windows shared folders login?

I have 3 machines on my network

machine A (XP pro NTSF) can view shared folders on machine B (XP pro NTSF) without any user login.

however machine A (XP pro NTSF) cannot view shared folders on machine C (XP pro Fat32) without logging in and machine C cannort view shares on machine A without loggin in.

machine B can access machine A fine, but machine C must login before accessig machine A?? just curious why?

 

Ah! the fun and games you can have with peer to peer networking!

The core issue is that user accounts are not defined by the username and password, but by the underlying Security Identifier (SID). On a peer to peer network two accounts on different computers can have the same usernames and passwords but they will have different SIDs.

So what happens if you are JoeBloggs on one PC, and have an account on a second PC with the same username. If you connect from one PC to the other, success in this situation can depend on what is passed between the two PCs. What should be passed is the SID, in which case you should have to log on again as the two accounts are different. However, if the username and password are passed then you will seamlessly be logged on - a less secure outcome. In my experience, XP isn't too consistant in how it behaves and you can end up with situations like you have.

However, I'd also suggest you check the status of permissions for the "Everyone" account. It may be that you are getting easier access to some machines because you are connection as a member of "Everyone" rather than a specific user.