With a little effort, you can set up an FTP server on Windows XP Professional that your friends can grab files off of.
1. First, you should start by retrieving your Windows XP CD.
2. Next, click the Start button and and go to the Control Panel.
3. After that, select "Add⁄Remove Windows Components."
4. Select "Internet Information Services" under "Windows Components."
5. Click "details" and select the "File Transfer Protocol (FTP)" service. (Remember that this will also automatically select "Common Files" and "Internet Information Services Snap-In.")
6. Click OK and follow the instructions for the install Wizard (or you can just push next if you don't feel like reading). Be prepared with your Windows XP CD, because it might prompt you for it if you haven't already installed it. Once it is done, you might have to restart your computer after this.
7. After that, all you need to do is just paste the files you want to be public into "C:/INETPUB/FTPROOT." Note that by default, these files are read-only and public. Public meaning that anyone who knows the IP address may download copies from it.
8. There's more to go! Now, you need to configure your router's firewall to let FTP traffic through. This can be done through your router's administration menu. Note that this will vary depending on your router.
9. After letting your router firewall let FTP connections in, you will have to configure your regular firewall to let FTP connections in through a certain port.
10. Finally, after done with everything, you may access your FTP site through your browser. All you need to do is type ftp://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/ in the URL where "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" is the WAN address of your computer.
Tips
• You may edit the rights people have by going to the Control Panel and selecting the "Administrative Tools" icon. After doing so, select "Information Internet Services (IIS)" On the left side of the window, you'll see your computer. Expand it and right-click on the folder named "FTP Sites" and choose "Properties." Now, you can set who may access your server and whether they have rights or not.
• To access the WAN / LAN address of your computer, you will need to open the Command Prompt and enter "IPCONFIG" in the input. Your LAN address is the address used to identify your computer over your private network. Your WAN address is the address used to identify your computer over the internet.
• To edit the public folder, access the FTP Sites properties and click on the "Home Directory" tab. In the Home directory you can change to the folder to anything that you want such as the Shared Documents folder.
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