sharing printers and folders

[badgolferman]

How do I set up my home desktop and laptop computers to share files and
printers? The "Set up a home or small office network" wizard did not
work.

I have a cable modem, Netgear router with both computers hooked up to
the router. The desktop is wired to the router and the laptop is
wireless. The printer is on the desktop computer.

 

[David Sanders]

How do I set up my home desktop and laptop computers to share files and
printers? The "Set up a home or small office network" wizard did not
work.

I have a cable modem, Netgear router with both computers hooked up to
the router. The desktop is wired to the router and the laptop is
wireless. The printer is on the desktop computer.

You may need to set up your firewall software to allow sharing. Can you
ping one computer from the other?

 

[badgolferman]

You may need to set up your firewall software to allow sharing. Can
you ping one computer from the other?

Okay, I have fixed the desktop computer's firewall to allow traffic
from the laptop and am now connected to the printer. I wanted that
feature at least. However I am still unable to see shared folders from
either side. My desktop XP PRO and the laptop is XP Home. I have Read
enabled for Everyone under Sharing Properties.

 

[Malke]

Okay, I have fixed the desktop computer's firewall to allow traffic
from the laptop and am now connected to the printer. I wanted that
feature at least. However I am still unable to see shared folders
from
either side. My desktop XP PRO and the laptop is XP Home. I have
Read enabled for Everyone under Sharing Properties.

You also need to configure the laptop's firewall. Also, if one or more
of the computers is XP Pro (which you say is the case):

a. If you need Pro's ability to set fine-grained permissions, turn off
Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab) and create identical user
accounts/passwords on all computers.

b. If you don't care about using Pro's advanced features, leave the
Simple File Sharing enabled.

Simple File Sharing means that Guest (network) is enabled. This means
that anyone without a user account on the target system can use its
resources. This is a security hole but only you can decide if it
matters in your situation.

Then create shares as desired. XP Home does not permit sharing of users'
home directories (My Documents) or Program Files, but you can share
folders inside those directories. A better choice is to simply use the
Shared Documents folder.

If that doesn't work for you, here is an excellent network
troubleshooter by MVP Hans-Georg Michna. Take the time to go through it
and it will usually pinpoint the problem area(s) -
http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm

Malke