Simple File Sharing is a feature introduced in Microsoft Windows XP. Simple File Sharing removes some file sharing security options available in other versions of Windows. This helps Windows XP administrators quickly set up folder shares.
Simple File Sharing (SFS) is always enabled and cannot be disabled in Windows XP Home Edition. The below step-by-step instructions explain how to enable/disable SFS in Windows XP Professional.
1. Open My Computer from the Start Menu or Windows XP Desktop. A new My Computer window will appear.
2. Open the Tools menu and choose the "Folder Options..." option from this menu. A new Folder Options window will appear.
3. Click on the View tab and locate the "Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended)" checkbox in the list of Advanced Settings.
4. To enable Simple File Sharing, ensure this checkbox is checked. To disable Simple File Sharing, ensure this checkbox is not checked. Click inside the checkbox to alternately enable and disable the option.
5. Click OK to close the Folder Options window. The settings for Simple File Sharing are now updated; no computer reboot is required.
Tips:
1. The Simple File Sharing checkbox should be at or near the bottom of the Advanced Settings list in the My Computer Folder Options.
2. Enabling Simple File Sharing prevents the ability to assign user-level passwords to shares. When Simple File Sharing is enabled on a computer, remote users will not be prompted for a password when accessing that computer's shares.
3. If the Windows XP Professional computer is part of a Windows domain rather than a Windows workgroup, this process for enabling or disabling Simple File Sharing has no effect. Simple File Sharing always remains disabled for computers joined to domains.
What You Need:
• Computer running Windows XP Professional
Friday, March 26, 2010
How To Restore Hal.dll From the Windows XP CD
The hal.dll file is a hidden file that is used by Windows XP to communicate with your computer's hardware. Hal.dll can become damaged, corrupted or deleted for a number of reasons and is usually brought to your attention by the "missing or corrupt hal.dll" error message.
Follow these easy steps to restore the damaged/corrupted or missing hal.dll file from the Windows XP CD using the Recovery Console.
1. Enter Windows XP Recovery Console.
2. When you reach the command line prompt (detailed in Step 6 in the link above), type the following and then press Enter:
3.
4. expand d:\i386\hal.dl_ c:\windows\system32
Using the expand command as shown above, d represents the drive letter assigned to the optical drive that your Windows XP CD is currently in. While this is most often d, your system could assign a different letter. Also, c:\windows represents the drive and folder that Windows XP is currently installed on. Again, this is most often the case but your system could be different.
5. If you're prompted to overwrite the file, press Y.
6. Take out the Windows XP CD, type exit and then press Enter to restart your PC.
Assuming that a missing or corrupt hal.dll file was your only issue, Windows XP should now start normally.
Follow these easy steps to restore the damaged/corrupted or missing hal.dll file from the Windows XP CD using the Recovery Console.
1. Enter Windows XP Recovery Console.
2. When you reach the command line prompt (detailed in Step 6 in the link above), type the following and then press Enter:
3.
4. expand d:\i386\hal.dl_ c:\windows\system32
Using the expand command as shown above, d represents the drive letter assigned to the optical drive that your Windows XP CD is currently in. While this is most often d, your system could assign a different letter. Also, c:\windows represents the drive and folder that Windows XP is currently installed on. Again, this is most often the case but your system could be different.
5. If you're prompted to overwrite the file, press Y.
6. Take out the Windows XP CD, type exit and then press Enter to restart your PC.
Assuming that a missing or corrupt hal.dll file was your only issue, Windows XP should now start normally.
Securing Windows XP Home Edition
Use Private Folders To Protect Data: As mentioned in Step 1 above, Windows XP Home uses something called Simple File Sharing for sharing files, folders and other resources. When you mark a file or folder as Shared, anyone who can get to your computer can access the share and the data it contains because of how Windows XP Home uses the Guest account and its blank password (unless you have followed the information in Step 1) to grant access. Windows XP Home does not allow for more customized file and folder sharing like you would find in Windows 2000 or in Windows XP Professional (with Simple File Sharing disabled).
Windows XP Home does offer the polar opposite of sharing though- marking a folder Private. If you mark a folder as Private the contents of that folder and any sub-folders will be accessible only by you.
To make the most of this feature it helps if you keep all of your personal or confidential data in one place so that you can just mark the one folder as Private rather than having to scour the computer looking for various folders you might want to keep Private. Your User Account folder under Documents and Settings which contains your My Documents folder, your Favorites and other personal configuration data for Windows is marked Private by default in Windows XP Home.
