In Windows XP Home Edition, all network connections (logons) are mapped through the Guest account. If the Guest account is not enabled, or if it does not have the appropriate share permissions, the connection does not work. If the Guest account has sufficient share permissions, but the Guest account has not been assigned NTFS file system permissions, you can connect to the network, but you cannot access files or directories.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, make sure that the Guest account is enabled and has been granted appropriate access permissions on the share level and on the NTFS level. You can grant access to the Guest account or to the Everyone group.
To enable the Guest account, follow these steps: 1. Log on to the computer by using an account that has administrative rights.
2. Click Start, click Run, type control userpasswords, and then click OK.
3. Double-click User Accounts to open the User Accounts dialog box.
4. Click Guest, and then click Turn On the Guest Account.
5. Close the User Accounts dialog box.
To grant appropriate access permissions to the drive or share, follow these steps: 1. On the computer that has the drive or share, right-click Start, and then click Explore. Locate the drive or share that you want to map from other computers on the network.
2. Right-click the drive or share, and then click Properties.
3. On the Sharing tab, click Share this folder, and then make sure that the share name is correct.
4. Click Permissions, and then select the Everyone account. If this account does not exist, click Add to add the account.
5. Click to select the check box for the level of permissions that you want to use. As a minimum, you must select Read permissions. Click Apply, and then click OK to close the Permissions dialog box.
To grant appropriate NTFS permissions to the drive or share, follow these steps: 1. Log on to the computer that has the drive or share by using the Administrator account or an account that has administrative permissions.
2. Right-click Start, and then click Explore. Locate the drive or share that you want to map from other computers on the network.
3. Right-click the drive or share, and then click Properties.
4. On the Security tab, under Group or user names, click either Guest or Everyone. If neither of these accounts exists, click Add to add the account.
5. Click to select the check box for the level of permissions that you want to use. As a minimum, click to select Read, List Folder Contents and Read & Execute, click Apply, and then click OK.
Good luck.