How-To set up WebFolders on Windows XP

I recently set up a remote file server for a client that has no central office, but required a large amount of storage space. In addition to SFTP/SCP/R-Synch and other common access methods I installed WebDAV. I wrote this simple How-To on setting up web folders about five years ago and have been recycling it ever since; as such I thought I would post it here. I will not go into how to set up the WebDAV server at this time. However it is very easy to do and if some one wants a how-to guide I would be happy to put it together. I hope you enjoy one of the simplest manuals I ever wrote :)

Setting up Web Folders on Your Computer

1. Minimize or close your browser.

2. Double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop.

3. Double-click the My Network Places icon that appears on the left set of options.

4. From the Network Tasks menu on the left, click Add Network Place. This will open the Add Network Place Wizard.

1. The Add Network Place Wizard opens. Click Next.

2. At the next step of the Wizard, you are asked where you want to create this network place. Click on "Choose another network location" and



then click Next.

3. You will be prompted for the Internet address of your representatives Web site. For example: https://Server.DomainName.com/WebDAVRoot/Folder

4. Then click the Next button.

5. Enter the user ID and password provided to you.

6. Enter a name for the folder that will help you easily identify this network place, such as “Home” or “Office”, and then click Next.

7. Click the Finish button. You will be prompted for your username and password once more and as the Wizard completes the setup.


If you have any problems test your ability to connect.

1. See if your online. The simplest way to do this is open a web browser, go to http://news.google.com/ and see if you see today's headlines. If you do, you are likely online.

2. See if you can connect to the DAV server. Remember that URL you entered above that looked like https://Server.DomainName.com/WebDAVRoot/Folder? Try entering it into your web browser and see what happens. Do you get prompted for a ID and password? If so, you can connect to the server.

3. Enter your ID and Password. If you can see your folders contents then your ID and password are correct.

4. If you can complete all of the above steps, but still cannot set up a web folder see the note bellow. If any of the steps above fail and you can not solve them your self, please contact your IT support group.

Note: Several people have reported problems setting up WebDAV on Windows XP. If you are experiencing difficulty please try perform the following steps before repeating the setup:

1. Double-click My Computer.

2. Double-click local disk C: (If at any point it says "these files are hidden," click "show the contents of this drive" under System Tasks on the left.)

3. Double-click the WINDOWS folder.

4. Double-click the system32 folder.

5. Scroll down the list until you find a file called webfldrs or webfldrs.msi. Double-click this file.

6. Click "Select reinstall mode."

7. Uncheck "Repair all detected reinstall problems."

8. Check the last four options beginning with "Force all files ..." and ending with "Validate shortcuts."

9. Click OK.

10. Click Reinstall.