Hello, I'm trying to network a new Vista (Home Professional) laptop to my old
XP (Home) desktop. Ironically, I had this once working, but had to reinstall
Operating Sys in the Vista; and now can't get to the files. I am able to see
the computer in the Networking "view full map." But I can't click on that
computer to open the files (nor can I through Explorer/Network -- which
doesn't show it there.)

Since it was once working, I am a bit puzzled, and presume the settings (at
least in the unchanged XP) to be correct. When I worked to connect last time,
it didn't work, didn't work, etc., and then, one day, there it all was.
Explainable to you tech guys, I'm sure; but magic to me. Anyway, nothing's
changed except a clean reinstall of Vista OS in my new machine.

Vista machine connects wirelessly to a router, which is plugged directly
into XP. I have installed the Link Layer Topology Device into XP machine, but
not in Vista. (It doesn't need to be there, right? I presume it's a Vista
component.) I have set the file folders to "share" and given permissions for
a network user to write files. (It seems to me that the last time I got this
to work, I had clicked this off, and clicked it on again, causing a reset of
the permissions -- and that's when it showed in the new Vista.

Router number is ...168.4.1 (Printer is ...168.4.2) XP machine is ..168.4.3,
and Vista is ..168.4.4

Both workgroups are "MSHOME" -- and this setting worked before.

Any suggestions, anyone? Thanks.

If you can see it but not access, I would check the permission first. Or this link may help,

Vista Permission IssuesPost Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:14 am Post subject: How to: check permissions using Vista icacls command, Reply with quote . ...
http://www.chicagotech.net/vista/vistapermission.htm


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
"Don" wrote in message ...
Hello, I'm trying to network a new Vista (Home Professional) laptop to my old
XP (Home) desktop. Ironically, I had this once working, but had to reinstall
Operating Sys in the Vista; and now can't get to the files. I am able to see
the computer in the Networking "view full map." But I can't click on that
computer to open the files (nor can I through Explorer/Network -- which
doesn't show it there.)

Since it was once working, I am a bit puzzled, and presume the settings (at
least in the unchanged XP) to be correct. When I worked to connect last time,
it didn't work, didn't work, etc., and then, one day, there it all was.
Explainable to you tech guys, I'm sure; but magic to me. Anyway, nothing's
changed except a clean reinstall of Vista OS in my new machine.

Vista machine connects wirelessly to a router, which is plugged directly
into XP. I have installed the Link Layer Topology Device into XP machine, but
not in Vista. (It doesn't need to be there, right? I presume it's a Vista
component.) I have set the file folders to "share" and given permissions for
a network user to write files. (It seems to me that the last time I got this
to work, I had clicked this off, and clicked it on again, causing a reset of
the permissions -- and that's when it showed in the new Vista.

Router number is ...168.4.1 (Printer is ...168.4.2) XP machine is ...168.4.3,
and Vista is ..168.4.4

Both workgroups are "MSHOME" -- and this setting worked before.

Any suggestions, anyone? Thanks.

Thanks for the help. It's not yet working. (I did read the chicagotech, etc
postings.) As it had happened before, I was hoping that Vista would have
"found" it in it's due course, but this is not yet the case. In the meantime:

For permissions, the old machine is XP, and the only permissions that I know
of there are file sharing, sort of yes/no read/write type. All of these have
been turned on (and off and on.) --This is what worked the last time, but
nothing yet. Were you referring to permissions within Vista that need to be
changed?

I've also tried the USB "set up an ad-hoc network" and also nothing.

In Network and Sharing, when I click on "View Full Map", I can see an icon
for the machine I want, but nothing is available to me on mouseover, as it is
on this machine and "Internet". Clicking on that XP icon yields nothing --
which previously did bring up the files.

On a ping (if this helps) From this machine I can successfuly ping the
router, networked printer, (not this machine), and the XP machine. From the
XP machine, I can also ping each of the other three things, but not itself
(which I presume to be the norm.)

So, it does seem to be finding it, but not opening the files.

Again, thanks.

"Robert L [MVP - Networking]" wrote:

If you can see it but not access, I would check the permission first. Or this link may help,

Vista Permission IssuesPost Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:14 am Post subject: How to: check permissions using Vista icacls command, Reply with quote . ...
http://www.chicagotech.net/vista/vistapermission.htm


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
"Don" wrote in message ...
Hello, I'm trying to network a new Vista (Home Professional) laptop to my old
XP (Home) desktop. Ironically, I had this once working, but had to reinstall
Operating Sys in the Vista; and now can't get to the files. I am able to see
the computer in the Networking "view full map." But I can't click on that
computer to open the files (nor can I through Explorer/Network -- which
doesn't show it there.)

Since it was once working, I am a bit puzzled, and presume the settings (at
least in the unchanged XP) to be correct. When I worked to connect last time,
it didn't work, didn't work, etc., and then, one day, there it all was.
Explainable to you tech guys, I'm sure; but magic to me. Anyway, nothing's
changed except a clean reinstall of Vista OS in my new machine.

Vista machine connects wirelessly to a router, which is plugged directly
into XP. I have installed the Link Layer Topology Device into XP machine, but
not in Vista. (It doesn't need to be there, right? I presume it's a Vista
component.) I have set the file folders to "share" and given permissions for
a network user to write files. (It seems to me that the last time I got this
to work, I had clicked this off, and clicked it on again, causing a reset of
the permissions -- and that's when it showed in the new Vista.

