Win 2000 Pro Network Help

[SWT2000]

I do I go about disabling the password on my computer so that I can allow my roomate to access my computer for file sharing?

Thanks
Mat

[DVNT1]

I don't recommend it, but you could enable the guest account.

press crt alt delete


press change password

type in the old password and leave the new password blank

all he will need is to put in the user name

or you could just make him his own account....

I'd definitely set up a new account, and limit his shares to where you want him to share files from. Otherwise he could potentially be all over your system files, stuffing stuff up.

GZ3 will know the howto's of setting up an account - I've never used win2k, sorry.

Cheers
Mick

yah make him have his own account by going into the control panel, click users and passwords


mick what do you use?

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by GroundZero3
press crt alt delete
press change password
type in the old password and leave the new password blank
all he will need is to put in the user name
or you could just make him his own account....

That doesn't work dude, i tried it before. When your computer starts it will still ask for a password but you just hit enter, if you enter anything as the password it will say it is wrong. There is a big difference between having a password of nothing and having no password.



OK i just found out how. That guest account is default but if you go into options you see that account is DISABLED by default. To enable guest access do this:
control panel >> users and passwords >> advanced tab >> advanced >> users folder >> right click on guest >> properties >> deselect "account is disabled"

Originally posted by GroundZero3
mick what do you use?

Got an NT4 server and all clients are winXP Pro. I know win2k is based on the same kernel, but not all the bits are in the same places. So better that someone who uses 2k helps someone using 2k, IMO.

Cheers
Mick

[Siliconjunkie]

That doesn't work dude, i tried it before. When your computer starts it will still ask for a password but you just hit enter, if you enter anything as the password it will say it is wrong. There is a big difference between having a password of nothing and having no password.

What he is saying is to make the password blank. His friend walks up and hits ctrl-alt-del and puts in the username (if needed) and hits enter. No reason at all that it won't work unless local/domain policy wont allow blank passwords.

This doesn't actually remove the password prompt but it does make his friend able to use it. Bad idea? YES. Enabling guest account a bad idea? YES. Just make him his own account and don't give him any rights. Thats the whole idea of multiple users.

[ShawnD1]

Why is guest access bad? Without guest access, the other computers can't even see your computer in the network without entering a password. That essentialy disables any printer sharing that you would want. My room mate's computer could not even see my computer in the network till just now when I turned on guest access. The printer is mine so it's on my computer, we tried adding the printer as a network printer for his computer but his computer could not see it in the network - no guest access. I just added my printer as a network printer for his machine and it works now.

Originally posted by ShawnD1
Why is guest access bad?

From the horses' mouth:

Leave the Guest account disabled.
The Guest account
Guest account
A built-in account used to log on to a computer running Windows when a user does not have an account on the computer or domain or in any of the domains trusted by the computer's domain.is used by people who do not have an actual account on the computer. The Guest account does not require a password, so it is a security risk. The Guest account is disabled by default, and it is recommended that it stay disabled.

You don't need to be a guru to understand what an account with no password can lead to.

IMO, and in the opinion of many, many others, too, I reckon.

Cheers
Mick