Member Avatar for lloyd

in the past, I used
"net use LocalDriveLetter \\remotecomputername\remoteDriveLetter$ password /user:username"
in winxp to login remotely and map the remote drive as a local one. When I try to access to a Vista workstation, I was told "Access is denied". I'm wondering if Vista doesn't support this command line, or need to change some security settings on Vista.
I need to login remotely to copy some files from the remote computer.
thank you for any info.

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Short expert note: the "Access is denied" error when mapping an administrative share on a Vista machine from XP is not a random bug — it is by design. Vista implements remote UAC (token filtering) so local accounts that are merely in the Administrators group do not get a full administrative token over the network; the built‑in Administrator account is handled differently. Microsoft documents the behavior and the supported workarounds. (learn.microsoft.com)

That explains ’s observation: using the built‑in Administrator allowed access, while newly created local admin accounts did not. It also clarifies that the Remote Assistance UI settings mentioned by are unrelated to SMB/admin‑share token filtering — enabling Remote Assistance does not remove the network token filtering that blocks administrative shares for non‑built‑in local admins. (learn.microsoft.com)

Recommended approaches (in order of safety):

  • Create an explicit shared folder and grant the specific user or group the needed share and NTFS permissions (avoids admin shares entirely). (learn.microsoft.com)
  • If admin‑share access is required in a workgroup, either enable the built‑in Administrator temporarily or set the LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy registry value to allow elevated remote tokens. Example registry entry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
Name: LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy  (DWORD)
Value: 1

Or enable the built‑in Administrator (one common method): 

net user Administrator /active:yes

Both actions have security implications; back up the registry and restrict use (re‑disable the built‑in Administrator when finished). (learn.microsoft.com)

Quick troubleshooting checklist: confirm File and Printer Sharing is allowed through the Vista firewall, test with a non‑administrative share to isolate the issue, ensure credentials match (or use a domain account), and apply the registry or built‑in Admin change only if creating a proper shared folder is not possible. (learn.microsoft.com)

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Member Avatar for PcPro12

umm...last i heard, you cant connect remotely from xp to vista, or from vista to vista...

do this on the vista workstation you want to connect to...

go to (in classic version) START>>>CONTROL PANEL>>>SYSTEM>>>than on the left side panel that says TASK, click on REMOTE SETTINGS...and under the tab REMOTE...under the line REMOTE ASSISTANCE, make sure the box that says ALLOW REMOTE ASSISTANCE CONNECTIONS TO THIS COMPUTER...

than you can go lower and click ADVANCED...under REMOTE CONTROL, make sure the box that says ALLOW THIS COMPUTER TO BE CONTROLLED REMOTELY...

i hope this helps and works for you...

Member Avatar for lloyd

sorry for not very clear. I do want to connect from xp to vista.
btw, connection from vista to xp works fine. and I got some confirmation documents that vista does support "net use".
i'm going to try your way tomorrow. thanks for your help.

Member Avatar for PcPro12

yes i know...i connect from vista to xp remotely all the time...but cant from xp to vista...and i did it using my way...try it...

Member Avatar for lloyd

I connected vista from xp successfully with net use.
these days were busy, I did not get time to try it at office. I brought a vista laptop to home and tried it today.
I used the user, built-in administrator, remotely logged in to the vista business. that administrator seems disabled by default. I tried to create another admin user and use it to log in. It steel doesn't work even all the created users i tried are within administrators group. I guess it should be related with some policy which only set up with built-in administrator instead of administrators group. I checked local policy and could not find them.
thanks for your suggestion. but the remote assistance is enabled by default. I checked on two vista computers and both of them are same. this is the second strange thing i realized. in xp should be disabled by default.
i do not know how to send or add a thanks to a user who's post helped me in this web, even I came here years ago. sorry for that.

Member Avatar for PcPro12

ahh, ok...ill try it...i have enabled the built-in admin account a few weeks ago...but havent used it...more the less, i forgot how i did it...lol

commented: helped me a lot +4
Member Avatar for lloyd

which one did you forget, builtin admin? in computer management.

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