Access Denied When Opening Windows XP Shared Folders

FileBrowser can connect to Windows XP computers over the network, but you may see an “Access Denied” error when opening shared folders if Windows XP permissions are not configured correctly.

This usually means the connection to the computer succeeded, but the folder itself is blocked by share or file-level permissions.

This guide explains why this happens and how to fix Windows XP folder permissions so shared files become accessible.

• Try connecting as a user with more rights.

If you have connected as a Guest or user with no account, you may only have rights to see a limited number of folders or files. Using a named account should give you more access.

• Try connecting as Administrator.

The Administrator account should have access to all available folders. You should not need to enable this account, but you need to give it a password (choose a secure one).

• Change folder security.

To access the folder security controls, right-click a folder and choose 'Properties'. Then select the 'Security' tab.

If you don't see this tab it could be that 'Simple File Sharing' is enabled. See the link below for instructions on how to disable it.

The 'Security' settings tab allows you to control which users have access to shared files and folders. Common options are 'Full Control' (users may read, change and delete files) and 'Read' to limit access so files cannot be changed or removed.

If you need to reset the permissions of all files and folders within your shared folder, you can click the 'Advanced' button to find this option:

• Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects.

Selecting this option and clicking OK will reset all permissions to those you set in the table.