Skip to main content

How do you setup a simple and dependable Peer to Peer Network?

Microsoft Windows has a built-in Sharing method that can be very simple to use.  However it is easy for Drive Mappings to be lost.  The following method is simple but also dependable - meaning that Drive Mappings are not lost.

Requirements:
  1. If these computer are on a Wireless Network, both computers are connected to the wireless network providing access to the wireless local area network.

  2. In Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center - Network Discovery is enabled.

  3. In Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center - File and Printer Sharing is enabled.

  4. In Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center - Password Protected Sharing is eanbled.

  5. In Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center - Homegroup Connections is set to: Use user accounts and password to connect to other computers.

  6. In Control Panel - Windows Firewall is set to default settings.

  7. In Network Connections - Ethernet - The client for Microsoft Networks is enabled in your Network Adapter.

  8. In Network Connections - Ethernet - File and Printer Sharing is enabled in your Network Adapter.

  9. In the Shared Folder - Properties - Share Permission and Advanced Sharing Settings - the Share is left intact granting each user Full Control of the files within the Share.

  10. You are using an antivirus like Microsoft Security Essentials that does not filter traffic in an unusual manner.

  11. Both computers retain matching usernames and passwords.

  12. Both computers retain their existing Computer Account names in System Properties.

  13. Both computers retain matching Workgroup names such as WORKGROUP.

  14. Both computers are on in order for the login script to process properly for both drive letters.

 Example 1 (Common Drive Letter):
  1. The first computer is called Server.  On Server, create a user account entitled MSNET with Administrator permissions.  Give this user account a password of password.
  2. On Server, right-mouse click the drive or folder that you wish to share.  Click the Share tab.  Share this resource with the user account MSNET and give this user Full Control.

  3. Reboot Server.

  4. On Client, browse to the All Users StartUp folder. Windows Vista/Windows 7 All Users StartUp Location (Hidden Folder)

    C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup Windows XP All Users StartUp Location

    C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

  5. Create a file entitled: login.cmd  (File extensions must be visible.)

  6. Copy and paste the following text into login.cmd:

    @ECHO OFF

    NET USE /D /Y S:

    NET USE /USER:MSNET S: \\SERVER\C$ password

    EXIT /B

  7. Save login.cmd

  8. Reboot Client.
Client now has an S Drive which is mapped to the C Drive of Server.

NOTE: This example is not intended to be highly secure.  Please also note that this configuration is dependent upon maintaining the user account MSNET on Server with the password of password.  If the MSNET user account is deleted on Server or the MSNET password is changed, the S Drive will no longer be acccessible on Client.


Example 2 (Matching Drive Letters):

@ECHO OFF

NET USE /D /Y P:

NET USE P: \\COMPUTER1\BOB /USER:CATHY somepassword

NET USE /D /Y Q:

NET USE Q: \\COMPUTER2\CATHY /USER:BOB somepassword

EXIT /B /Y
    Labels:

    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Access Denied (policy_denied). Your system policy has denied access to the requested URL. For assistance, contact your network support team.

    While browsing the internet, you may encounter the message: "Access Denied (policy_denied).  Your system policy has denied access to the requested URL.  For assistance, contact your network support team."   This message indicates the internet traffic is being filtered.  The most common source of an internet traffic filter is in corporate environments that use a proxy server or a firewall appliance designed to filter web traffic.  Some businesses are configured as satellite locations using a VPN tunnel.  In these configurations, the VPN may be configured to filter internet traffic.  In rare instances, the Internet Service Provider is filtering internet traffic.  Typically though, your IT Department or a Network Management Team has configured your internet traffic to be filtered.  Isolating Source of Web Filtering In an environment that is unmanaged and the source of the filtering is unknown, following are some steps you may wish to peform: Th...
    3 comments
    Read more

    Event ID: 7001 - Source: VSS - Unable to create a shadow copy

    When using Microsoft Windows Server, you may encounter the error message: "Unable to create a shadow copy."  In the Event Viewer, you may find the following Event: "Event ID: 7001 - Source: VSS - Unable to create a shadow copy."  This event involves the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).  Most likely the Server was rebooted while creating a Shadow Copy.  Many websites describe deleting or renaming the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WBEM directory used by Windows Management Instrumentation to resolve this issue.  This is not correct.  Following are the steps to resolve this issue: Double-click My Computer. Right-mouse click the Hard Drive causing the problem. Click the Shadow Copies tab. Select the appropriate Volume. Click Disable. Click OK. Click Start - Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Scheduled Tasks. Delete all tasks related to the Volume Shadow Copy Service. Reboot the Server. Double-click My Computer. Right-mouse click the Hard Drive causing the problem. Cl...
    Post a Comment
    Read more

    How do you stop an unstoppable Windows Service?

    You may encounter a Windows Service in Services that has the buttons for Start, Stop, Pause and Resume greyed out.  If you attempt to stop the Service using sc stop [servicename], you encounter the error message: "The requested control is not valid for this service."  To resolve this issue, please perform the following steps: Click Start - Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Services. Double-click the relevant Service. Change the Service Start-Up Type to Disabled. Click Apply. Click OK. Hit CTRL-ALT-DEL on your keyboard. Select Task Manger. Perform an End Task on the relevant Service. This issue has been resolved. http://www.smartnetadmin.com
    Post a Comment
    Read more