Insider Power Techniques for Microsoft® Windows® XP

Sharing Resources with the Network

In a peer-to-peer network, each computer can act as both a client and a server. So far you’ve seen how to use a Windows XP machine as a client, so now let’s turn our attention to setting up your system as a peer server. In Windows XP, that means sharing individual drives, folders, printers and other resources with the network.

Clearing Simple File Sharing

The first thing you need to do is clear Windows XP’s simple file sharing feature. This feature is designed for novice users who, understandably, don’t want (or need) to learn about technical topics such as maximum users and file permissions. So Windows XP activates simple file sharing by default, even on Windows XP Professional installations. To help you understand ...