To mark a folder as private you need to right-click on it and select Sharing and Security. On the Sharing tab click the checkbox that says "Make This Folder Private". If the folder is owned by another user or by the operating system itself this option will be grayed out. You may also see a checkmark inthe box that is grayed out if the folder is a sub-folder of a different folder already marked as Private.
Use Limited Accounts For Everyday Use: Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional offer a number of different user account types and also provide a means to create your own custom user account types. Windows XP Home essentially offers two choices- Administrator and Limited. The Administrator account has essentially full control over anything and everything on the computer. The Limited account can use the computer, but is extremely restricted in its ability to install software or alter system configurations in any way.
One of the primary reasons for using the Limited account is to protect the system from yourself. It's possible that a family member with Administrator access can accidentally change or delete critical information on the computer. It is also possible that someone with an Administrator account may have their account hacked or become infected with a virus or worm of some sort. Typically, the attacker or malware will be able to wreak havoc on the system using the access privileges of the account that has been compromised. So, it makes sense to save your Administrator account for when it is needed, but use Limited accounts for everyday use by most users.
To choose an account type in Windows XP Home click on User Accounts in the Control Panel. Once you select a user you can click on the "Change My Account Type" button. You will be able to choose between Administrator and Limited and can see a brief description of the abilities of each account type. You are required to have at least one Administrator account, so be sure to leave or create one- but save it for use when necessary and stick to using Limited accounts wherever possible.
5. Upgrade to Windows XP Professional: I realize that switching operating systems isn't exactly helpful for securing the one you have. However, it is truly my best recommendation for someone using Windows XP Home edition that wants to ensure a high degree of security on their system.
The Simple File Sharing "feature" which doesn't let you protect individual files or select which users can simply read the file vs. which ones can change or delete it turns out to be a feature you may not want if you're trying to be secure.
Windows XP Home lets you mark folders and their data as Private, but does not include support for EFS (Encrypted File System) which you can use in Windows 2000 and in Windows XP Professional to encrypt your data for even more protection from unauthorized access.
These are just a couple of reasons. The bottom line is that it seems that Microsoft did not have security in mind when selecting the features and options to include in Windows XP Home. Users who truly want to be secure (and don't want to switch to Linux or another operating system entirely) should move to Windows XP Professional.
N.B: belief are purely personal
Windows XP Home does offer the polar opposite of sharing though- marking a folder Private. If you mark a folder as Private the contents of that folder and any sub-folders will be accessible only by you.
To make the most of this feature it helps if you keep all of your personal or confidential data in one place so that you can just mark the one folder as Private rather than having to scour the computer looking for various folders you might want to keep Private. Your User Account folder under Documents and Settings which contains your My Documents folder, your Favorites and other personal configuration data for Windows is marked Private by default in Windows XP Home.
To mark a folder as private you need to right-click on it and select Sharing and Security. On the Sharing tab click the checkbox that says "Make This Folder Private". If the folder is owned by another user or by the operating system itself this option will be grayed out. You may also see a checkmark inthe box that is grayed out if the folder is a sub-folder of a different folder already marked as Private.
Use Limited Accounts For Everyday Use: Windows 2000 and Windows XP Professional offer a number of different user account types and also provide a means to create your own custom user account types. Windows XP Home essentially offers two choices- Administrator and Limited. The Administrator account has essentially full control over anything and everything on the computer. The Limited account can use the computer, but is extremely restricted in its ability to install software or alter system configurations in any way.
One of the primary reasons for using the Limited account is to protect the system from yourself. It's possible that a family member with Administrator access can accidentally change or delete critical information on the computer. It is also possible that someone with an Administrator account may have their account hacked or become infected with a virus or worm of some sort. Typically, the attacker or malware will be able to wreak havoc on the system using the access privileges of the account that has been compromised. So, it makes sense to save your Administrator account for when it is needed, but use Limited accounts for everyday use by most users.
To choose an account type in Windows XP Home click on User Accounts in the Control Panel. Once you select a user you can click on the "Change My Account Type" button. You will be able to choose between Administrator and Limited and can see a brief description of the abilities of each account type. You are required to have at least one Administrator account, so be sure to leave or create one- but save it for use when necessary and stick to using Limited accounts wherever possible.
5. Upgrade to Windows XP Professional: I realize that switching operating systems isn't exactly helpful for securing the one you have. However, it is truly my best recommendation for someone using Windows XP Home edition that wants to ensure a high degree of security on their system.
The Simple File Sharing "feature" which doesn't let you protect individual files or select which users can simply read the file vs. which ones can change or delete it turns out to be a feature you may not want if you're trying to be secure.
Windows XP Home lets you mark folders and their data as Private, but does not include support for EFS (Encrypted File System) which you can use in Windows 2000 and in Windows XP Professional to encrypt your data for even more protection from unauthorized access.
