Cannot see other PC on wireless network

Hi:

I just bought a Dell Inspiron 1545 and successfully connected it to the internet through a wireless router. The Dell is recognized by the network as MOM-PC. I also have another PC connected (wired) to the same router (COMPROOM). Unfortunately neither PC can “see” each other on the network. I have files on COMPROOM that I want to share with MOM-PC as well as a USB printer. MOM-PC runs VISTA and COMPROOM runs XP SP3. I have tried using control panel network and internet connections, but I would appreciate some further help on how to do this.

Thanks for any help or suggestions!

Al

 

First of all, try to ping each computer from the other. You can do it in a command prompt, using "ping -t 192.168.x.x". Replace the other computers IP address with the "x" It will probably work. If not, disable Windows firewall on both computers, then do it again.

1. If it works for the first try, then you need to enable File and Printer Sharing in Firewall, on both computers. After that I think, shares with anonymous rights should work.

2. If not, at the XP machine, go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Local Security Policy.
-> Local Policies -> Security Options -> Find the "Network Access: Sharing and security model for local accounts", and switch to Classic.

In case they see each other, you should able to browse the other computers data by opening "\\comproom" from the Vista machine. If it's all good, it will ask for a username and a password. All you have to do is, type a valid username and password pair which should be a valid user account on the XP machine. Note: empty (no) password won't work.

I hope I could help!

 

What he said.

Usually its the firewall that messes me up. You should just disable it on both first and see if that lets you connect. If it does, you are basically set. Remember that by default in vista, most file sharing can only take place when you put stuff in the 'public folder' - lame, but 'more secure' I guess.

 

adrianu & mgh_a1

Thanks for your replies!
Here is where I stand at this point:

1. With firewalls on I cannot ping either PC
2. If I turn COMPROOM firewall off and try to ping from MOM-PC it fails.
3. If I turn all firewalls off I can ping each PC however neither PC shows up as a "network place" so I still cannot access files!
4. I even turned on "public folders" on MOM-PC (it was off), but COMPROOM does not see it. MOM-PC, of course, will list folders that are public.
5. I verified file and printer sharing is ON for both PCs

Is there anything else I could try?

Thanks!
Al

 

Bump

Still no joy here. Unable to connect. I noticed that each PC is in a different workgroup. The laptop, MOM-PC is in the workgroup called "workgroup" while COMPROOM is in "MSHOME." Does that make a difference? If so, how do change the one on MOM-PC?

Thanks!
Al

 

What network location did you set for your laptop? Make sure it is under home network. This enables both computers to be discovered by each other. To make things easier, you can try to turn off password-protected sharing too.