Internet, Networking, & Security > Home Networking How to Enable or Disable Simple File Sharing in Windows XP Toggle SFS on and off in Windows XP Professional By Bradley Mitchell Bradley Mitchell Writer Massachusetts Institute of Technology University of Illinois An MIT graduate who brings years of technical experience to articles on SEO, computers, and wireless networking. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on June 29, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Home Networking The Wireless Connection Routers & Firewalls Network Hubs ISP Broadband Ethernet Installing & Upgrading Wi-Fi & Wireless What to Know Go to Start > Tools > Folder Options > View. Check Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) to turn on. Select OK.In the same dialog box, uncheck the Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) box to turn it off, then select OK. Simple File Sharing was introduced in Microsoft Windows XP. SFS removed some file-sharing security options available in Windows 2000, with the goal of helping Windows XP administrators quickly set up folder shares. Microsoft Windows XP is discontinued and end-of-life support ended in 2014. Upgrade to Windows 10 to obtain important security patches and feature updates. This content is retained for those who cannot upgrade XP to a modern version of Windows. How to Turn On SFS in Windows XP Professional Simple File Sharing is enabled and cannot be disabled in Windows XP Home Edition. However, it can be enabled and disabled in Windows XP Professional. Go to the Start Menu or Windows XP Desktop and open My Computer. Go to the Tools menu and choose Folder Options. In the Folder Options dialog box, go to the View tab and select the Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) check box to enable SFS. To disable Simple File Sharing, clear the Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) check box. Select OK to close the Folder Options dialog box. The settings for Simple File Sharing are now updated; no computer reboot is required. SFS Tips Enabling Simple File Sharing prevents the ability to assign user-level passwords to shares. When Simple File Sharing is enabled on a computer, remote users are not prompted for a password when accessing that computer's shares. If the Windows XP Professional computer is part of a Windows domain rather than a Windows workgroup, this process to enable or disable Simple File Sharing has no effect. Simple File Sharing always remains disabled for computers joined to domains. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit