elementary XP networking question under extreme duress, please hel

[Guest]

Can anybody help me? I've been stuck in Washington DC for several days
trying to install my first XP network of two Microsoft XP machines each
connected
to a D-Link router (DI-624) which in turn is connected with a DSL cable modem.
Sorry to ask such a dumb question - one pc, XP Pro, can access shared files
on the other, XP Home, but the XP Home machine can not access files declared
"shared" on the Pro machine. In the latter instance,
Start->Run->"\\192.168.0.100"
always brings up a login panel which does NOT allow me to login; the login
panel
merely repeats itself.
Worthy of mention - I did not want to use ICS, Internet Connection Sharing,
but
after using Network Setup Wizard, I somehow got "Network Connections"
showing under the "Internet Gateway" category, an entry -
"name=Internet Connection, type=Internet Gateway, status=Connected,
devicename=Internet Connection, owner=System" Is this why the two machines
aren't seeing each other the same way?

What could I be doing wrong?? Is there an obvious explanation - Is
firewalling obviously different on the two machines or is that I'm not using
Network Setup Wizard correctly?

Please note, I installed Service Pack 2 on both machines and ping from each
machine detects the other machine ( ping 192.168.0.100 from 192.168.0.101 is
okay and so is the other). The DI-624 router, I'm told, is NOT the problem -
though I did install a version 2.45 software upgrade from their website which
created a "D-Link Router" entry under "Network Places->Workgroup."

Thank you ever so much for helping a neophyte XP user under extraordinary
duress!! Suggestions about which websites have the clearest explanations
for installation issues with XP and Service Pack 2, would be acknowledged
with gratitude, possibly in publication form!!!! Rich Pan, Washington,
DC
202 829-9732, (e-mail address removed)

 

[wayne]

are you using accounts with the same username and password on both machines?

the login panel needs to be logged in as

computername\username on the first line
password on second line

Make sure the firewall is turned of on both machines the shared folder
allows access to authenticated users. Turn simple file sharing off!

go to help under the start menu and type in simple file sharing

Wayne

 

[RonK]

Make sure that both computers have the same name in Workgroup.

 

[Guest]

dear Wayne, thank yiou ever so much!...

are you using accounts with the same username and password on both machines? yes

the login panel needs to be logged in as

computername\username on the first line
password on second line that is what i did..though it did not work.
important question...must there be a login panel on both machine? on

the machine that had no login panel, access was allowed!

Make sure the firewall is turned of on both machines the shared folder
allows access to authenticated users. Turn simple file sharing off! (it was.)

Should the firewall be entirely turned off or only at the network connections

which lead to the Internet, ie Control Panel->Windows Firewall->Advanced
tab->
check "My ISP," "Earthlink modem," and "Local area connection" to enable
Firewalling, is this right?? i thought "Local area connection" should enable
firewalling since this motherboard network adapter RJ45 ethernet connector
is the only connection from the router (and thus, Internet AND the XP Pro pc).
Is it possible to firewall this "Local area connection" against the Internet
selectively
that is, not against the other XP pc? the two pcs definitely had different
settings
in the Advanced Firewall tabbed panel.
Or is it better to eliminate the firewall completely? Is this a dangerous
permanent
solution - that eventually there will be Internet events that a firewall
should
keep out? i'll learn about simple file sharing but on both pcs sfs was off.
whose the best person/organization to ask about involved xp networking
questions?
Microsoft or others... D-Link was unwilling to comment on XP issues!