Router number is ...168.4.1 (Printer is ...168.4.2) XP machine is ...168.4.3,
and Vista is ..168.4.4

Both workgroups are "MSHOME" -- and this setting worked before.

Any suggestions, anyone? Thanks

Ah, I think I'm getting there. It seems to be Norton Firewall (this machine
related.) I just turned off the firewall briefly and, boom, files are
accessable.

Now, all I need to do is figure out how to configure the firewall specific
to letting that machine in, and not the whole world.

Do you know Norton's Firewall? Any suggestions?

Again, thanks for the previous help.

"Robert L [MVP - Networking]" wrote:

If you can see it but not access, I would check the permission first. Or this link may help,

Vista Permission IssuesPost Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:14 am Post subject: How to: check permissions using Vista icacls command, Reply with quote . ...
http://www.chicagotech.net/vista/vistapermission.htm


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
"Don" wrote in message ...
Hello, I'm trying to network a new Vista (Home Professional) laptop to my old
XP (Home) desktop. Ironically, I had this once working, but had to reinstall
Operating Sys in the Vista; and now can't get to the files. I am able to see
the computer in the Networking "view full map." But I can't click on that
computer to open the files (nor can I through Explorer/Network -- which
doesn't show it there.)

Since it was once working, I am a bit puzzled, and presume the settings (at
least in the unchanged XP) to be correct. When I worked to connect last time,
it didn't work, didn't work, etc., and then, one day, there it all was.
Explainable to you tech guys, I'm sure; but magic to me. Anyway, nothing's
changed except a clean reinstall of Vista OS in my new machine.

Vista machine connects wirelessly to a router, which is plugged directly
into XP. I have installed the Link Layer Topology Device into XP machine, but
not in Vista. (It doesn't need to be there, right? I presume it's a Vista
component.) I have set the file folders to "share" and given permissions for
a network user to write files. (It seems to me that the last time I got this
to work, I had clicked this off, and clicked it on again, causing a reset of
the permissions -- and that's when it showed in the new Vista.

Router number is ...168.4.1 (Printer is ...168.4.2) XP machine is ...168.4.3,
and Vista is ..168.4.4

Both workgroups are "MSHOME" -- and this setting worked before.

Any suggestions, anyone? Thanks

GOT IT! Too weird, but I'll recount it here, in case it helps someone else
browsing.

As it turns out, it was my Norton Firewall. So yes, the two machines are
built to communicate. But what's weird is that disabling the firewall alone
wasn't enough. I had to configure the desktop machine (again, this is
specific to Norton) as a "trusted IP" And then again, simply listing the
machine as "trusted" without turning off the firewall, ALSO wasn't enough. I
had to first list it as "trusted", and then turn off the firewall. And boom
-- the files were all there. And what's further weird, is that, then I turned
the firewall back on, and it all still worked. So somehow perhaps, it needed
to get past firewall to have found the trusted IP configuration; and then,
once it was on again, all was configured OK. Further weird yet is that this
"trusted IP" thing is something that I never had to mess with when the
machine was working the first time. Who knows? I guess Vista just had to
browse around for awhile. --But those things were the key.

Now, for those who may be like me -- the "just gotta know" type person. Just
for the knowledge of what ultimately caused this, I went back in and removed
that trusted IP configuration. And boom -- no files. So, OK, that's in, I'm
thinking. So I put it back in, and again NO files. Yikes! And I had it
working, I'm thinking. Did I REALLY have to mess with this, just for the sake
of knowing. (Yes, is that answer.)

Anyway, after getting all in a knot for awhile, that's when I turned off --
and then later successfully turned back on -- the firewall. And it worked.

I'll post this in a fresh post so that it may help someone; but the nutshell
steps to configure the Norton Firewall a

1. Open Norton Protection Center
2. Click on the second tab, "Norton Internet Security"
3. If it's not already, open the "Settings" section by clicking the "open"
4. Scroll down about halfway to the Web Browsing section, and then look for
the Personal Firewall section. Chances are, if the firewall is on, you click
the "On" link (It'll say Off, if you've disabled it), and then..
5. Click on the Configure button.

Almost there..
6. Under the Personal Firewall section, third link down says Trust Control.
Click here.
7. Middle tab says Trusted. Click there.
8. Click on the button that says Add, and then type in the IP of the machine
that you want to network with. (In my case 192.168.0.4) and then OK. If you
don't know the IP of what you're looking for, then do Control Panel/Network
and Sharing Center and click "View full map" to see your setup. Mouseover the
computer you're looking for, and it will show you its IP. (Now, if your
machine doesn't show up in this map, that's a whole different situation than
I'm talking about, and I'm not a network guy. So you'll have to figure that
part yourself.)

9. Once you've entered in the IP -- and this is the part I don't understand
-- that's when I turned off the firewall, and it worked. And then turned back
on the firewall, and it STILL (thankfully) worked.

So, if that alone isn't the end of the saga, as I'm typing this, working
through all the stuff to click, turned off the firewall and back on again,
and it didn't work. Oh joy. Fortunately, I had mapped the other machine's
drive to my computer, which now lists it as a "Y" drive on mine, right in my
windows explorer. And I was still able to access. So, at least I'm functional.

Now, by "not work" what I mean is that, in Network and Sharing Center, when
I clicked on View full map, it showed the computer, but I couldn't click on
it to see the files. Again, fortunately the previous map was still working,
so I was content. But all to not-understandable to me.

So, as I had nothing to lose (hopefully,) I clicked off and on the firewall
again (all the windows were still open and everything worked again.

I won't be changing it again.

I hope this helps someone.