Guest x-eyed-bear Posted August 26, 2007 Posted August 26, 2007 I've read all that time and my ability will permit about the MS .NET Framework, but I still don't understand it and I don't find answers to my problems. I had to install MS.NET when an upgrade to my ATI display driver required it. Before installing this software I had the usual set of 'user folders' defined in my Win XP system, in 'Documents & Settings': Administrator All Users <user defined> and Default User (hidden folder) But after installation of .NET I have these ADDITIONAL folders in Documents & Settings: All Users.WINDOWS <user defined>.<computer name> Default User.WINDOWS (hidden) Local Service (hidden) Local Service.NT AUTHORITY (hidden) Network Service (hidden) Network Service.NT AUTHORITY (hidden) Moreover most of the updates and temporary data are held in sub-folders within the <user defined>.<computer name> folder, access to which by any other computer on my home network is denied. What re the additional folder for? Which, if any, out of the total list of folders can I delete without loss of function? Why can I now not access the documents held by user <user defined> using other computers on my network?
Guest Malke Posted August 26, 2007 Posted August 26, 2007 Re: New UserIDs created by MS .NET FRamework. x-eyed-bear wrote: > I've read all that time and my ability will permit about the MS .NET > Framework, but I still don't understand it and I don't find answers to > my problems. > > I had to install MS.NET when an upgrade to my ATI display driver > required it. Before installing this software I had the usual set of > 'user folders' defined in my Win XP system, in 'Documents & Settings': > Administrator > All Users > <user defined> > > and > Default User (hidden folder) > > But after installation of .NET I have these ADDITIONAL folders in > Documents & Settings: > > All Users.WINDOWS > <user defined>.<computer name> > Default User.WINDOWS (hidden) > Local Service (hidden) > Local Service.NT AUTHORITY (hidden) > Network Service (hidden) > Network Service.NT AUTHORITY (hidden) > > Moreover most of the updates and temporary data are held in sub-folders > within the <user defined>.<computer name> folder, access to which by any > other computer on my home network is denied. > > What re the additional folder for? > > Which, if any, out of the total list of folders can I delete without > loss of function? > > Why can I now not access the documents held by user <user defined> > using other computers on my network? All of those folders were there already.They may have been hidden or you may not have noticed them. I have no way of knowing. They are system folders. Leave them alone and don't worry about them. As for your last question, I don't know but not being able to do file/printer sharing has nothing to do with installing .Net. Something has changed in your networking setup. Below please find a general explanation of XP's file/user hierarchy and general networking troubleshooting steps. These are general "boilerplate" and not everything may be applicable to you. Take the bits that are. A. File/User Hierarchy XP is a multi-user operating system, no matter if only one person is using it. In all multi-user operating systems - NT, Win2k, XP, Unix, Linux, Mac OSX - there is the one built-in account that is "god" on the system. In Windows terminology, that is "Administrator". In the *nix world, it is "root". This is a necessary account and is not normally used in everyday work. You cannot delete the built-in Administrator account nor would you ever want to. Here is the explanation of what you really have: My Computer - represents your entire computer, showing drives and shared folders. Shared Folders are folders where you can put files you wish to share with other users on the system. You don't need to use these folders if you don't want to, but leave them alone! [some name] C:\ - your first hard drive, usually the system drive. Document and Settings - The "container" for all user settings. Each user will have [username] Documents, Music, Videos, My Pictures. Administrator - Built-in account - Leave alone! Do not use! Do not worry about it! All Users - Section where items common to all users go. In a multi-user operating system, users have separate accounts. This is the place where if you want to share files with all the other users on the system you would put those files. You don't ever have to use those folders but they need to be there. This is where programs you install that are meant to be installed for all users put settings. All the "Shared Documents" type of folders you see at the root of C:\ are shortcuts to the shared folders in here. Leave them alone! Default Users - This is the template from which new user accounts are made. You will never put anything in any of those folders but they are needed to create new users. In Linux we use "skel" ("skeleton" - get it?). In Windows, the less-colorful term "Default User" is used. Leave it alone! [OEM] Administrator or Owner - This is the generic user created by the OEM when installing the operating system. After all, the OEM doesn't know who is going to buy the computer. If you aren't using this OEM user account, you can delete it from the User Accounts applet in Control Panel. It is not the same account as "Administrator". My Network Places - This is a graphical representation of other computers on the network and any shared network resources. If you don't have other computers, you can remove the Network Places icon from the Desktop using the Control Panel Display>Desktop>Customize Desktop function. Leave the folder alone! B. Networking Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall; or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating system does not permit it. Here are some general networking tips for home/small networks: 1. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network (LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing File/Printer Sharing on the Exceptions tab. Normally running the Network Setup Wizard on XP will take care of this for those machines.The only "gotcha" is that this will turn on the XPSP2 Windows Firewall. If you aren't running a third-party firewall or have an antivirus with "Internet Worm Protection" (like Norton 2006/07) which acts as a firewall, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls, I usually configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct subnet. Do not run more than one firewall. 2. With earlier Microsoft operating systems, the name of the Workgroup didn't matter. Apparently it does with Vista, so put all computers in the same Workgroup. This is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab. 3. Create identical user accounts and passwords on all machines. If you wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular user's account) for convenience, you can do this. The instructions at this link work for both XP and Vista: Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) - http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm 4. If one or more of the computers is XP Pro or Media Center: a. If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user accounts/passwords on all computers. b. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the Simple File Sharing enabled. Simple File Sharing means that Guest (network) is enabled. This means that anyone without a user account on the target system can use its resources. This is a security hole but only you can decide if it matters in your situation. I think it is a good idea to create the identical user accounts/passwords in any case when Vista machines are involved and it isn't an onerous task with home/small networks. 5. Create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users' home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the Shared Documents folder. Malke -- Elephant Boy Computers http://www.elephantboycomputers.com "Don't Panic!" MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
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