Network discovery & file sharing - help

Zuzzie

For hours now Ive been trying to set up file sharing between my laptop and desktop - both Vista Home Premium - so, you think it would be easy, yes? Hell no! Ive followed the Vista tutorial and still can't get it to work. Can someone out there plse help.
This is what Ive done so far:
In the network sharing centre Ive enabled discovery, file sharing, public folder sharing and Ive taken off the password protection thingy. Also, Ive made sure that the windows firewall is enabled for file sharing and that Norton will allow it too.
When I go thru the motions of choosing a document and sharing it I get the wizard telling me its been successful but no matter what I do I can't see it on the other computer. Ive tried sending a link thru an email but this doesnt work.
Also, am I supposed to see 2 computers listed on computers and devices? because at the moment all I can see on each computer is 1. Am I looking in the wrong place? how do I know that each computer can see the other?
any help appreciated.
thanks.

TonyLisaP

In which way are your machines networked? Through a router or a crossover cable? Have you set the permissions properly on the documents that you want to share?

mdbarber

Your really shouldn't bother with 2 firewalls, asking for conflict there, am assuming both machines have same workgroup name that helps, but vista is not so predictable as xp i discovered. try pinging one machine from another to confirm tcpip connection

Zuzzie

Hi : I have them networked thru a router.
am not very techie so dont really know how to ping.

TonyLisaP

On both machines Goto start, all programs, accessories, right click on command prompt and runas administrator. In the black window that comes up type in
ipconfig

Make a note of the IP address of both machines.
If machine one is 192.168.2.2 and machine two is 192.168.2.3 then in the command prompt from machine one type in
ping 192.168.2.3

Do the opposite from machine two, type in
ping 192.168.2.2


Report what it says here.

Conor_3

Norton will be the problem - it's always the problem.

TonyLisaP

Conor wrote: »

Norton will be the problem - it's always the problem.

Couldn't have said it better myself. Norton has to justify its existence so it goes WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY over the top.

Zuzzie

thanks chaps - will give it a go.

thor

Turn off all firewalls just testing purposes and see if it works. When you do eventually succeed(fingers crossed) just enable one of them as it is true about the complications caused by more than one firewall on a system.