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I have 3 computers in my network, two running Windows 7 and one running Windows XP. I've set up a homegroup on both Windows 7 computers. Also, all computers are in the same Workgroup.

The problem is that one of the Windows 7 computers makes all shares accessible to the entire Workgroup instead of just sharing to the Homegroup as it should be.

I created the file share in Windows 7 via right-click in the explorer, then click on "Share For" -> "Homegroup (Read/Write)" (translated from German, so the actual wording may be different).

Also, when I look at the file sharing properties of that folder, Windows Explorer informs me that Users must have a valid account and password for this Computer to access drive shares. Unfortunately this is not true. Being in the same Workgroup is enough to get access.

Homegroup restrictions work as expected on my other Windows 7 computer. When trying to browse those shares from the XP computer, I get a dialog asking for a login and password.

What might cause homegroup restrictions to fail and how can I fix this?

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Are the usernames and passwords the same on both machines? – MrStatic Dec 31 '09 at 12:37
The username is, but the password is not. The XP machine does not have a password – Adrian Grigore Dec 31 '09 at 14:08
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2 Answers

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How are you accessing the share on the Windows 7 machine? Mapped drive? Typing in the UNC path?

It's possible that your Windows XP machine has the correct credentials cached for that machine. Check in the Control Panel, User Accounts, Advanced Tab, Manage Passwords to see if there is anything there...

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HomeGroups are new as of Windows 7. So any restrictions set in there aren't going to affect Vista and earlier versions of Windows. You have to share and secure files the 'old fashion way' - similar to what would be done in XP or Vista.

Here's some good info from Microsoft on dealing with it: Windows 7 & HomeGroup: Sharing with Windows XP, Windows Vista, and other operating systems

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-1: Sorry, but you can't be right. It would be foolish to implement a file access restriction mechanism and expect clients to "play by the rules" in order for it to work. It would be a like securing fort Knox solely by a sign saying "do not enter". I would fully agree if my problem was that the XP computer CANNOT access the homegroup shares, but that's a completely different scenario – Adrian Grigore Dec 31 '09 at 15:31
It's not implimented that way by default, but you have that option during setup of the HomeGroup. In that document on Page 5 they describe setting the option to disable password protected sharing - "This will cause content shared with “Everyone” to be accessible by any anonymous user on your network." and "This is not the preferred way of sharing as it can compromise the security of your data by providing access to anyone on your network." - Sounds like what you're seeing, so I'd say read the guide and re-check that you haven't set it up that way. – techie007 Dec 31 '09 at 16:00
The option you are mentioning in that manual is described as "Option 3: Disable password protected sharing and sharing data with “Everyone"". But as described in my opening post, password- protected shares are not disabled. – Adrian Grigore Jan 1 '10 at 11:23
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