Shared Folder will not allow access on workgroup

Lets start over here, and becuase you are not really working in a true "client/server" environment I will stop using those terms and try a more simplistic approach. Once you have got everything working then you can take it up a step.

First I will describe the environment.

You have 8 computers.
One of these will offer access to the other 7 for sharing files.

Lets use simple names for each PC:

computerOne - this is "master" PC on which you have files you wish to share.

computerTwo - through - computerEight are "slaves" to the "master".

Now lets deal computerOne.

Delete all user accounts created using the "Control Panel/Users" option except the main account.
This user account should have administrative rights.
For the purposes of this example I will refer to it later as "UserComputerOne"

You should now have ONLY one account showing in the "Control Panel/Users" home page, guest account should be off.

Now we switch off simple file sharing - in "Folders Options/View/" untick 'Use simple file sharing'

Next remove any sharing you had set up on folders before, so we have a completely clean state to begin setting up new shares.

Once you have completed this stage, leave computerOne alone - we will now set-up the "slaves":

On each of the "slaves" you need to have user accounts with unique "username" and "passwords".

Again to keep things simple in this example, we will use:

computerTwo - username: slave2 password: xyzS22
computerThree - username: slave3 password: xyzS33
computerFour - username: slave4 password: xyzS44
computerFive - username: slave5 password: xyzS55
computerSix - username: slave6 password: xyzS66
computerSeven - username: slave7 password: xyzS77 (make this the XP Home machine)

Once you have done this step (obviously you can change the usernames and passwords to something of your own choosing but keep a note of them) we will now go back to the "master" computerOne and start setting up the sharing.

Back at computerOne, open "Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management"

Now, click and expand "Local Users and Groups" and then click on "Users".

Here you should find a list containing "Administrator", "Guest", "Help Assistant" and your created user account - perhaps you will also find one more account created by Microsoft.

Now we need to add the user accounts for the remote slaves that are going to access files on this computerOne.

Right click in the area where the users are listed and click "New User".

In the window that opens enter the details for the first "slave"

Username: slave2
 
Full Name: whatever you want

Description: Network pc computerTwo

Password: xyzS22

Confirm Password:

The untick 'User must change password at next logon'  and tick 'User cannot change password' and tick 'Password never expires'

Then click "Create".

Repeat the above process for rest of your users, i.e. 'slave3' through 'slave7'

When finished you will see your new users listed.

Now in the left panel click "Groups", and the right click "Power Users" and select "Add to Group".

In the window that opens, enter the names of your 7 slave users seperated by a semi colon, then click Check Names. Your usernames will be validated and then you can click "Ok". Now you wil see a list of all your slave users, click "Apply" and then "OK".

Close Computer Management, and close Administrative Tools.

Now we will set up the sharing.

Navigate using My Compter to the level above the folder you wish to share. Find the folder for sharing and right click.

Select "Sharing and Security" --> "Sharing"

Tick "Share this folder" then click "Permissions".

Select "Everyone" then click "Remove"

Click "Add" and then enter "Power Users" and click Check Names - the validation is perormed and the correction displayed - click "OK"

Now tick the boxes Full Control -  Allow, Change - Allow

Click "Apply", Click "OK" - you will now see "Power Users" in the Sharing list.


Now move to the "Security" tab along the top.

Click "Add" - and then enter "Power Users" and click Check Names (just as before) - click "OK"

Now in the Permissions window tick the boxes to Allow - Full Control, Modifiy,  Write.

Click "Apply", Click "Ok".

At this point you have completed the set up of your file sharing.

Move to computerTwo, log in as username "slave2" with the password you have set up for that user.

Once logged in, open My Computer, in the address bar type \\ip-number-of-master\ and click "Go"

After a second or two you will see the contents of your "master" - right clicking on the folder you want to use as the network drive, select "Map Network Drive" and click "OK"

Finished, you have shared folders.

Repeat the above steps for the other computers.

Now to only allow some users to access some folders and not others, you can use the "usernames" in the "sharing - permissions" and "security permissions" instead of the whole group "Power Users".

The principal and steps are basically the same as listed here.

Good Luck.