Fixing Windows XP File Sharing

I ran into a problem similar to this guy’s as posted over on Computing.Net As far fetched as step two sounds, it actually worked for me. I can now share folders between my Windows XP Pro and my girlfriend’s Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Section 1

When you double click on the computer (in My Network Places/Workgroup) that you are trying to access the shared files from you may get this message:

You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions

Logon failure: the user has not been granted the requested logon type at this computer

If you see this message the following should be done on the computer containing the shared files:

1. Download the following and install…
   Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools
   http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=4544
2. After installation is complete, click on: Start, All Programs, Windows Resource Kit Tools, Command Shell
3. Enter the following commands. (Attention: they are case sensitive.)

   net user guest /active:yes
ntrights +r SeNetworkLogonRight -u Guest
ntrights -r SeDenyNetworkLogonRight -u Guest

The first command enables network access for Guest, the two subsequent ones change two different policies to allow network access for Guest.

Now when you click on the computer (using My Network Places) you are trying to get the shared files from, the message will not appear and you can access the shared files. If the same type of error message appears but says ‘ACCESS DENIED’ instead of ‘Logon failure’ continue to the next section.

Section 2

When you double click on the computer (in My Network Places/Workgroup) that you are trying to access the shared files from you may get this message:

You might not have permission to use this network resource. Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions

Access Denied

If you see this message the following should be done on the computer containing the shared files:

1. Click START, Then RUN
2. Type regedit and press enter
3. Find the following key - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa
4. Double click on ‘restrictanonymous’ and change the Value Data from 1 to 0
5. Exit regedit and reboot the computer

Now when you click on the computer (using My Network Places) you are trying to get the shared files from the message will not appear and you can access the shared files.