I have a desktop computer with Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 connected to a router by Ethernet cable. I have a printer and external hard drive both connected by USB to the desktop. I also have a notebook Windows Vista Home Premium Edition Service Pack 1 which I connect by Ethernet or wireless to my router. Although both can access the internet I cannot get them to see each other. I would like to be able to print and access the external hard drive from the notebook. Both computers can ping each other and the router. Both have the same workgroup name. I did connect my old laptop running Windows XP Pro to the network just to see what happened, this was recognised fine by the Vista Notebook but not by the desktop. This makes me think the problem is with Windows XP Home.
Any suggestions?

Steve

Have you set the external drive (or selected folders in it) as "shared" by right clicking and selecting the Sharing & Security option? Similarly, have you "shared" the Printer?

If you're using third-party firewall software, such as Zone Alarm, has it been configured to allow access to the Vista laptop, which may involve adding the laptop's IP address in a trusted section?

As regards installing a Network Printer in Vista, have a look at this thread

From my own experience I found that Vista was pretty good at detecting a the network setup/connections on my own system, so would be inclined not to dig to deep into Vista looking for the problem. Except to make sure that network file & folders are set to be shared.

As Mike has mentioned, the problem may be that the Drive or Folders have not been configured as shared properly.

I know some of us have different ways of setting up networks, but have you tried running the "Network setup wizard" from either "Control Panel" of from the the XP installation disc.

You can run the wizard as many times as you like without any adverse effects, so even if you have run it already, then it may pay to run it again.
Take your time, and make sure you select the "File & Printer" sharing option during the setup , then afterwards start with just selecting one drive or folder to share initially.

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edit
If you get to a stage where Vista can see the shared folders, but not XP, then please take a look at this post.
http://mgmcc.forumotion.net/networking-f8/file-sharing-with-windows-vista-t64.htm

Yes both the printer and external drive are set to sharing as are some folders on the C drives on both. I am running McAfee Internet security suite on both machines and I have added the IP addresses as trusted. I have tried running the wizard several times but it does not help.
Steve

In the mean-time. (because I don\'t know what else to suggest)

Are the shared items showing a very \"small hand icon\" on the original drives or folders, indicating that they are actually being shared.
This would be next to the text of the drive letter or folder.

.

As you can see, my (C) drive is not shared, but my (D) drive is shared.
The same icon should appear on any shared item.

(Ignore the fact that "my" drive letters come before any text as I use "Tweak UI" to achieve that)

A new message has just been added while you write it your.

Yes they are

Have you tried "sharing" a folder in the actual XP PC, as opposed to an external drive attached to it? If so, and if it is still inaccessible, try entering the path to the shared folder directly into the address bar in Vista's "Network" (My Network Places) using the format:

\\computername

\\computername\sharedfolder

I know Phil (oldfogy) has raised the issue of Passwords when networking with Vista, but I don't have passwords set in any of my Windows PCs and have XP Home, XP Pro and Vista all sharing folders without a problem.

I have tried everything listed above and still nothing

Sorry I just don't know what else to suggest.

Check this out in the desktop PC's registry:

Go to "Start > Run", type regedit and click OK. In the Registry Editor that opens, navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa

look for a DWORD "restrictanonymous" and see what the value is. If it is anything other than 0 (zero), right click the DWORD, select MODIFY and change the decimal value to 0 (zero).

A word of warning, there is a DWORD "restictanonymoussam" just below the one you want - DO NOT change this.

Close regedit and reboot the computer.

If that still doesn't work, run ipconfig /all in a Command Prompt window and let me know what the Node Type is.

I have checked the restrictanonymous and this is set at o, ipconfig shows Node as Unkown

Open a Command Prompt window, type in net user guest and press Enter. Check that it indicates "Account active Yes".
[Note - this has nothing to do with the Guest account in the Users applet of Control Panel.]



Some other things to check:

In the Network Connections folder, right click the Local Area Connection and select Properties. Ensure both 'clients' are enabled:

• Client for Microsoft Networks
  
• File & Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks

Open the Services window ("Start > Run", type services.msc and click OK) and check that these services are "Started" and their Startup Type is "Automatic":

• Workstation
  
• Server
  
• TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
  
• Computer Browser

If you still cannot access the PC, and you have entered the Subnet properly in McAfee's settings using 192.168.x.255 as I suggested earlier, then I would suggest uninstalling McAfee to see if you then have access.

I'm not actually sure what is happening when you do try to access the XP desktop PC. Are you getting an error message to the effect that you don't have permission and to contact the Administrator? This is a generic message that Windows regurgitates whenever there is a problem accessing a remote computer over the network and is frequently incorrect and misleading.