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Problem with administrative right on vista

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by packer.lean

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I have windows vista home basic on a dell 1525 laptop.
I have only one user on my system that is also the administrator. I have confirmed this via control panel > user accounts where below my user name "Administrator" is displayed. But in spite I being the administrator there are three problems that I am facing (there could be other problems as well that I have not yet discovered). Here are the problems listed.

1. I am not able to share file/folder on my system. When I try to share a folder it says "file or folder could not be shared" but at the same time the icon of the file/folder changes indicating that the file/folder is shared but in the property it is still showing that the file/folder is not shared.

2. When I connect to another computer using LAN connection I can see the other computer connected to me but I am not able to access its shared file/folder. when I try to do it, it says "You do not have permission to access. Contact your administrator". Although the other computer connected to me is able to access my shared file/folder (ya I know the properties of the shared file/folder on my computer shows that it is still not shared. Refer point above). I don't know what is the problem

3. When I create a wireless network and try to share the Internet trough my computer, I am not able to do so. But at the same time if some one else does it I am still able to access Internet through them.

All these three problem looks like they are not connected but somehow I feel it is all because of the administrative right problem on my system. Can some help me the matter. I hope I have explained problem well.

13 replies

by p.j.hutchison

You may need to enable more services to allow sharing:
1. Click Start, Control, Network and Sharing Centre.
2. Enable the following under 'Sharing and Discovery' section:
- Network discovery
- File Sharing
- Public folder sharing
- Printer sharing

Now try re-sharing the folders again.
If unable to connect to a share on another machine, make sure either your using the same username/password as on the machine you are connecting from or enable 'Guest' access to allow you on. Also check Sharing and NTFS permissions to ensure you have all the available rights to connect to it.

by packer.lean

Thanks for the reply p.j.hutchison@..., I enabled the network discovery, file sharing, public folder sharing and printer sharing but still I am not able to share file/folder. The problem persists.
And yes one more thing while accessing any file/folder of any other computer connected to me, I also see the my own computer under network in my computer but I am not able to access even my own computer from there. It gives the same message as before i.e. I don't have necessary permission to access

by p.j.hutchison

In the technet article above, read the bit about: Cannot Authenticate to a Shared Folder from a Windows Vista-based Computer which is important for XP - Vista sharing.

by cg it

That hasn't changed with Windows Vista. To share files and folders with other computers on a LAN, they should be in the same workgroup.

by packer.lean

Thanks again p.j.hutchison@..., the article mentioned by you addresses the problem while connecting to non window OS or older version of windows but I have tried to connect to vista computer itself but it failed even in that case.
Moreover if you read my first post you will know that problem not only is with file sharing but there are other problems as well that is related to this admin access right problem.
Going by one of my replies https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=101&threadID=281055&messageID=2660893
you will realize that I am not able to access even my own computer when I try to access it from "My Computer -->> Network".
Any idea what the problem is??? :(

by packer.lean

Thanks for the reply Jacky, using the URL you gave I went to http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/9636e0f2-0223-45d2-89cb-3e317c4509051033.mspx
where I checked for the steps to "Share files from any folder on your computer" there it says after setting everything when I click on "Share" button, it will prompt me for the admin password but in my case it does not. Is it because I have not set any admin password on my system or is it because of the problem I am facing?
Net result is: The problem is still not solved. Help guys

by rob miners

You have all of the PC's in the same Workgroup. The PC's are all on the same subnet.

IE:

192.168.0.2

192.168.0.3

You have created identical User Accounts on each PC? If you do this to start with you will have a better chance of connecting. When you gain experience you will find other ways to achieve this but for a start try it like this.

You have shared a folder and checked that the User has full control over the folder.

You have enabled Network Discovery and ticked the appropriate boxes on the Vista PC.

When you open up Network places you should see all of the PC's.

Keep us informed as to your progress if you require further assistance. ;) :D

by paulhelp21

Try to take ownership of the folder that you want to share:
1. Select the document properties,
2. Select the sharing tab,
3. Select Advanced, and then the Owner tab,
4. Change the Owner to your user name or the Administrator user account.
Even if you are already the owner, try to take ownership again.

by packer.lean

Hi pdr5407@..., I tried doing this experiment too but alas even this one failed. I did everything suggested by you but no progress, as suggested in my first post, it says the folder could not be shared but at the same time the icon of the folder changes suggesting that it has been shared. Both things are contradicting.

by cg it

unless you enabled it, changed the name, set a password, then logged on using it, your not really using the administrator's account rights and permissions. your really using a "power user" account rights and permissions.

Even so, with those rights and permissions, you should be able to join the computer to a workgroup, create and share folders with other computers in the same workgroup.

If you can't then chances are your Vista machine isn't in the same workgroup as the other machines.

Vista, like XP will automatically create rules for the firewall to allow folder sharing, but Vista does this differently than XP as the articles other posters have referenced show.

When all else fails, start at step 1. Create a workgroup name and join all computers to that workgroup. do not use the wizard to do this. Do it the manual way. Then follow the instructions for Vista file and folder sharing and network discovery.

by p.j.hutchison

To check that your user is a user with admin rights: Start, Run, control userpasswords2 and check that the user is in the 'Administrators' group.

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