Share a drive or a folder on the network with Windows XP

Summary

This article explains how to share a drive or a folder on the network with both Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional when simple file sharing is enabled. Windows XP Home Edition always uses simple file sharing and it cannot be disabled.

More Information

To share a drive or a folder on the network with Windows XP, follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer or My Documents, and then locate the drive or folder you want to share.
2. Right-click the drive or folder, and then click Sharing and Security. If you are sharing a drive, under the Sharing tab, click the If you understand the risk but still want to share the root of the drive, click here.
3. Under the Sharing tab, as shown in the picture below, you can do one of the following:
•  Share this folder on the network - This allows you to share the contents of the drive or folder available to other users on the network.
•  Allow network users to change my files - This allows network users to change files over the network. This option is only available when the "Share this folder on the network" checkbox is checked.

See full-sized image

4. Click Apply, and then click Ok.

Notes:

•  Keep a share name with 12 characters or less. This way other versions of Windows can access the share and will make the folder fully accessible over the network.
•  You also cannot create shares in user's profiles or in the Guest account.