Using Windows Vista and XP with a Homegroup
If you have two or more Windows 7 or 8 computers, you can set up a homegroup
to simplify sharing libraries, folders, and printers. The HomeGroup
system is based on regular Windows file sharing, so computers running
other operating systems can also participate in your network.
The easiest way to make XP and Vista fit in
with a homegroup is to disable password protected sharing on all your
computers. (Password protected sharing is discussed in the previous
section.) Here are the instructions for doing this on various versions
of Windows:
• Windows 8 and 7—Click
Start (in Windows 8, right-click Start at the bottom-left corner of the
screen), and then click Control Panel, View Network Status and Tasks
(under Network and Internet), Change Advanced Sharing Settings. Scroll
down, and in the All Networks section (which you might need to expand),
select Turn Off Password Protected Sharing, and then click Save Changes.
• Windows Vista—Click
Start, Control Panel, Set Up File Sharing (under Network and Internet).
Click the circular icon with the down arrow to the right of Password
Protected sharing, click Turn Off Password Protected Sharing, and then
click Apply. You might need to confirm a user account control prompt.
(A better alternative: upgrade the computer to Windows 8 or 7).
• Windows XP Professional—Log
on as a computer administrator. Click Start, My Computer. In the menu,
select Tools, Folder Options and then select the View tab. Scroll the
list down to the bottom, check Simple File Sharing, and then click OK.
• Windows XP Home Edition—No adjustments are necessary.
Now Windows 8 and 7 computers will connect to
other Windows 8 and 7 computers using the special HomeGroupUser$
account, but all other combinations will use the Guest account. This
means you need to make sure that resources are shared so that
“Everyone” can use them. In particular, the file security settings for
the shared folder and its contents must be set so that Everyone has
read or read and write permission.
To ensure that this happens, use the following procedures when you’re sharing folders on various versions of Windows:
• Windows 8 and 7—Right-click
a folder or library and select Share With, Share with Homegroup (View),
or Share with Homegroup (View and Edit). Then, right-click it again and
select Share With, Specific People. Type or select Everyone in the
drop-down list, and then click Add. If you want other users to be able
to change the contents of the folder, next to Everyone, click the word Read in the Permissions column and select Read/Write. Click Share to finish.
• Windows Vista—Right-click
a folder and select Share. Type or select Everyone in the drop-down
list and then click Add. If you want other users to be able to change
the contents of the folder, next to Everyone, click the word Reader in
the Permissions column and select Contributor. Click Share to finish.
• Windows XP Professional or Home Edition—Right-click
a folder and select Sharing and Security. Select Sharing This Folder
and click Apply. Select the Security tab. Under Group or User Names, if
there is an entry for Everyone, select it; otherwise, click Add, type Everyone,
press Enter, and select the entry for Everyone. In the lower section
(in the Allow column), Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, and
Read should be checked. If you would like to let other network users
modify the contents of the folder, check Modify. Click OK to finish.
Caution
If you give Everyone permission to change
files, you must be sure that your network is secured. If you have a
wireless network, you must have it set up so that it has WEP or WPA
security enabled (that is, so that a password or key is required to use
the network). If you connect to the Internet, you must be sure that
Windows Firewall or a third-party firewall product is set up to block
Windows file sharing. If you don’t secure your network, “Everyone”
means “anyone in the world,” and that’s a recipe for disaster.
If you want to use passwords to protect
access to shared folders, you should leave password-protected sharing
turned on. There are two ways in which you can deal with the Windows
Vista and XP computers:
• Set up accounts on every computer
using the same account name and password for each person, on each
computer. This will give you complete control over who has access to
which folders shared by Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP Professional.
(Per-user security is not available on folders shared by XP Home.)
• Set up a single account that you’ll use for file sharing, perhaps named share,
on every computer, with the same password on every computer. Use this
account when you set the permissions on shared folders, and use this
account when Windows asks for an account and password when you connect
to another computer.
If you share your printer, it’s enough just
to enable sharing. By default, all versions of Windows enable Everyone
to print to every installed printer, so anyone on the network should be
able to print to any shared printer without the security settings
needing to be changed.
