I also find that Simple File Sharing works in most cases. I manage our tiny home network and domain controller, and have to share many of my music files with the family. When I fuck around with advanced file sharing, it's not that it doesn't work but it gets very complicated and it's easy for things to get inconsistent as far as permissions go.

Simple File Sharing is perfect if you pretty much want to share your stuff under the pretense of "anyone on the domain can access the directory; only I can modify it and its contents".

Of course without Windows XP Pro you can't join a domain (actually I think you can but it's a haxful operation) which is another reason I steal XP Pro.

That's the worst part of it, actually.

In order to do it, you have to use the Simple File Sharing to share the directory first, then you can tweak the security settings with the "regular" dialoge.

As opposed to 2000, where you just, create necessary users, set permissions and go.

It's terribly designed, but what do you expect from Microsoft.

Ask deus@zelan, if he re-registered. He runs Slackware on a Dimension.

Just sayin'.

Actually I don't know what to expect from anyone. Having used Linux I've had far more problems dealing with permissions because I find them to be far more complex. Eventually I give up and 7777 everything. I definitely prefer sharing files in Windows over Linux.

But this is another conversation.

I guess that's what I had in mind. This kind of thing just belongs into a modern operating system. Leaving it out just fares under "dumbed down" in my book as opposed to "streamlined for home use".

Only 2/5 of the computers in the house have a legit installation of windows. One has Home and the other has Media Center Edition. The other 3 I just installed a pirated copy of xp pro on. I might just end up using the pirate version on all the machines though since I don't have the installation discs for home or media center(why the hell do they keep the windows install on a seperate partition, damn pre-fab machines).

I used to have a legal version, but then after several reformats, it said my key was no longer valid. Pissed me off to no end, so I had to pirate.

My college sells them to us for $20 bucks, realz, of course.

As for the activation, yea that's dumb... but there's a way around it. I think it's legal too.

google "windows activation backup".

If I had a legit CD-Key, I'd just use it on my corporate edition, no Activiation BS needed. Hopefully Vista will have a Corporate edition, that way I can screw with; it until I get pissed off by how slow it runs and then uninstall it... Only to use it again a year later like I did with Windows XP.

Yes, which basically means that NTFS partitions can't be assigned like they can in Server or XP. Granted, most home users would never need that. Most, anyway.

With having to do so many re-formats on the computers in the house having a pirated copy of XP is just easier.
Besides i can't afford to buy a legitimate copy.

I have Windows XP Media Center Edition 2006, which came with my new computer. Frankly though, I would have never bought it (or any other version) myself, because I think they charge way too much for that stuff. In fact, I plan on pirating Microsoft Office once my 60-day free trial is over.

I have 4 legitimate versions of XP Pro, one that came with my laptop and 3 that I got from a computer science education convention bundled with the first final release versions of VS.NET. I use one for my desktop, one for my fiancee's, and I've saved one, not really for any good reason, just in case, I guess.

i have a legit version of Win98 SE, Win2000, WINXP Home, and pirated versions of XP pro and XP Pro x64. I cant get my automatic updates to work on this x86 version to dload SP2 though. my x64 edition passes all validation checks and such, so i didnt have any trouble with it, it was just incompatible with a lot of software that i run. Anyone know if theres a way to direct dload SP2 and not have it do the validation check?

I used to ahve one but that was long ago. Several reformats made the key useless. Too bad for them.

The sharing permissions can be customized in Home, too. You just need the command line and a bit more of patience.

I'm using Win XP x64, and it's not legit. As an 18 year old student in full time education I have better things to spend £100 on than windows (like beer :D)

Why don't you just have it slipstreamed?

Yep, slipstreaming is one of the few truly rewarding things I discovered about Windows the past few years.

@ Merv Burger
I think you are looking for WindizUpdate. Worked like a charm for me so far, I was even able to get rid of Internet Explorer using nLite.

Ja means yes right?
My is home edition which is gotten when I bought my PC. As for professional, I've access to my school MSDNAA but I didn't get it.

Yay, another nLite user! I run XP Corporate and Server 2003 illegally on each of my computers. Both are nLited to hell and back, of course. Each install disc comes to about 130Mb after nLiting and before adding my own software. nLite is truly the best thing ever to happen to Windows.

Wow... Just checked out nLite and holy crap I wish I had know about this a month ago when I reinstalled :( Will definitely be picking this up next time I want to reinstall.

I bought XP Pro when I bought my current PC. Pirated copies of it are too much hassle. Also, the Pro features I find to be useful.

I got legit copies of XP Pro with my 2 laptops. One of them was such that I could only use it for that one laptop. The other one was the regular XP Pro disc (sorta) and I used it on my desktops for a time. Since then, I have also a pirated copy of Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2. That's been used for second XP installs on the desktops now.

When the next version of the OS comes out, I am seriously considering going legitimate. I'm pretty much sick and tired of the runarounds I've had to take to bypass the blocks on Microsoft Downloads and Windows Update caused by Windows GenuineAdvantage.

Microsoft:1, Zergrinch:0