These are just a couple of reasons. The bottom line is that it seems that Microsoft did not have security in mind when selecting the features and options to include in Windows XP Home. Users who truly want to be secure (and don't want to switch to Linux or another operating system entirely) should move to Windows XP Professional.
N.B: belief are purely personal
How To Restore NTLDR and Ntdetect.com From the Windows XP CD
The NTLDR and Ntdetect.com files are important system files that are used by your computer to start the Windows XP operating system. These files can become damaged, corrupted or deleted for a number of reasons and are usually brought to your attention by the "NTLDR is Missing" error message.
Follow these easy steps to restore the damaged/corrupted or missing NTLDR and Ntdetect.com files from the Windows XP CD using the Recovery Console.
1. Enter Windows XP Recovery Console.
2. When you reach the command prompt (detailed in Step 6 in the link above), type the following two commands, pressing Enter after each one:
copy d:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy d:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\
In the command listed above, d represents the drive letter assigned to the optical drive that your Windows XP CD is currently in. While this is most often d, your system could assign a different letter. Also, c:\ represents the root folder of the partition that Windows XP is currently installed on. Again, this is most often the case but your system could be different.
3. If you're prompted to overwrite either of the two files, press Y.
4. Take out the Windows XP CD, type exit and then press Enter to restart your PC.
Assuming that missing or corrupt versions of the NTLDR and/or Ntdetect.com files were your only issues, Windows XP should now start normally.
Follow these easy steps to restore the damaged/corrupted or missing NTLDR and Ntdetect.com files from the Windows XP CD using the Recovery Console.
1. Enter Windows XP Recovery Console.
2. When you reach the command prompt (detailed in Step 6 in the link above), type the following two commands, pressing Enter after each one:
copy d:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy d:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\
In the command listed above, d represents the drive letter assigned to the optical drive that your Windows XP CD is currently in. While this is most often d, your system could assign a different letter. Also, c:\ represents the root folder of the partition that Windows XP is currently installed on. Again, this is most often the case but your system could be different.
3. If you're prompted to overwrite either of the two files, press Y.
4. Take out the Windows XP CD, type exit and then press Enter to restart your PC.
Assuming that missing or corrupt versions of the NTLDR and/or Ntdetect.com files were your only issues, Windows XP should now start normally.
How To Repair or Replace Boot.ini in Windows XP
The boot.ini file is a hidden file that is used to identify in what folder on which partition and on which hard drive Windows XP is located. Boot.ini can become damaged, corrupted or deleted for a number of reasons and is usually brought to your attention by an error message.
Follow these easy steps to repair the damaged/corrupted boot.ini file or replace it if it has been deleted.
1. Enter Windows XP Recovery Console. The Recovery Console is an advanced diagnostic mode of Windows XP with special tools that will allow you to restore the boot.ini file.
2. When you reach the command line (detailed in Step 6 in the link above), type the following command and then press Enter.
bootcfg /rebuild
3. The bootcfg utility will scan your hard drives for any Windows XP installations and then display the results. Follow the remaining steps to add your Windows XP installation to the boot.ini file.
4. The first prompt asks Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All).
Type Y in response to this question and press Enter.
5. The next prompt asks you to Enter Load Identifier:.
This is the name of the operating system. For example, type Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition and press Enter.
6. The final prompt asks you to Enter OS Load options:.
Type /Fastdetect here and press Enter.
7. Take out the Windows XP CD, type exit and then press Enter to restart your PC.
Assuming that a missing or corrupt boot.ini file was your only issue, Windows XP should now start normally.
Follow these easy steps to repair the damaged/corrupted boot.ini file or replace it if it has been deleted.
1. Enter Windows XP Recovery Console. The Recovery Console is an advanced diagnostic mode of Windows XP with special tools that will allow you to restore the boot.ini file.
2. When you reach the command line (detailed in Step 6 in the link above), type the following command and then press Enter.
bootcfg /rebuild
3. The bootcfg utility will scan your hard drives for any Windows XP installations and then display the results. Follow the remaining steps to add your Windows XP installation to the boot.ini file.
4. The first prompt asks Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All).
Type Y in response to this question and press Enter.
5. The next prompt asks you to Enter Load Identifier:.
This is the name of the operating system. For example, type Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition and press Enter.
6. The final prompt asks you to Enter OS Load options:.
Type /Fastdetect here and press Enter.
7. Take out the Windows XP CD, type exit and then press Enter to restart your PC.
Assuming that a missing or corrupt boot.ini file was your only issue, Windows XP should now start normally.
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