My goal is to allow only certain users/groups access to a folder(s) Windows XP Pro w/SP2 Workgroup setting Turned off Simple File Sharing Made Users/Groups Assigned to a folder. My problem occurs because everybody can still access the folder unless I turn off everything under "everyone". Once I do that nobody can access the folder. It seems as if this "everyone" has hierarchy over every other user/group. This just doesn't seem to make any sense to me, I've used Windows 2K Server before, and I never had these problems. It seems odd that I can't achieve such a small task, but maybe I'm asking too much of XP Pro. Any help would be appreciated! "Maybe tomorrow I'll find what I call home, until tomorrow you know I'm free to roam...."

You are asking way to much of a desktop OS. Sure you can do what you're asking in Windows 2K Server because that's what it's designed to do. It's a server OS. XP pro is a desktop OS and doesn't have the built in tools to do what you want.

You'll have to create users on the target PC's (the one(s) with the share(s)) and create user accounts to match the users who will be connecting to the shares. You will want to use the exact same username/password the users use to logon to their PC's. Open the Sharing tab on the properties for each folder. Ensure the Everyone group is there with Read/Change perm's. Open the Security tab (NTFS perm's) and remove the Everyone group or just remove the Full Control perm from the Everyone group. Then add individual users to the share granting them the perm's you wish them to have on that share. Ensure the Administrators group is in each ACL with Full Control perm's. NOTE: Since this is a workgroup environment you'll likely want to administer the ACL's using individual users as it's a little more complex to create groups.

I've followed your instructions, but this does not solve the problem. All my computers are still being controlled by the "everyone" group. It doesn't matter what individual permission I put in place for my user, it still takes the permissions of "everyone" I gave "everyone" list folder contents, and gave my user full control, and it will on list the folder contents while I'm working at the users computer. I don't know what I'm doing wrong??? "Maybe tomorrow I'll find what I call home, until tomorrow you know I'm free to roam...."

Any ideas?? I've now reached the Network Senior Specialist department in Microsoft... Well I'm on hold with them like usual. "Maybe tomorrow I'll find what I call home, until tomorrow you know I'm free to roam...."

Well after 4 hours on MS Support we came to some what of a resolution. The special "everyone" group must keep its Full Control permission, and you must deny access to the users you don't want to have access. Easiest way is creating a groups. To me this is completely backwards, but it does work. The only I issue I have with this is, andy new user on the network will have to be added to the deny group. "Maybe tomorrow I'll find what I call home, until tomorrow you know I'm free to roam...."

Well this actually didn't work the way it was suppose to... and it is still ongoing. "Maybe tomorrow I'll find what I call home, until tomorrow you know I'm free to roam...."