# Cant connect to local shared folders in XP via UNC address



## bizb (Aug 2, 2008)

Hi guys, 
I am really stuck here. I have XP Pro installed as an NTFS partition on my 2.4 MBP. I connect to the net wirelessly via a 2Wire Gateway ( 2071-A) which is connected to a n Airport express base station.

I am trying to set up shared directories on my windows install. 

eg: I create a folder in my documents called "shareme" set it as a network shareable folder and set permissions for everyone.

If I access the file by navigating to it via the explorer I can open it and read/write to it.

But if I try and access it via a UNC path using my computers' name  in the folder address bar
eg: \\bizb       I get a not accessible error.

Ive posted 4 screen grabs to visually explain in case I am not being clear.

http://profile.imageshack.us/user/bizb/images/detail/#176/setupsharefoldertx8.jpg

BTW my windoze firewall is off .

can anyone please tell me where I am going wrong here, I am really lost.


----------



## ElDiabloConCaca (Aug 2, 2008)

Your third screenshot shows that you're configuring the FireWire port for network access -- you should be configuring either the "Wireless Network Connection" or the "Local Area Connection", depending on whether you're sharing via wireless or ethernet.

Is the firewall turned on for either of those connections?  Can you try accessing the share via IP address instead of computer name (eg, "\\192.168.0.100\shareme" or whatever you IP address is)?


----------



## bizb (Aug 2, 2008)

Firstly thanks ElDiabloConCaca for taking the time to look into my problem , much appreciated.
apologies for posting incorrect pic #3.
Re: your questions -  my Wireless network connection properties are enabled for sharing on Microsoft networks as is my Local area connection.
Firewall options for both of these are set to off (the firewall is currently disabled )
I am unable to access the shared folders using the ip address.
I have checked in XP and OSX - my ip is the same both sides 10.0.0.3

I initially set up the wireless network connection on the mac side and connected to it when I first booted into windows.
am I able to set up a new network connection on the XP side independent of this first one? 

thanks
Tom


----------



## bizb (Aug 2, 2008)

Please excuse double post I forgot to include this image.
I have also tried setting a new share up directly from the system tools.


----------



## VirtualTracy (Aug 3, 2008)

bizb said:


> ... but if I try and access it via a UNC path using my computers' name  in the folder address bar
> 
> eg: \\bizb       I get a not accessible error.



Have you _'Mapped A Network Drive'_?  Right Click _My Computer_ and selecting _Map Network Drive_ ....




Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch

In the image above, a logical drive N: is created with the content of the af$ share on the computer named fhcserver. Mapped paths are restricted to two components, \\<computer name>\<share name>, and can not refer to subfolders within a share. Both computer names and IP addresses be used in mapped paths when TCP/IP is installed, e.g. \\192.168.0.48\af$.

So based on the above you should try using:

_\\bizb\shareme\_ in the UNC path to see if that works.


----------



## bizb (Aug 3, 2008)

Hi VirtualTracy,
thank you guys for your efforts to assist me.
still no joy I'm sorry to say, first I attempted to map a network drive to the ip then folder name

\\10.0.0.3\sharetest         no luck

then again but using the computer name

\\bizb\sharetest               no luck

Here are two more screens  showing the results

Really appreciate the help thanks again
cheers
Tom


----------



## VirtualTracy (Aug 3, 2008)

Can I ask where you are going to be accessing this share from, bizb? I might be way off the mark, but it seems to me you are trying to access the share from within the Windows partition?

Have you opened a Finder window in Mac OS and looked under Network for the share?


----------



## ElDiabloConCaca (Aug 3, 2008)

bizb said:


> I have checked in XP and OSX - my ip is the same both sides 10.0.0.3



This is bad.

You cannot have two computers with the same IP address (and presumably, same subnet mask) on the same network.  You need to give one computer a unique IP address, and the other computer a unique IP address.


----------



## bizb (Aug 3, 2008)

Hi VirtualTracy,
I am trying to access the share from the windows partition - is this a mistake?
I thought I would have no trouble accessing a shared folder via a UNC path from my own machine when logged on in XP. I hope I have not been making a stupid mistake.

Hi ElDiabloConCaca,
I will try to assign custom ip and see if this helps solve things.
Ill post back and let you know.

Thank you both again for the help. Insidently, I attempted the same task on my Parallels install of XP and worked immediately. go figure?? 
Could it be something in my modem or airport express config that is causing this glitch?

cheers

Tom


----------



## VirtualTracy (Aug 3, 2008)

Not necessarily a mistake but I just thought that I only access shares from other computers and figured that if you were logged into the Windows Partition, then you would simply use Windows Explorer to get around.  I admit I have never needed to set up a Network for a single computer to communicate from one half of the HD to another ... but the idea of creating the share is that to test it out, you would leave the Windows side logged in and either move over to the Mac OS side or another computer to test whether the share works ....

ElDiabloConCaca has picked up a good point in that the two IP addies need to be different so just edit the Windows IP addie to say 10.0.0.4 (if that's available).

I found this site which might help you ...

_Windows XP Folder Sharing_

The thing is that I'm not entirely sure that the info is tailored for Mac OS/Parallels/Win XP, if you know what I mean ...

I'll keep looking around for more info and if I find something, I'll post it ...


----------

