# I can't access one particular machine on the network anymore **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 22, 2004, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-access-one-particular-machine-on-the-network-anymore/251596 "2004-06-22T08:16:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-access-one-particular-machine-on-the-network-anymore/251596/1 "2004-06-22T08:16:58Z")
I used to be able to access anyone at all on our network from my computer just fine, but since the weekend every time I try to access one particular computer on the network from my machine, it continually asks for a username and password. We don’t have any security passwords or anything between each other on the network, plus I can be accessed, and everyone else can be accessed by me, just fine. Everyone else can access the computer in question fine too - it’s only me that is having this trouble. We made no changes to our computers that we know of, it’s just started happening all of a sudden. We alll have XP Pro, Service Pack 1, TweakUI, and it’s a pretty cool connection. However we do not have a network administrator or anything like that, beyond a few mildly geeky people like myself. Anyone have any clues? ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-access-one-particular-machine-on-the-network-anymore/251596/2 "2004-06-22T10:10:19Z")
If you don’t have a network administrator, it’s unlikely that you have a central network policy or policy server to keep everything in spec. I don’t know about XP, but it’s certainly easy enough for a user to apply an access control like a password in other versions. In the past, when I had networked machines without passwords at home, I occassionally got warnings about openly shared resources (probably from applications, not the OS, though I don’t recall the specifics). If you don’t have login passwords (or you use blank passwords), any user is effectively an administrator, and can apply a password, either for their own purposes or in response to a warning. Can you check the machine in question? If there’s still no login password, you can probably turn off the sharing password. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-access-one-particular-machine-on-the-network-anymore/251596/3 "2004-06-22T12:39:05Z")
If Simlpe File Sharing is turned on, I cannot access other XP machine. Turn it off, and I can. > **[Win XP //ip.ip.ip.ip /C$](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=261811)** > > Will log you onto another XP machine on the network. What determines which user and password you access on that other PC? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-access-one-particular-machine-on-the-network-anymore/251596/4 "2004-06-23T02:50:19Z")
Thanks for your suggestions, but neother were any help. There are no passwords anywhere across the whole LAN, and there never has been. I can’t figure out why my computer is the only one unable to access the other machine, when it worked just fine before the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-access-one-particular-machine-on-the-network-anymore/251596/5 "2004-06-23T02:57:25Z")
Have you tried rebooting all machines at once? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-access-one-particular-machine-on-the-network-anymore/251596/6 "2004-06-23T03:07:14Z")
I’ve tried rebooting both machines, though it wasn’t exactly simultaneously. It’s been going on for the past three days anyway.