I live in the UK and I connect to the internet via a cable modem supplied by my TV/Telephone company. The cable modem connects to a computer that has two ethernet cards in it. The application on the computer is a firewall (Linux based - www.smoothwall.org) and only the firewall. Of the firewall, one ethernet goes to the cable modem, the other to a switch. I have a Windows 98SE PC and a Windows 2K Laptop connected to the switch. Both access the internet OK. The firewall is preconfigured to only allow onto the network packets that have been requested by either of the nodes.

Both the 2K and 98Se computers have a Kaspersky firewall on them and for the purposes of this problem both have been turned down to "Allow All". The Windows 2K Laptop can see all the drives of the PC and I can transfer files to and from the PC.

The Win98SE PC can see the computer name of the 2K Laptop (ajp2200t) but when I click this to see the drives I am prompted for a password. I have tried both the 2K administrators password and the password of the only user id set up on the laptop but these do not work. I have tried uppper and lower case even though I only ever use lowercase for passwords.

I have done much reading in the help files. For example I made sure that the service "Server" was started. File and Printer sharing is enabled and present in the stack of both computers. I have right clicked on the laptop C drive and enabled Sharing and the little hand does appear.

However I am stumped. I do not see why a password is required. I have a simple network and I have not to my knowledge set up a rule/requirement for a password. But what could the password be ?

Any help appreciated

Stephen

From the Windows 2K help file:
"Securing shared drives
In Windows 2000, all drives on your computer, such as drive C or D, are automatically shared using the name drive letter$, such as C$ or D$. These drives are not shown with the hand icon that indicates sharing in My Computer or Windows Explorer, and they are also hidden when users connect to your computer remotely.
However, any user can gain access to your computer over a network or the Internet if the user knows your computer name, and the user name and password of a user who is a member of the Administrators, Backup Operators, or Server Operators group. A user who gains access to your drive over the network or Internet can view all folders and files on
that drive, even those that are protected using NTFS permissions, provided the NTFS permissions allow access to members of the Administrators, Backup Operators, or Server Operators group.

To keep your drives secure, you should:
1) Create a difficult password for the Administrator account. Many people leave this password blank, which leaves the computer vulnerable to security breaches because any user can log on as the Administrator using a blank password. It is also a good idea to rename the Administrator account using the Local Users and Groups snap-in. If for some reason you must leave your Administrator password blank, you can disable sharing by doing one of the following:
2) Disable the Server service. Disabling this service removes the ability to share folders on your computer. No user will be able to connect to any drive or folder on your computer. However, you can still access shared folders on other computers. When you disable the Server service, under Startup, be sure to click Manual or Disabled or else the service will start the next time the computer is restarted.
3) Uninstall File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks. This option appears when you view the properties of any connection in Network and Dial-up Connections. Click the Uninstall button to remove this component; clearing the File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks check box will not work.

Note:
To stop sharing a drive temporarily, right-click it, click Sharing, and then click Do not share this folder. However, keep in mind that Windows 2000 will share the drive again once the computer is restarted."