Update - Success at last - See end of post!
Well I have had some partial success. I'll detail what I have done in the hope I help someone else in future [I will keep this updated as I progress].
The problem appears to be with the Win2k8 box being too restrictive with its security policy. The server has been locked down using the Security Configuration wizard, and although Windows XP could talk to the server fine, this was obviously too restrictive for Windows7.
So far I have started the SSDP service, the Computer Browser service, added inbound and outbound rules to the firewall for the Network Discovery and additional inbound File and Print sharing.
I still cannot connect using the machine name, i.e. \\server as it still repeatedly asks for the username and password. However if I connect using the IP address i.e. \\192.168.10.50 it accepts the username and password and allows access to the shares.
I will continue fiddling until I manage to work out a combination of what services must be running and what firewall rules must be set up to allow connection using the computer name.
Things to note
Evidentially windows XP machines being able to connect to a network share is no indication that all of the plumbing required for Windows7 to connect is accessible through the firewall.
Update: The following services need to be running in order to connect using the computer name to a share.
- Dns Client
- Function Discovery Provider Host
- Function Discovery Resource Provider
- SSDP Discovery
Additionally firewall rules need to be set (inbound and outbound) for:
- File and Printer Sharing
- Network Discovery
I hope this info helps someone.
I ran into this same problem just now and the help button on the share dialog actually (lo and behold) gave useful information:
Go to Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center -> Advanced sharing settings and change Password protected sharing to off. See picture below:
Best Answer
I was having an identical problem and I just stumbled onto the solution for my situation: I had recently installed Virtual Box on the Win 7 machine and it installed a new network adapter.
If I disable the VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter on the Win 7 machine, I can access the Windows XP machine's shared folders. If I enable the adapter and try to access the shared XP folders, I get the "Enter Network Password" dialog.
Hope this works for someone else.