File Sharing Problem???

[Guest]

Quick run down, one destop running XP Home, and one laptop running Vista Home
Prem. my desktop is connected to a router by cable and laptop is conected
wirelessly. both are connected fine the internet works fine on both, but the
problem is i can't for some reason file share between them but i have tryed
everything i know and gone though all the help on the computers and
everything i can find online, as far as i can tell the laptop is functioning
correctly, but the desktop ??? i have run the connection wizard all setting
are good, both computer can ping the router but not each other, i share files
and folders on my desktop but nothing comes up in my network places this is
where i thihnk the problem is but all setting and confi says it should work
as far as i can see

any assitance would be great

 

[Guest]

Host should be the desktop PC and Guest the laptop.
Install the printer on the Host PC. Then using Control Panel>Network
Setup Wizard, enable File & Printer Sharing and make sure you check the
box to allow others to print to your printers. Next under Start>Settings>
Printers, select the printer, check the box to share the printer and assign
a name. Keep the name short, no blanks, something like Printer2.

You should now be able to add the printer to your Guest PCs using Start>
Control Panel>Printers & Faxes>Add Printer. Check the radio button
"A network printer ..." and then either browse for the printer or enter its
name (using \\PCName\PrinterName) and continue until finished. Ensure
that the firewall on your XP PC is set to allow access to remote printers.
If using XP's native firewall ensure that File and Printer Sharing is
enabled and that the box with he same name is checked in the Firewall
exceptions list. The PCName can be found at:
Note: Make sure to include the slashes (\\) in printer name.
Rightclick My Computer icon on desktop>Properties>Computer Name tab.
It may look something like: "Home-66djksjcpv". Don't type the quotes.
Click "Next" and it should install the printer on the Guest PC when
it finds it.

Note: You can follow the same procedure to get access to
"Files" from one PC to the other.