Hey folks. At the moment I am trying to set up an FTP server that I would like to make available to my extended family that lives afar. However, it doesn't want to work for me. Every time I try to connect to it from a remote location (with IE) I get the message: Windows cannot access this folder. Make sure you typed the file name correctly and that you have permission to access the folder. Details: the operation timed out." I am behind a router (firewall) and that may have something to do with it. I have configured the virtual server to let port 20 and 21 to come through. At one point of troubleshooting I put my computer in the DMZ but that didn't work so put it back outside the DMZ. I have my network connection properties (Local Area Connection) configured properly for FTP. In attempts to get this working I have shared the folder that will become the served folder and have allowed full access to every account that I can think of including the Internet User Account or something like that (I can't remember exactly, I'm on a remote computer right now.) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You don't need to share the folder or allow account access. The folder is accessed locally by the FTP server. You've hit a common problem with FTP through a firewall - if your server is using "passive mode" that is. In that case ports 20 and 21 aren't enough. See Active FTP vs. Passive FTP, a Definitive Explanation for the details.

Well, in the Internet Options, I have "Enable folder view for FTP sites" checked. I guess this means I have it in Active (Standard) mode, right?

By the way, I guess I should say I have tried it both ways. Active and Passive if the Enable folder view for FTP sites, setting is the one to switch between them with.

As well, internally, I can access the FTP server in my browsers (Firefox and Maxthon) using ftp://computer name, but I can't access it using the ftp://ip address. As I think you already know, I cannot access it externally any way.