File sharing was so easy with Windows Xp , but its really crumble some in windows vista and the upcoming new variant windows 7. For users who are not sure with file sharing and network discovery in Windows Vista and Windows 7 here are simple steps that will help you to share files and folders over your network with out any password protection and enable your shard folder network discovery. this post also include as to how you can manage your shared folders all at one place.
Steps for sharing files over the network :-
N.B. :- Make sure you are connected to your local network before you proceed.
- We will start from very scratch and basics, first you need to confirm that you have file sharing activated on the connection you are using. To do so go to you Control Panel and navigate to network and sharing center . You will see option to change your lan adapter settings clicking on it you will be able to see the network cards installed on your system, right click on the connection  and then click Properties. Do make sure you have activated File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks and finally click OK.
2. Now go back to Network and Sharing Center window, check the network location type of your computer. its preferred to use  Private network since you are using file sharing in home network location type is Public change it to Home or Private but there is no problem even if you are using public network.
3. Now navigate to Change Advance Sharing Settings and check options. First enable network discovery so that others users will be able to see your share and next is to turn off password protection because what is the use of sharing a folder if you have a password applied to it and then apply the settings.
4.Now its time to share some solders. select the folder you want to share by right click and navigate to properties. Now click on share button on the sharing tab.File Sharing window will appear. since we have already disabled the password protection select the Guest or Everyone (if he account user does not exists add them ) account.
5.Now change the file permission for the account you have added i.e. READ; READ-WRITE , Contribute . I personal would prefer only read access.
6.Finally share the file by applying the settings.
7. Thats all your folder is now shared over your network.
Once you have shared files over your network it becomes tough to monitor all the folders you have shared if you have shared many files now here are steps to manage all your shared folder at one place. here you can who is currently accessing your shared folder.
- Open Manage window by right click option on your My computer icon.
- Navigate to shared folder option in the left side  bar. Here you will find three options :-
- Shares :- This tab shows the folders you are sharing over your network. you can even disable the sharing of a folder from here.
- Sessions :- This section shows you currently active sessions.
- Open Files :- This section tells you the folder that are currently being accessed by other users on the network
- Disable the folder you wish to remove from sharing and then apply the settings
I have tried my level best to make this tutorial as simple as possible. If you have any additional query please feel free to ask through the comment section. Don’t forget to share the post with your friends on twitter and FaceBook.
This posting help me to get files and folders visible on the Windows -7 and my two other computers operantion on Vista. However, there must be something wrong with the file premission set on the Win 7 OS because you can see the files but not access them. Any suggestions to get this working?
Well you can check the permission in the advance sharing tab in the sharing section.
Hi, I’m trying to share a folder on my main computer. Here’s my setting:
Windows7
-No Homegroup –> Old School Sharing
-I’ve created a new user on the sharing computer called ”share” with a password on it so i can give this user rights to the shared folder (other users from my network can access this shared folder with this username/pass.
Everything is set up for a normal file sharing, but i dont know why.. it seems that neither of the two computer can reach each other. I cant even do Remote assistance.
If you need more info about my network settings, just ask. thx!
Phil
Well all i can say is that check your file wall status and any other third party software that provide firewall security coz sometimes they block all the incoming connection ..
Hi
I have a new computer windows 7. Which is acting as mainframe computer. I cannot share the data file with other older computer with windows vista and xp.
can you help me. All computers can access and see each other for file sharing, but I cannot open it. No permission or denying access.
Please help me asap. thank you very much for your time.
mayvan
All i can suggest is that you add “everyone” to the sharing list in the advance sharing option and then disable the password protection in the advance setting option.
If you want to share file and folders between terminals i would suggest you to use a small program called “netscan” which scans for all the shared resources of the terminals in the network and help us to access them easily.
Many thanks for this great explanation !!
Hi – I have upgraded to Win 7 – before my machine was running Vista. I have another machine also running Vista with a file share on it – just one directory – since the upgrade I cannot access the share – I was able to access the share before I moved to Win 7- when I click on the network and the machine name it comes up asking for a username and password …Â
All you need to do is turnoff the password protection in your network as already mentioned above.
Excellent, I was having a lot of issues trying to share a folder from 7 to Vista, following your steps was the easiest way ever!
Thanks .. Happy To Help
My problem, denied file sharing, is common to many users, according to other forums. I have a Vista64 Home Premium desktop connected via a Linksys WRT54G2 Router and ethernet cable to a new Win7 Home Premium 32-bit laptop. I am succesfully on Internet on both machines. I can “see” the hard drive partitions from each machine to the other. The Win7 machine correctly identifies the partitions as “shared”. The Vista machine does not, even though they are all set to “share”. The Vista machine identifies the new Win7 machine as “Windows Professional”, as if it has never heard of Win7. Both machines deny access to the files on the shared partitions. Note my network worked “successfully” with an XP desktop (retired with dead motherboard a week ago) , only I had full access to the XP files from Vista, but not from XP to Vista.
I think my problem lies with the Vista machine, because it has always blocked partition sharing. I run a licenced copy of AVG on both machines set for private/home, with Win firewall disabled. I’ve tried as many of specific permissions as forums have suggested, with no luck. Most well meaning suggestions repeat the standard written procedures, so unless there is a nuance that I am missing, there is something else to be addressed. I have seen my issue described exactly on other posts, but have not seen a verified “fix”. NOTE THAT I SET MY SHARING TO ENTIRE PARTITIONS, not the hundreds of individual files. All references are to “fiIe” sharing. Is that part of my problem? I welcome any ideas.
Thank you!!!! I had managed the vaguaries of Windoze Vista and then brought a Windoze 7 laptop into the network and coulodn’t get rid of the sign on screen for sharing. It was so simple once I read this page!
Thanks …
Thanks Ashish!! finally both the laptops are connected….thanks a lot!
You are most welcome
Hi there, thank you, I followed the steps and it works crystal clear.
Cheers Per
thank you. I found your article to be very helpful. mm
Excellent tutorial I have been fighting with various systems across the network and this made it a quick fix. Great work! Good article I am definitely bookmarking your site. dreamerkid.com