Wireless Networking Login Issue

does the login user actually have a password (not empty)?

I've seen this before accessing shares on an XP system, and it's frequently resolved by running the network configuration wizard (even though the wizard supposedly only does what you've done manually).

Right, i saw that wizard, it says to make a setup disk, I don't have any floppies anymore! Do you need to run it (the 'disk' it creates) on other PCs? I coulnd't find anything about whether whatever the setup disk contained was usable on newer window version.

bbao, the default 'Win XP' admin user doesn't have a password.

try to give it a password even a simple one like 'a'.

Ok

Right, I've tried with the 'a' pwd, and it has changed from 'Enter Password' dialog, to a 'You do not have permsiions...'

It's not a password issue. If you want the setup you've described above, put the admin password back to none like you had it.

I'm sorry I don't have an XP system in front of me to direct you to exactly where I'm talking about, but the wizard you're looking for is reachable by right clicking and going to the sharing tab of a folder (use one you'd maybe not mind sharing as I think it will also share the folder).

We just encountered this problem last week between two XP machines. Since you're trying to share from XP, it's most likely that's where you need to address the issue.

Also, reboot both computers after running the wizard as I've also seen that helping.

Ok,  CompTechNS, i've got to the stage of trying everything and anything!
I can find the wizard, but it keeps saying i have to run it on all the other machines, this is a very non-heterogeneous network, can i run the setup disk on newer win versions?

I can't seem to get the wizard to complete successfully on the Win7 pc, I'm running it as admins, its true that it predates these wireless router internet setups, so you haven't really got an option for them, i don't know if thats got anything to do with it?

You won't run the wizard from the XP machine on the 7 machine.

Let's start from scratch here.

First Step on the XP machine:
1) Click Start, right-click Computer and choose Properties
2) Click the Computer Name tab, then click Network ID
3) Choose the first option that the computer is part of a business network, click Next
4) Choose 'My company uses a network without a domain' and click Next
5) Put the correct name in the workgroup name box, Click Next
6) Click Finish and then reboot

Once rebooted, on the XP machine:
1) Open My Computer, click on the My Network Places link on the left
2) Click the link in the top left section "Set up a home or small office network"
3) Follow the prompts and make sure the correct info for computer name and workgroup are filled in. Make sure to enable File and Printer Sharing.

On the Windows 7 machine:
1) Go to Control Panel -> Network and sharing center
2) Make sure your network type is Home
3) Click "Choose Home Group and Sharing Options"
4) Click "Change advanced sharing settings..."
5) Under "Home or Work" make sure sharing, public sharing and network discovery are turned on, select the option to allow devices using 40 or 56 bit encryption and select the option to allow Windows to manage homegroup connections.

I'll just do that, meanwhile, i realise there's another wizard for setting up a wireless connection in XP, which uses a USB and makes a SNK.exe file, I have run it but...now the discovery has gone..., I'll try what you've just suggested anyway.

The wizard for setting up a wireless network is more for AD-hoc (no router) and you're not going to use any discs or exe files created (in fact, I logged into an XP machine I have access to and ran the wizards I've directed you to and not gotten a prompt to make a disc so I'm not even 100% sure what you're doing differently).

The usual cause for this is a blank password - blank passwords are not permitted for remote logons - you must configure the user account with a password.

CompTechNS: I've run that, my build of XP doesn't have Network ID, but there is no mention of a Domain anyway, but having run all that the only other change i needed to make was the 56bit encryption, but...still getting the 'Enter Network Password' dialog on the Win7 machine trying to get the XP, any other things you can think of?

On the XP computer, open My Computer then click Tools -> Folder Options
Click the View tab
Under "Advanced settings" scroll to the bottom and if there's a "Use simple file sharing (Recommended)" option make sure it's checked.

I can't remember if that option exists in XP Home, so if it doesn't or if it doesn't fix your problem, try the following (also on the XP computer):

Click Start -> Run, enter cmd and click OK
In the command prompt window enter the following and hit Enter
            net user guest /active:yes
Next enter the following and hit Enter
            control userpasswords2
Click Guest, then Reset Password
Click OK without entering a password

Sorry about this...but
you're right "Use simple file sharing (Recommended)" isn't there.
I've reset the Guest pwd to nothing as above but stil the network pwd dialog on the Win7, do either of these boxes need a reboot after these actions?

A reboot shouldn't be needed.

In the Windows 7 system under the advanced sharing options, is there an option to use password protected sharing? I forgot to list it in the earlier instructions. It should be turned off.

Yes, definately off on the Win7 machine.

There's one last thing I can think to try. Going back to the command prompt in XP, (Start -> Run -> cmd) type the following:
        net user guest /active:no

If that doesn't do it, then your only other option may be to make sure you have a user account on the XP machine that matches the user account on the 7 machine. It may work without passwords, but there's a chance that you will have to actually set passwords to all of the users on both systems as well (making sure that the account in XP that matches the one in 7 has the same password).

I have tried it with guest=no  but that didn't work before, but i can try again.
But that thing about the setting a pwd,  I don't mind doing that, but I cant seem to make that work either. I've tried creating a user+pwd on the xp, then at the Enter Network Password login on Win7, i try both 'xpcomputername\uname' and 'wrkgrpname\uname, but still no dice, am i doing that right?

Can you login to a xp home from a remote pc?

Unfortunately that's not enough.

First, you have to make sure that the XP machine has a user account that matches the username that you're accessing from in Windows 7. (So if the username in Windows 7 is Silas but there's no Silas user on the XP machine, you have to create a Silas user in XP.)

That may be enough, but if not, you have to do is make sure that all users on both computers have a password, and the passwords for the common user on both systems have to be the same.

simple as that , somehow i thought there was some 'seed' generated when windows created a user which was unique so even if you matched the uname/pwd on a different machine it wouldn't be them same...still if you think so, what about the 'xpmachinename\uname' or 'workgroupname\uname' issue, which is the correct 'path'?