I want to share a hard drive among multiple computers

I'm looking to share a hard drive among the computers in use at my house, but I'm generally clueless as to how to do it. It will serve as a NAS box of sorts, and all the users should have privileges (such as being able to add, edit, delete, copy files, etc.).

Any help is appreciated.

 

right click on the drive
go to properties
select the sharing tab
Advanced sharing in Vista - Share in XP
Share this folder
name it
on the computer it's being shared on go to Run and put in ipconfig or however you feel like to find that computers IP address

now on the OTHER computers
go to run
type in the IP
select the drive
pick "map network drive" and it'll come back when the computers using the drive online restart

if the computer sharing the drive restarts then I just go back and check it's new IP address or make sure it's the same

 

Sorry, but when you say:

You are talking about the IP of the computer which is sharing the drive, correct?
Well, when I go to RUN and type in the ipaddress, I get the following:

"Windows cannot find '(ipaddress of computer)'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again."

 

stupid question but you did use the \\ before typing in the IP?
can you ping that IP? It could be a firewall that is enabled that is blocking.

 

Assuming your PCs are using DHCP and belong to the same workgroup, it'd be easier to type "\\<PC NAME>" in the Run dialogue box - that way, you don't need to worry about ip addresses.

 

Not stupid questions, but very informative ones . However, after typing the double slashes, I get the following message:
"Windows cannot access \\IPADDRESS

Check the spelling of the name. Otherwise, there might be a problem with your network. To try to identify and resolve network problems, click Diagnose."
Error code: 0x80070035

After clicking "Diagnose", this is the following message:
"Cannot communicate with IPADDRESS.

Network diagnostics pinged the remote host but did not receive a response.

(option to reset the network adapter "Local Area Connection")

This is the attachment.

 

try typinging in \\COMPUTER NAME instead of \\ip address

 

This fixed it, thank you so much!

 

Windows is great an all but the permissions will be so fun for you. I use and have seen FreeNas work for others and it gives you permissions, easier to read pop up windows. If you cant get windows to work right give FreeNas a try.

 

Hmm, it seems as though I can't connect with my third computer! The first (with the hard drive) and the second (connected via network) work flawlessly, but the third one seems to have issues connecting. Typing in \\COMPUTER NAME or \\IPADDRESS don't work either. Moreover, I believe that they are in the same workgroup (I changed it in system properties and restarted), but is there any way to ensure that the third computer is on the workgroup?