Vista and XP File/Printer Sharing problems

[saattwoo]

Hi there,

I've been having very similar problems to many of the people in this
discussion group. I have a network with two XP computers and my new Vista
laptop will not see any of the other devices on the network. I cannot share
files or share the printer that is plugged into one of the XP computers.

I have enabled all file/printer sharing in Vista and disabled password
protection and it still can't find the printer.

Please help!
Thanks!

 

[Robert L. \(MS-MVP\)]

Can you ping each other by IP?

--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com

 

[Mick Murphy]

For the printer, in vista network and sharing, click on "Add a network
device", and browse the network until you find the printer you are looking
for.
Also, make sure that you have a Vista driver for it, as that has to be
installed in vista for it to work

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727037.aspx

Have a read of the above link re Vista File and Printer Sharing.
How to give Permissions are there, too.
If you are running Norton, etc’s Firewall, check its settings.

1st thing to do is make sure that the Workgroup Name of ALL the computers is
the SAME.

In Vista Network and Sharing:

Network Discovery: ON (So it can see the other computers)

Network set to Private (Public is for hotspots, airports, etc)

File Sharing: ON

Public Folder Sharing: ON (Vista’s Public Folder is the same as XP’s Shared
Docs)

Password Protected: OFF (unless you want to set up identical usernames and
passwords on ALL computers in your Network) If you have it ON, you will be
asked for a username and password when you try to access a Vista computer
from an XP computer.

Also, run the XP’s Home Network File and Printer sharing Wizard.