Unable to map Win7 drives from XP...

[lestatar]

Hey all, hope everyone is well and had a happy holiday season!  Been a while since I posted...

Have an annoying problem - Googling turns up a about a zillion possible solutions, but none of the ones I have tried have worked.  Hoping the geniuses here can assist as usual with a no-nonsense, working solution.

Problem:  I cannot map from XP SP2 to any of my 2 Win7 Home Premium local drives
What: 2 laptops, both on same workgroup

I can successfully map to my XP laptop drives from within Win7 Home Premium.  I just cannot do the reverse, from XP to Win7.

Both machines are current with all MS patches/updates.

This seems to be a common issue but with so many possible solutions I don't know what to try next beyond what I have done so far.  No real luck searching here as well...

tia and cheers,
-lestatar

[durgadurga]

Hi,

Go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922120

This is a Microsoft hotfix which must be added to every XP computer on the network. The hotfix only works with SP3. The protocol is called LLTD (Link Layer Topology Discovery).

 I installed it on my computers and it works fine.

[lestatar]

Hey durgadurga, thanks for that - I will read up on it more, though yes, I have yet install SP3 on that XP laptop.

More clarification on my problem.

Under XP/Windows Network, I can see the target Win7 machine.  I can also see the 2 shared drives [yes, I am sharing the root of Win7 C: and D:, but I am on protected home network and see no issue with this].

I just cannot map to the Win7 drives.  Insufficient rights error.

Of course, both laptops are:
- on the same network
- using different user account names from each device
- full sharing and rights and permissions have been assigned to the drives under Win7
- I also believe Win7 firewall is setup properly...

Any more things to try folks?  But I will give that hotfix a shot as well.

Thanks again!
-lestatar

[lestatar]

Well, no joy.

Installed the LLTD as suggested [had to do it manually as it turns out my XP netbook already had SP3 installed and there is a known bug with this Hotfix installer]. 

Installed successfully, made sure LLTD was enabled then rebooted XP.  To correct my post, I actually am able to MAP the target Win7 drives, but clicking on them in Explorer returns this error:

X:\ is not accessible
Access is denied

I have been mapping drives on my home networks for years without issue - until now and target Win7 drives.

Help please!!! 
-lestatar

[Geek-9pm]

I may be wrong, but at one thine MS was telling people not to map the actual drive. Instead, you make a folder on the drive to  share. The XP machine then can map the folder as a virtual drive.
Also, many new programs do not need a network resource mapped to a drive. Are you using programs that require a network share to present itself as a virtual local drive?

The point I am trying to make is that there maybe an acceptable workaround. Or, in your case, maybe the workaround will not do the job.
Drive mapping problems are a common complaint in windows networking.

Drive-Mapping Problems PcMag
EDIT: Cannot connect to Windows 7 shares

[lestatar]

Hey Geek, thanks for responding.

Indeed, this appears to be a significant issue.  Yes, I am aware that mapping the root of drives is not always recommended from a security perspective, but I am on a fairly secure internal network - I am the only one in the house. 

This is really a pain.  I don't have any apps that need to run across my network from XP calling to Win7 - I just want my XP netbook to be able to fully access both C: and D: drives without having to go to the trouble to map specific folders into a Public Win7 share.  Is this so much to ask?  Also, theoretically, this type of workaround would mean that every time I created a new folder under Win7 that I want my XP boxes to use, I have to remember to drag that new folder into the Public share?

Ridiculous!

I am discovering that under Win7, the roots of drives are protected.  Hey!  Great!  If people need that, awesome.

I don't.  It should be a clearly explained option and I should also be able to fully disable that type of security if I choose to.

This is a major hassle.  Like I said, I understand I can drag folders into the public Win7 share [which does seem to work though I need to test more] but this is so annoying and I guess not so much the point.

Homegroup apparently will only work between Win7 machines.   This Homegroup thing in Win7 seems like a terrible idea - I am sure there are millions of mixed Win OS networks out there, especially personal LANs.

I should be given the option to fully control and access my Win7 machine exactly how I want to do it.

Sorry, this is turning into a rant, but I am so frustrated here.  This is such a basic thing - I have set up numerous XP networks before [even using old, mixes OSe environments like 95, 98SE and ME] and never encountered this sort of roadblock in terms of mapping and allowing full drive access.

Really hoping some networking Win7 wizard can help me out here...

Thanks again and cheers!
-les

EDIT: btw, thanks for the links as well, but I have already tried most if not all the suggestions with no joy.  My frustration knows no bounds here... 

I am seriously considering blowing away Win7 Home Premium and going back to XP SP3.

[durgadurga]

hi lestatar,
I realize that my first post missed the point, I simply did not understand your problem.

I have a workgroup network with one Win7 Professional 64-bit and two Win XP SP3 machines. I have no problem mapping my Win7 C: drive on any of the XP computers. I will provide you with more details of my setup hoping that it may help you figure out your problem:

1. All my computers have accounts with administrator privileges. I read somewhere that if one gets "Access is denied," the first recommendation is to try using an Admin account.

2. I have Panda Internet Security 2010 on all machines (no Windows firewall)

3. Win7 Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Advanced sharing settings > Turn On password protected sharing.

4. To enable Win7 C: drive sharing  go to Start > Computer > right click Local Disk (C:) > left click Properties > click Sharing > click Advanced Sharing > tick Share this folder > click OK

5. When mapping from Win XP you will be asked for Win7 User Name and Password.

I hope it may help you somehow. Good Luck

[lestatar]

Heya durga...No worries and thanks so much for continuing to assist.

Unfortunately, I have already done all of the steps you outlined.  With the exception of your Panda firewall [am using Win firewall on both], I have my stuff setup that way.

Still no joy...