File sharing between XP, Vista and OS X on a local network

Creating a share user

First we want to create a special user to access any shared files and folders. So return to your User Accounts Control Panel, and click Create a new account. For the sake of this article, we'll call it share. Click Next, make it a Limited account and click the Create Account button. Click on the created share account, select Create a password, and enter something accordingly. We're going to be boring for the sake of the article and use the password share, but you'll want to choose something more secure.

Setting up the limited share account.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Hide the share user from the Welcome screen

If you're using the classic CTRL+ALT+DEL log-on screen, then this isn't needed and you can go on to the next section. If you're using the Welcome screen however, you might want to hide the share user from the log-on screen to keep things neat — after all, it should never have to log in locally.

Let's banish the share user from the Welcome screen.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Once again we'll need to visit the Registry Editor for this piece of magic, so click the Start button, click on Run, type regedit and hit the Enter key.

Once there browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList, right click in an empty portion of the right-hand pane and select New and then DWORD Value. Enter the name of the user you don't want to turn up on the log-on screen (in this case, share), close the Registry Editor and then logout. The extra user should now be gone from the list. Note that this will also hide the share user from the Control Panel > User Accounts page — you'll need to access it from Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management, the go to Local Users and Groups and finally the Users section to administer it, or remove the registry key you just created.

Turn off Simple File Sharing

Next we're going to turn off Simple File Sharing, to access finer security and sharing options.

First you'll need to open Windows Explorer (usually found under Start > Programs > Accessories). Once loaded click on the Tools menu, select Options, then click on the View tab. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the list, deselect Use simple file sharing (Recommended), and click OK.

Disabling simple file sharing.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Create a share folder

Now we're going to share a folder. While you can use an existing one, for the sake of this tutorial we're going to create a new folder called share in the root directory of the hard drive (usually C:\).

Right click on the share folder, and select Sharing and security. Click the Share this folder radio button, and give it an appropriate share name.

Sharing the share folder.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Click the Permissions button, select the Everyone entry and click the Remove button — this ensures that any other accounts local to the machine will not be able to access the folder remotely. Now we're going to allow the share user you created earlier to read and write to the share folder.

Click the Add button, then click the Advanced button. Click the Find Now button, then select the share user from the list and click OK. Click OK once more, then make sure the share user is selected above and click the check box. At this point the folder should be visible on the network and accessible to anyone who enters the username share and the relevant password. They'll be able to copy files to and from the folder, but they won't be able to delete files, rename them or move them. If that's how you like it, just press OK. If you want to give others on your network the ability to alter files and folders remotely, read on.

Selecting the share user for permissions.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Click the Security tab next to the Sharing tab. Click the Add button, then the Advanced button, then the Find Now button, select the share user and click OK. Click OK again, make sure share is selected in the user list, and then set what permissions you want the user to have below. Click OK when you're done, and the share should not only be visible on the network, but fully open to the share user once logged in.

Giving the share user total control of the folder.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)

Finished with XP

XP should now be set up for sharing. Feel free to add any other folders using the relevant steps above. To find out how to connect to a Vista or Mac share from XP, please proceed to Connecting to the machines. To set up a Mac or Vista machine for file sharing, read on!