Tag Archives: vista

Access XP share without password, from Vista

Question: Tonight I was trying to access, via Vista, a folder that was shared from a Windows XP Pro machine. I kept getting a username/password prompt, but there isn’t a password set on any of users! How can I access the folder? Answer: by default Windows XP Professional won’t allow network users shared folder access without a password. So here’s how to allow network access using a blank password: First, on the XP computer that is sharing the folder make

Install (or “downgrade”) to Windows XP on Sony VAIO-Z series

It’s that time of year again. Time to reinstall Windows after my laptop has finally succumbed to the mass of programs I’ve installed or evaluated. It’s getting slow, not painfully slow, but slow enough that I crave a clean install. Currently the laptop has Vista on it. Rather than paying for a Windows 7 upgrade, I’m considering “downgrading” to Windows XP. I would have done that a long time ago, as I am not a Vista fan… but at the