How to share folders between Host and Guest machines on VMs


 You will need to setup Home or small business networking on your Windows guest.  This is generally accomplished in the first-run wizard which pops up the first time you run Windows after installing it.  Be sure that when asked what type of networking to set up, you choose home or small business network.  Next, youwill need to enable Windows Networking in Xandros. Click Launch > Control Center > Control Center, then click Network > Windows Networking. Click the Administrator button, and enter your root password when prompted. Put a check in the box next to Enable file and printer sharing for Windows networks. Make sure the Security level is set to User. Keep this window open for reference while you configure networking in your Windows guest. Make sure the Workgroup name is identical on both Windows and Xandros.

 

 

Next you will have to designate all the folders on Xandros that you want to access from the VM as shared folders. You may need to log on as root, or open an administrator file manager to accomplish this. (Launch > Applications . System > Administrator Tools > Xandros File Manager(Administrator)).

Enter your root password when prompted. In the file manager, navigate to the folders you want to share. These will most likely be located in your Home folder, /Home/(your username) Right click on each folder you want to share. 

 

 

 The easiest way is to right-click on the main folder, such as your user Home folder, and select Sharing > Windows Sharing Check the box labeled Share this item and its contents.

  

 

Click the Permissions tab and make sure the boxes are checked for Read, Write and Exec for the Owner, Group, and Other categories. Check the box marked Apply permissions to all folders and sub-folders. Click OK

 

 

 

Next, in your Windows guest, double-click the My Network Places icon on your desktop. Double-click the Entire Network icon. 

 

 

Click the blue Search for computers link on the left side of the window:

 

 

In the search field, enter the exact description of your Xandros host, exactly as it appears in the Control Center Windows Networking screen. Observe case. Xandros2 is not the same as XANDROS2. Click Search. Windows should find your Xandros host on the network, and display it in the search results window.

 

 

Right click on your Xandros computer in the list, and select Create Shortcut Windows will ask if you want to place the shortcut on the desktop -- DUH!

 

 

Double-click on the shortcut, and a Windows file browser will open showing all the shared folders on your Xandros host.

 

 

Right-click on each folder and select Map Network Drive in the requester, assign a drive letter, and click OK That's it, you should now be able to access your shared folders from within any Windows software running on your guest.

 

 

 

Credit where it's due:  This article is based partly on information provided by Scott on Xandros Forums, and partly on my own trial and error experiments, through which I found what works for me.  Hopefully it will help you as well.   papabearak