Sharing with specific network user or computers.

lexprince

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Jun 29, 2010
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How do I share with specific network users or computers in Windows 7?

Here's the scenario: I just built a Jerry-rigged light weight storage computer so I don't have to leave my dev/game comp/volcano on all the time anymore. I also bought a laptop recently as well. What I'd like to do is make the data (on two logical drives to be specific) completely accessible with full privileges to the laptop and this main PC however there are other users on the network that I don't want to share everything with (but still some).

I can use PC Anywhere for some things but the end result I'm looking for is a handy couple of links on my desktop to the two raid drives and carry on as though they were still on my comp (and laptop now too), but also not include all users at the same time. (but also have the option to set up sharing for the folders they need access in too)

Is this within the capacity of Windows 7?


All computers have Win 7 and belong to the same home group.
 
Solution
You don't need to link it to other computers. When you connect from another computer you present the credentials that you have defined on the target (try to connect to a remote share and it will ask you for a username and password). That is when the link happens. You can only add network users to a share if you have a network (i.e a server with Active Directory). Otherwise you just have individual computers with local accounts. You have to log on to the target as a user defined on that target computer. But there's nothing to stop you doing that in the way we have suggested.

Of course in a corporate network you would do a single network logon, be authenticated by Active Directory on the server, and then resources on any servers could be...
There are permissions you can set up.

On the computer with the drives you want to "share," right click on the drive, choose "Sharing" and in there is a place you can allow only certain users.

Sorry I can't be more specific, I'm not on a Windows 7 machine right now. :( XP without any admin right or permissions!
If you need further details, I can let you know tonight when I'm home. Yes, my home PC is WAY better than my work PC!
 

lexprince

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I tried that earlier and tried every combination of username and pc name I thought it might understand but it didn't recognize any of them and that led me to believe that that feature was exclusive to user accounts set up on that physical computer. It just kept telling me it was unable to find the user or something like that. If I missed something, please let me know.
 
...that feature was exclusive to user accounts set up on that physical computer.

That is probably true. I just found that under the drive properties, under the Sharing tab, Under "Password Protection" it says this: People must have a user account and password for this computer to access shared folders.

But there has to be a way....
 

lexprince

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Wouldn't that only be applicable to the physical computer? The computer I need to access is tucked away basically, nobody is going to really be logging onto it directly save for setting up initial permissions and so forth.
 
If you set up the guest account on the computer that you want to access, then anyone will be able to map to shares on that computer using that guest account (as long as you have specified "guest" in the share security). When setting up the map from the client just specify "guest" as the username.

If you're not particularly worried about security you needn't even give "guest" a password. It will mean that anybody can access shares that you have authorized guest to, but I gather that's what you require.

For finer control, just create some users on the target computer and let people connect as those users. Something like "user1", "user2", etc depending upon what resources you want them to connect to.
 

lexprince

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I don't think we're on the same page here or maybe I"m missing something obvious... Sharing everything is simple, just use the share function, but I want to isolate certain files to be accessed remotely from certain exclusive users (myself on other computers)

So in my case I have a big video archive that I have shared with everyone, no prob there, no guest acct needed. But I also have a business/work folder for example, which I want to share -only- with computers I own (not guests). And I want this on the server comp so it's easily accessible from my main comp or my laptop.
 

lexprince

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Yeah, that's 'all users' which is the problem, I need isolated access, not just shared with everyone.

As simply as I know how to put it; 'ServerComp' needs to share a file with 'DevComp' and 'LapTopComp' and not 'EveryComp'

The real issue here from what I can tell seems to be that the sharing permissions area defaults to looking for users exclusively on your own computer, IE; it doesn't look to external possibilities, thus any users added for permissions are local. And there doesn't seem to be any way to look externally to other computers.

As long as networking and work groups have been around I have to believe what I'm trying to do is possible. This should really be simple.
 
No. Create a number of individual accounts according to the number of different permissions that you want to assign. For example, if you want directory A to be available to all users and directory B to just one or two then you create user1 and user2. Give user1 permission to directory A, give user2 permission to directory A and directory B. Then users with limited access connect as user1 and users with full access as user2.

You just vary that situation depending upon how complex your requirements are.
 
You don't need to link it to other computers. When you connect from another computer you present the credentials that you have defined on the target (try to connect to a remote share and it will ask you for a username and password). That is when the link happens. You can only add network users to a share if you have a network (i.e a server with Active Directory). Otherwise you just have individual computers with local accounts. You have to log on to the target as a user defined on that target computer. But there's nothing to stop you doing that in the way we have suggested.

Of course in a corporate network you would do a single network logon, be authenticated by Active Directory on the server, and then resources on any servers could be assigned to your universal network logon. I'm guessing that your setup isn't like that.
 
