File sharing question for you XP networking experts....

[DennyA]

When trying to access a MPG file on a networked PC that I use for recording TV shows with an ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon 8500, I've started to get this error from Windows Media Player:

The file is in use
Error ID = 0x80070005, Remedy ID = 0x00000000

and then "Web help" says...

Error# 80070005
The multimedia content is on a computer that requires special permission to access

If I just try to copy the file to my main PC, I get "Access is denied, makes sure the disk is not full, and that the file is not currently in use. These files are definitely NOT in use; this seems to be a "permissions" problem.

All the systems on my network are running Windows XP Professional.

I tried turning off file sharing for that drive and re-enabling it. Oddly, I can now access files recorded before I did the on/off, but anything recorded after that gives me the same error until I turn sharing off and back on.

Sharing permissions are set to allow Full Control/Change/Read for the group "Everyone." I'm not running a firewall on that PC. (All PCs are on the inside of a router, and it has nothing on it but recorded video anyway.) And I have no problems sharing files with my laptop, just this other computer.

(I notice that this drive also has an "administrative share" set up at D$, and if I try to disable that it tells me it'll be reenabled after a reboot.)

I don't know if this was triggered by one of the Windows XP security updates, or by an upgrade to the ATI multimedia center software. It used to work just fine -- I'd open my video folder and double-click on a file to play it on a remote PC, or just drag it to my laptop to watch while traveling.

Any ideas? This is pretty annoying since I set up that PC specifically to act as a video recorder/server for our house.

Love the "friendlier networking" in XP, eh?

[wumpus]

Network permissions are the intersection of the SHARE permissions and the FILE permissions. Setting a file to "everyone, full control" may not cut it if the share is "admins, full control", for example.

Also make sure you disable the "simplified file sharing" option (on by default in XP) which severely limits your options. It's in tools, folder options, view, in a checkbox near the bottom.

[DennyA]

Wumpus,

All this NT-style sharing/security stuff is all pretty new to me... In the past, I always just used "share this drive" or "share this folder" under Win 98/Me and I was done with it.

In this case, I set those "everyone, full control" settings on the D: drive itself. Simplified file sharing is off. So, any idea where I should look for a conflicting setting?

[wumpus]

Just bear in mind that the share and the actual file can have different permissions. You can think of the share as a gateway; in order to get to the file you have to have permissions on both the file and permission to get through the gateway (the share). Having permission on the file itself may not be relevant if you can't get through the gateway.

To set the share permissions: right click the folder, share tab, permissions button.

To set the folder permissions: right click the folder, security tab.

[mlatin]

Wumpus,

All this NT-style sharing/security stuff is all pretty new to me... In the past, I always just used "share this drive" or "share this folder" under Win 98/Me and I was done with it.

In this case, I set those "everyone, full control" settings on the D: drive itself. Simplified file sharing is off. So, any idea where I should look for a conflicting setting?

"Simplified file sharing [..]" (on winxp) is essentially the same as the "share this drive" "share this folder" under win98/me.... and it's probably more along the line of what you are/were wanting, anyways.

-mike 'mlatin' latinovich

[DennyA]

Well, the weird thing is, I had simplified file sharing ON before, when this problem started. Then all of a sudden I couldn't access certain files in my video directory that were created after a certain date -- older files accessed fine.

I'm assuming it was either Windows Update change or an upgrade of the ATI software that triggered the change in file protection. But it happened when simple file sharing was enabled.

Grrr. I want AmigaDOS back.

[mlatin]

Grrr. I want AmigaDOS back.

really? why? AmigaDOS had NO networking capabilities built in whatsoever, LET ALONE any file or printer sharing... i KNOW you know that stuff.

-mike 'mlatin' latinovich

[DennyA]

Grrr. I want AmigaDOS back.

really? why? AmigaDOS had NO networking capabilities built in whatsoever, LET ALONE any file or printer sharing...

Exactly! I wouldn't be having this problem! :wink:

Seriously, though, had AmigaDOS evolved, this sort of thing would be in obvious Preferences applications, not hidden in various combinations of menus, control panels, registry settings, and device driver "Properties" settings, many of which affect the same thing.

It's just SO annoying when something like this happens -- you don't manually change a thing but all of a sudden Windows decides not to let you access certain files over a network, but there's not just a setting that you can adjust to fix the problem. AmigaDOS may have been simpler, but in many ways that wasn't a bad thing.

[wumpus]

Well, the weird thing is, I had simplified file sharing ON before, when this problem started. Then all of a sudden I couldn't access certain files in my video directory that were created after a certain date -- older files accessed fine.

I'm assuming it was either Windows Update change or an upgrade of the ATI software that triggered the change in file protection. But it happened when simple file sharing was enabled.

Grrr. I want AmigaDOS back.
What are the permissions on those files? Right click them, then look at the permissions (Security) tab. Compare with the older files that work.

[DennyA]

Okay, found another clue... The files that I can open on the network, on the Security tab, have "Group or User names":
Administrators
Denny (my login)
Everyone
System
Users

The files I can't open over the network have Group or User Names:
Adminstrators
Denny
System

So for some reason, these new files are being created with different security permissions.

I group-selected the individual files that were causing the problem and added "Everyone" to the permissions, and was able to open them over the network.

Any idea how to set the default security options for new files created in a particular folder, so they'll include the "Everyone" group? The folder itself includes Everyone under the group name.

[wumpus]

Okay, found another clue... The files that I can open on the network, on the Security tab, have "Group or User names":
Administrators
Denny (my login)
Everyone
System
Users

The files I can't open over the network have Group or User Names:
Adminstrators
Denny
System

So for some reason, these new files are being created with different security permissions.

I group-selected the individual files that were causing the problem and added "Everyone" to the permissions, and was able to open them over the network.

Any idea how to set the default security options for new files created in a particular folder, so they'll include the "Everyone" group? The folder itself includes Everyone under the group name.
Security is inherited through the parent object, so try setting it on the parent folder.

[Gordon Berg]

Not sure if this helps, but might make for a good FYI down the road:

Make sure your networked PC's are at least taking the user domains into account. Everytime I try to grab a share off of a networked XP box, the only thing it cares about is authenticating the user from a valid domain. So, yes, you could be trying to use the "administrator" account, and let's say the admin account on each box has the same password, but they still aren't the same thing.

If you have two computers, COMPUTER1 and COMPUTER2, the admin accounts for each are obviously different. Since I doubt you are running a Domain Controller server, which would allow each computer to belong to the same domain, your computers alternatively derive their domain names from their computer name instead (simply having both machines part of the same "workgroup", such as how it's done with Win9X machines doesn't cut it)

Anyway, the point is that whenever the computer asks you for authentication, try putting the computer name in front of the username, so if you are trying to hook up to a share on COMPUTER2 from COMPUTER1 and it asks for a valid account, type in "COMPUTER2\Administrator" and the password and see if that works.

(technically, these aren't actual domains, but this sort of connectivity is similar to how networked computers in a true domain would authenticate)