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Author Topic: Anyone use Network Magic program?  (Read 12074 times)

canon

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Anyone use Network Magic program?
« on: March 16, 2008, 08:50:48 AM »

After struggling to sort out file sharing between an XP desktop and a Vista laptop I wonder if this program might help.
I have got it working but what an effort to get my XP machine to access the Vista one  :'(  or should I say get the Vista machine to accept the XP one.
Anyone using/used Network Magic?
http://www.networkmagic.com/
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mr_chris

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Re: Anyone use Network Magic program?
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2008, 08:58:18 AM »

Looks interesting - have to say I don't want to download it and try it, cuz my network works (although it doesn't contain any vista machines!)

Alternatively, you can have a go at what I suggested to OF in this post here to try and get the XP machine to connect to the Vista one - it's all to do with user accounts and passwords being required by default on Vista.
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Chris

canon

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Re: Anyone use Network Magic program?
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2008, 04:11:07 PM »

Just installed the 7-day trial (Pro version). Looks good so far, very easy and quick to use and Vista file sharing becomes a "non-problem".
The pro version has feature which can give you report on activity etc. but that goes via the Network Magic servers so there's a privacy issue there.
Quite a nice interface, easy to understand.
I suspect for most, the basic version is adequate and at $30 not a bad buy.
T
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oldfogy

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Re: Anyone use Network Magic program?
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2008, 06:13:23 PM »

Hi Cannon.
Just had exactly the same problem myself (as outlined in the "New Aldi PC) thread.
http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php?topic=1632.new;topicseen#new

The problem is that both machines "need" to have a password and user-name, then there is NO PROBLEM
Except it means having to input the password at startup.
Although the password can be as little as one digit.

N.B.
If both PCs have the same details the networking folders open without having to input the password etc.
If only the Vista PC has a password then the "Public" folder is accessible from XP without needing a password.

I hope this helps.
I will try your link later, as I don't want to be bothered with passwords as there is only myself who use the system.

************
Sorry I forgot to mention that Mr Chris also came up with 2 possible solutions on the other page.
Unfortunately the second one does not work on my PC as the "gpedit" file does not exist.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2008, 06:16:04 PM by oldfogy »
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canon

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Re: Anyone use Network Magic program?
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2008, 08:31:20 PM »

I did get sharing from the Vista machine working ok without using passwords but it is very tedious and after much Googling.
Not only do you have to set the sharing permissions on the folder properties tab but also the security permissions too. It is necessary on the security tab to 'add' 'Everyone' and give permissions on that. You have to do it for each folder, Vista does not like doing a whole drive or program folders.

Network Magic does all this with a few clicks - great  :) - it did just what I did manually. You can choose to use a PW but I didn't.
I recommend it, so far at least. Got to try printer sharing yet. I've gone up a steep learning curve in the past week on network stuff!  :graduate:
With NM you don't have to undo all your existing set-up, it shows that too. I then edited it to be consistent.

I started to follow up that gpedit thing too. There's some stuff out there on how to get it but I did not follow it up after success with NM.
Terry.
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oldfogy

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Re: Anyone use Network Magic program?
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2008, 08:47:00 PM »

Sharing, Sharing, Sharing and more Sharing, what a pain.

Personally I think part of it is a "conspiracy" by M$ to get people to upgrade from XP to Vista.
Because:
Vista talks to Vista without any problems,
Vista talks to XP without any problems,
Whereas XP to Vista is a nightmare.
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kitz

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Re: Anyone use Network Magic program?
« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2008, 09:56:00 PM »

>> I think part of it is a "conspiracy" by M$ to get people to upgrade from XP to Vista.

I'm now the owner of 2 totally unused vista licenses.  One is Vista Media Center Edition which I purchased when building the Media Center and now another OEM version which came pre-installed on a bought PC.

Ive  tried to get to like Vista - but I cant.  It may have made some things simpler for the non-techies, but IMHO its made things worse for those that do like to have a bit of control over whats happening.
It annoys me how certain things are buried deep in the O/S.
It annoys me that it constantly asks me "are you sure you want to do this".
It annoys me that despite me being an Admin user - I still cant do certain things without having to "Run as administrator". 
Come on - if the account is set as admin and I want to run something direct from the cmd line - if I know how to find the cmd line then surely I should be able to use it. :mad:

IMHO where M$ has gone wrong with Vista is theyve tried to make it idiot proof - but in doing so they've taken away many of the things (and made it more difficult) that the more advanced user wants to do.

As regards to the constant "Are you sure?" nags - this only serves to make me more complacent.  Kind of like the guy who cries wolf- you just ignore whats being said - and get to the stage where you find yourself saying "Yes" without even reading properly. :(
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oldfogy

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Re: Anyone use Network Magic program?
« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2008, 10:08:50 PM »


As regards to the constant "Are you sure?" nags - this only serves to make me more complacent.  Kind of like the guy who cries wolf- you just ignore whats being said - and get to the stage where you find yourself saying "Yes" without even reading properly. :(

I know I have mentioned it in another thread/s but at least that one is the easiest to stop.
But just in-case anyone is coming across this thread here is the solution again:

1. Click Start, and then open Control Panel.
2. Now, click the User Accounts and Family Safety link, followed by.
3. User Accounts link.
4. Now click the ' Turn User Account Control on or off' link.
5. Click to remove the tick from the 'Use User Account Control...' check-box and then click OK.

However it's strongly recommended that novice users keep (UAC) active.

As for the rest of Vista, the only smiley available would be against the public interest of posting it here.

***************************
Re: Network Magic
Not for me I'm afraid, it' just a bit over complicated for me.

For someone probably sharing one or two folders it seems fine, but as my network folders are already setup, Network Magic is just duplicating them, plus it was being blocked left-right-and-centre by PG2 so I had to "Allow HTTP" on a permanent basis, which I did not like.
So beware if using PG2 and have problems, but thanks just the same.

To be honest I thought I was going to be able to use it to de-activate the password settings, but no, and yes, it does get around them though.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2008, 11:51:40 PM by oldfogy »
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