Solution

lexprince

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Ok I got it to work with the users though it took me a while since something was messing up my map network drive feature.

Now I have it so that the drives are mapped on my comp with read/write privs and everyone else with just read privs.

There are a few specific folders I would prefer to keep private from 'Everyone' so I used the Share With > Nobody function on them for now. There are dozens of folders so its far more convenient to map the whole drive but is there anyway to exclude certain folders for specific users?
 

sudipsahoo

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Sep 17, 2012
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I have a similar requirement. We have some PCs in the LAN. My PC has Win 7. Other PCs are Win 7 as well as XP. I want to share folder 'A' with PC 'X', folder 'B' with PC 'Y' and folder 'C' with PC 'Z'. How can I do that?
 

manu14

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Apr 16, 2013
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psycho-blazem

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Hey guys. I think this is exactly what I'm looking for too, it's just I'm not fallowing how this got solved.
Can someone please put a step by step guide? That would be much appreciated.
 

Amospmr

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Make sure all computers are on the same WORKGROUP and are using the same IP address scope (eg. 192.168.0.X) (10.0.0.x) (172.16.0.X) each computer should have a different last number or there will be conflicts on your network. Make sure each computer has a name that makes sense so you can find them on the network later on.

Step 1 - On you main computer set up User 1, User 2, User 3. Give each user a different password (They must have passwords for sharing to work with mapped drives)

Step 2- If main computer is Windows 7
Then on the folder you want to share with PC X, right click on that folder and go to properties then click on the sharing tab and click Advanced Sharing.

or

Step 2 - If main computer is Windows XP
Then on the folder you want to share with PC X, right click on that folder and go to Sharing and Security then on the sharing tab and click "Share this Folder" and click on Permissions button down the bottom

Step 3 - Under "Group or Username" Click on Everyone and click Remove,
Click Add and when the next window appears type in User 1 and click OK.
If you want the remote user to only be able to read and execute the files leave the bottom Permissions as only the READ box checked, however if you want the remote user to be able to change and delete files Check the CHANGE box as well
Once you have added User 1, Click Add again and also add in the current account that you are using on the main computerso the local account has access. And Click FULL CONTROL under permissions

Step 4 - follow Step 2 for the second folder you want to share with PC Y
In Step 3 now add User 2 instead of User 1

Step 5 - follow Step 2 for the third folder you want to share with PC Z
In Step 3 now add User 3 instead of User 1

Now all your folders should be ready to access

Step 6 - On each remote computer that you want to be able to access one of those folders do this

Step 7 - If Windows 7
Open up Computer from the Start Menu and Click on Network.
(if you haven't used the network before a bar may appear at the top telling you to turn on network discovery, do this for access to the network)
Once Network Discovery is on, all the computers attached to the LAN should be visible in the list, find the MAIN computer that is sharing all the folders and click on it. The 3 folders you shared should appear

or

Step 7 - If Windows XP
Open up My Computer and Click on My Network Places and click the little [+] sign next to it, if that doesn't appear Right Click on My Network Places and click Explore. Then find My Network Places and click the little [+] sign next to it to Find "Entire Network" then click the little [+] sign next to it to find Microsoft Windows Network, then click the little [+] sign next to it and find your WORKGROUP name and you guessed it, click the little [+] sign next to it. Then find the Main computer you are sharing the folders from and all the 3 folders you are sharing should appear on the right hand panel.

Step 8 - On PC "X" Right Click on Folder "A" and Click Map Network Drive. It should ask you for Credentials, this is where you put in User 1 as username and the corresponding password you set

Step 9 - On PC "Y" Right Click on Folder "B" and Click Map Network Drive. It should ask you for Credentials, this is where you put in User 2 as username and the corresponding password you set

Step 10 - On PC "Z" Right Click on Folder "A" and Click Map Network Drive. It should ask you for Credentials, this is where you put in User 3 as username and the corresponding password you set

Now you should have 3 different folders, each one being shared with a different computer and that computer having exclusive access to that particular folder
 

thebaul

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Nov 20, 2013
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Hello

I have a computer called Siddharth and there is a folder on it called Work that I want to be only shared with me. I have created a user called Shreyans on Siddharth's computer and as you suggested, shared the Work folder with myself (Shreyans). Now when I go on my (Shreyans's computer) - My Network Places, I can see Siddharth and inside Siddharth I see the folder called Work. When I right click and select Map Network Drive and try to enter the credentials I created on Siddharth's computer, it doesn't accept. What is the correct format to enter the username in the Credential Input window that opens. I have tried Siddharth/Shreyans, Shreyans@Siddharth, Shreyans, etc. but nothing seems to work. Please suggest what can I do to rectify this problem.