Setting up a ftp server in windows xp

Setting up an FTP site Using Windows XP Professional
Windows XP professional (as well as Windows 2000) includes Microsoft's IIS (Internet Information Server) which can be used to create an FTP site on your computer. It's a fair bit less complicated and less flexible than using some third-party FTP server software packages, so we will give you guides for setting up both. If you are using XP Home you will need to use third-party software. There is no way to publish an FTP site with the Home Edition of XP.
The first step is to check that IIS (Internet Information Services, Microsoft's web-server application) is configured properly.
Go to start\'control panel'\'add/remove programs'/ choose the 'add/remove windows components' button from the bar on the left. Highlight the item 'Internet information services (IIS)' If it is unchecked, check it, then click 'details.'

The components you will need are: 'common files,' 'file transfer protocol (FTP) service' and 'internet information services snap-in.' Uncheck any others then click next. IIS will configure itself, and you may be prompted for the XP CD.

Configuring the FTP Website Controls

After IIS has been installed, an FTP site is automatically created for the directory 'c:\inetpub\ftproot.' Of course, this directory is currently empty. It is also completely unsecured, allowing anyone who enters ftp://(your IP address) in their browser or FTP client to connect to your computer. Next step is to configure your new site.
Go to start\control panel and select the 'switch to classic view' option in the upper left corner. From the classic control panel window, select 'administrative tools,' then 'internet information services.'

From here, expand '(local computer)' and 'FTP sites' until you have 'default FTP site' in the left hand pane.
Right click on 'default FTP site' and select rename if you would like it to be called something a bit more catchy. After all, it's your site now.
Now, right click on your site and select 'properties.'
This window is the life-blood of your FTP site. Let's get familiar with it. The first tab, 'FTP site,' allows you to rename the site, set the port through which users can

connect (leave it at 21 for now), set connection and logging information and view who is currently connected to your FTP site.
The connection section of this tab has two parts, the 'limited to:' box sets the maximum amount of users that can connect to you FTP site at the same time. Note that with XP Professional, the maximum is always 10 concurrent users. You can set this to less if you'd like.
WinXP FTP Security Controls

The 'connection timeout' box shows the amount of time a connected user will be allowed to remain idle before being disconnected. By clicking the 'current sessions' button at the bottom, you can view who is currently connected to your FTP site, and if you wish, disconnect them.
The next tab 'security accounts,' controls whether anonymous users (that means everyone) are allowed to access your FTP site or not. As mentioned above, by default anyone can access your FTP site without a username or password.
IIS uses a built-in user account with a defined set of restrictions to authenticate anyone who connects. This user account, the 'IUSR_(computername) account, is created when IIS is installed, and is also used to allow access to websites you may publish. It is restricted from accessing non-IIS parts of your Windows system.

To be honest, there is not really a correct choice for this setting. If you allow anonymous access, anyone can connect to your FTP site and view any files that you place there.

Disabling anonymous access has its own set of risks, however, which we will cover in the 'FTP security' section below. For now, leave anonymous access enabled. The next section, 'messages,' simply allows you to set various text messages which users connecting to your site will see. Fairly self-explanatory.
Controlling Anonymous Access
FTP can also use DNS (Domain Naming System) addresses, as seen on the World Wide Web. For example: ftp://ftp.learningminds.com would make Internet Explorer attempt to connect to port 21 of the computer 'ftp' in the domain learningminds.com.
If you are connecting to an FTP site that has anonymous access disabled, meaning that you will have to enter a username and password to connect successfully, you must put your username into the address. For example: ftp://me@67.68.255.65 or ftp://me@ftp.LEARNINGMINDS.com
Assuming the username is correct, a password window will open so you can authenticate yourself and then enter the FTP site.
If the FTP site you are trying to connect to uses an alternate port instead of the default port 21, you will also have to specify this. For example, if the server were using port 1056 you would enter: FTP://67.68.255.65:1056 or ftp://me@ftp.LEARNINGMINDS.com:1056
Essentially, FTP addresses can be entered into the IE address bar just as you would WWW addresses, with the only catch being that you must put the ftp:// before the rest of the address, otherwise Internet Explorer will assume that you are trying to connect to a website and not an FTP server. Websites use port 80 by default. Once you have connected to the FTP site, you are presented with a directory window of its contents, which you can manipulate as if it was a directory on your local computer (subject to the permissions you have in the FTP site, of course). You can open files, copy and paste into your other directories, and copy from your computer to the FTP site if you have write permission. Very simple.