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Enabling and disabling Simple File Sharing on Windows XP computers

Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows will not install on a Windows XP computer that has Simple File Sharing enabled. This is because, with Simple File Sharing, you cannot control access on individual shares. When Simple File Sharing is disabled, control of individual shares is possible. For more information on Simple File Sharing, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 304040.

Simple File Sharing is automatically enabled on Windows XP computers in a workgroup, and disabled on Windows XP computers joined to a domain.

Disabling Simple File Sharing gives greater security than Simple File Sharing, but is more complex to configure. If, for some reason, it is necessary for you to retain the use of Simple File Sharing, you can install computers manually.

What to do

The procedures described here are based on Category view. If you choose to work in Classic view, the options you can select will vary slightly.

To enable or disable Simple File Sharing:

  1. At the taskbar, select Start|Control Panel.
  2. In the 'Pick a category' panel, select 'Appearances and themes'.
  3. Click Folder Options|View.
  4. In the 'Advanced Settings' panel, scroll down to 'Use Simple File Sharing', and check or uncheck the box as required.

Note: The Windows XP desktop provides you with the choice of two different styles/views. The default is called Category view. The alternative, Classic view, resembles the style of desktop used in earlier versions of Windows.

If you need more information or guidance, then please contact technical support.