Desktop is NOT designed to have files and folders stored
in it - it is VERY easily corrupted. Use another folder (like Shared
Documents perhaps - which IS designed to share documents - hence the name)
to do this.

OK, OK I was in a hurry and you've been annoying me. Windows on Win98,
Documents and Settings in WinXP where the same sharing problems apply.

--
Lindsay Graham
Canberra, Australia
-----------------------------------
Please reply via the newsgroup/mailing list, so that all may benefit from
the discussion.

"Gordon" wrote in message
...
Lindsay Graham wrote:
I really don't want to be rude, Gordon, but why is it so hard to get
through to you?

Two examples -- I may want to be able to copy files from the Favorites
folder or from the Desktop folder of one computer to another. Both
are in the Windows folder

Eh? No they are not. Are you SURE you are using Windows XP?

Why? I choose to copy files temporarily to the Desktop from time to time
and I want to continue to do that (note that I did not say anything about
storing them there).

Why do you always want people to do things the way YOU perceive they ought
to be done? It'd be a lot more helpful if you attempted to help people do
the things they want to do -- or suggest alternatives --instead of always
finding reasons (which may or may not be relevant -- in my case, usually
irrelevant) why they should not do what they want to do.

--
Lindsay Graham
Canberra, Australia
-----------------------------------
Please reply via the newsgroup/mailing list, so that all may benefit from
the discussion.

"Gordon" wrote in message
...
Lindsay Graham wrote:

Two examples -- I may want to be able to copy files from the Favorites
folder or from the Desktop folder

Another point - the Desktop is NOT designed to have files and folders
stored in it - it is VERY easily corrupted. Use another folder (like
Shared Documents perhaps - which IS designed to share documents - hence
the name) to do this.

Thanks for your suggestions, Bruce. It's tempting to try another OS, but I
really do not have the time to do that just now. Maybe that'll be a project
for next year.

The research was searching through newsgroup archives, but the earlier
replies on this thread indicate that it can only be done with XP Pro.


--
Lindsay Graham
Canberra, Australia
-----------------------------------
Please reply via the newsgroup/mailing list, so that all may benefit from
the discussion.

"Bruce Chambers" wrote in message
...
Lindsay Graham wrote:
I use WinXP Home SP2. I want to be able to share ALL folders (not just
those that Microsoft thinks I should) across a small home network which
comprises XP and 98SE computers.


Then you'll need to obtain and install another, less secure OS. Or give
up on the idea of any security whatsoever and format the hard drive as
FAT32 and then re-install WinXP and the applications.


One simple example of why I want this is so that my wife can save a file
to the Desktop of my XP computer (which was easy to do when I used a
Win98 computer).

Research suggests that I should be able to do this by booting the XP
computer in Safe Mode and then sharing the relevant folders.


What research? Where did you find documentation that claims you can share
protected operating system folders or files?


But I've done that (and at the WinXP end, it appeared to share
successfully). But from the Win98 computer, I still cannot access the
desired XP folders.

Any ideas on how I can do this?

PS I'm finding Microsoft's constraints according to how it thinks we
should operate increasingly frustrating!!



Then use another OS, one that meets your particular needs. There are many
alternatives from which to choose.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

The desktop is a folder like any other. Files are not more corruptable.

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to lose a war in Iraq
http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/1335#comment-48641
=================================================
"Lindsay Graham" wrote in message ...
Why? I choose to copy files temporarily to the Desktop from time to time
and I want to continue to do that (note that I did not say anything about
storing them there).

Why do you always want people to do things the way YOU perceive they ought
to be done? It'd be a lot more helpful if you attempted to help people do
the things they want to do -- or suggest alternatives --instead of always
finding reasons (which may or may not be relevant -- in my case, usually
irrelevant) why they should not do what they want to do.

--
Lindsay Graham
Canberra, Australia
-----------------------------------
Please reply via the newsgroup/mailing list, so that all may benefit from
the discussion.

"Gordon" wrote in message
...
Lindsay Graham wrote:

Two examples -- I may want to be able to copy files from the Favorites
folder or from the Desktop folder

Another point - the Desktop is NOT designed to have files and folders
stored in it - it is VERY easily corrupted. Use another folder (like
Shared Documents perhaps - which IS designed to share documents - hence
the name) to do this.

There is no problem with doing this so what are you doing wrong?

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to lose a war in Iraq
http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/1335#comment-48641
=================================================
"Lindsay Graham" wrote in message ...
OK, OK I was in a hurry and you've been annoying me. Windows on Win98,
Documents and Settings in WinXP where the same sharing problems apply.

--
Lindsay Graham
Canberra, Australia
-----------------------------------
Please reply via the newsgroup/mailing list, so that all may benefit from
the discussion.

"Gordon" wrote in message
...
Lindsay Graham wrote:
I really don't want to be rude, Gordon, but why is it so hard to get
through to you?

Two examples -- I may want to be able to copy files from the Favorites
folder or from the Desktop folder of one computer to another. Both
are in the Windows folder

Eh? No they are not. Are you SURE you are using Windows XP?

Not sure what you mean, David. Here's my original post -- the ensuing
exchange suggests that I can only do what I want to if I switch to XP Pro.
Do you have any other suggestions?

"I use WinXP Home SP2. I want to be able to share ALL folders (not just
those that Microsoft thinks I should) across a small home network which
comprises XP and 98SE computers. One simple example of why I want this is
so that my wife can save a file to the Desktop of my XP computer (which was
easy to do when I used a Win98 computer).

"Research suggests that I should be able to do this by booting the XP
computer in Safe Mode and then sharing the relevant folders. But I've done
that (and at the WinXP end, it appeared to share successfully). But from
the Win98 computer, I still cannot access the desired XP folders.

"Any ideas on how I can do this?

"PS I'm finding Microsoft's constraints according to how it thinks we
should operate increasingly frustrating!!"
--
Lindsay Graham
Canberra, Australia
-----------------------------------
Please reply via the newsgroup/mailing list, so that all may benefit from
the discussion.

"David Candy" . wrote in message
...
There is no problem with doing this so what are you doing wrong?

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to lose a war in Iraq
http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/1335#comment-48641
=================================================
"Lindsay Graham" wrote in message
...
OK, OK I was in a hurry and you've been annoying me. Windows on Win98,
Documents and Settings in WinXP where the same sharing problems apply.

--
Lindsay Graham
Canberra, Australia
-----------------------------------
Please reply via the newsgroup/mailing list, so that all may benefit from
the discussion.

"Gordon" wrote in message
...
Lindsay Graham wrote:
I really don't want to be rude, Gordon, but why is it so hard to get
through to you?

Two examples -- I may want to be able to copy files from the Favorites
folder or from the Desktop folder of one computer to another. Both
are in the Windows folder

Eh? No they are not. Are you SURE you are using Windows XP?