Sharing folders on a home network

1. Click Start.

2. Click Network

3. Click Network and Sharing Center.

4. Sharing permissions are controlled by the entries in the Sharing and Discovery area. Confirm that Network Discovery is "On." If it's set to "Off," click the arrow  to the right of the Network Discovery line and change the setting to On.

5. Click the arrow at the end of the "File Sharing" line and select Turn on file sharing to allow other network users to access selected folders on your computer. If you plan to share any folders, including public folders, you must turn enable file sharing.

6. Click Apply and then Continue if the User Control window displays.

7. If you enabled file sharing in the previous step, click the arrow at the end of the Public Folder Sharing line.

• Select Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open files if you want to allow anyone on the network to open shared files, but you're not allowing them to make changes to the files, add files, or delete files (Read-only access).
• Select Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open, change, and create files if you want to allow anyone on the network read/write access to the files.
• Select Turn off sharing if you want to permit others that have an account on your computer to access the files but deny access to anyone else on the network.

Note: All files in your Public folder are automatically shared with all users with an account on this computer. Enabling Public folder sharing allows the other users on your network to share the resources in your Public folder.

8. If you enabled file sharing in the previous step, click the arrow at the end of the Printer Sharing line.

• To enable printer sharing, select Turn on printer sharing and click Apply.
• If the User Account Control window displays, click Continue to confirm you want to perform this action.

9. If you enabled file sharing in the previous step, click the arrow at the end of the Password Protected Sharing.

• Click Turn on password protected sharing to require that anyone who will share files or printers on this computer must have a user account and password.
• If you select this option, whenever someone tries to access a shared folder or printer, his or her user name and password are checked against the accounts on the computer. If an account isn't found or doesn't match exactly, the user is prompted to enter a user name and password.
  Note: If you select this option, it's easiest if you set up an account on your computer for each person who you're allowing to access your shared content.
• Click Turn off password protected sharing to allow other users to access your shared resources without a user name and password.

10. If you enabled file sharing in the previous step, click the arrow at the end of the Media Sharing line.

• Confirm that Media Sharing is "On" to share media center resources.

A home network allows you to share printers attached to the computers in your network. One printer may be used for all computers in the network, or you may have different types of specialty printers, such as photo or laser, that can be made available to everyone on the network. A home network allows everyone on the network to select the best printer for their needs.

Note: The computer attached to the printer must be powered on for others on the home network to see the printer as available. Select your operating system from the list below for complete instructions on sharing printers over a network.

I. Windows 2000 

II. Windows XP 

III. Windows Vista

IV. Windows 7

Note: Customers requiring additional printer/folder sharing support should consider Verizon Premium Technical Support.