Trying to setup home network for sharing docs

[HeadHuntin']

Alright, lets see if I can explain this so I don't sound like an idiot.

I have an HP desktop PC running Vista SP2 on the second floor of my house. The desktop is hardwired thru CAT5 to the basement into a Motorola 3800 series gateway with built-in wireless modem. I have U-Verse internet thru AT&T if that matters.

I also have an HP laptop running XP SP3 on the first floor of my house. The laptop is a wireless connection thru the same gateway in the basement.

I am wanting to configure some sort of network or share where I can pull documents/pics from the desktop to the laptop to attach to e-mails and possibly print to the HP Printer wired to the desktop. I have read some of the other posts on here and found where it was said that Vista's network wizard is no good and that a computer with XP has a difficult time "talking" with a Vista computer. Which I have found to be true, thru 3 hours of playing with this last night and getting nowhere. Am I out of luck here?

Please help, I know enough about computers to be dangerous, but I know NOTHING about networking, let alone networking between different OS's.

Let me know if I have left out any valuable info, which I'm sure I have.

Thanks in advance!

[Train]

Basically, things to check are

Workgroup name identical on all machines

sharing enabled and at least one folder shared on all machines

An identical user with a password set on all machines.


http://www.ezlan.net/sharing.html

[HeadHuntin']

Basically, things to check are

Workgroup name identical on all machines

sharing enabled and at least one folder shared on all machines

An identical user with a password set on all machines.


http://www.ezlan.net/sharing.html

I matched the workgroup names and turned on sharing on both, I don't have a password for the laptop, though. I will try this and see. Thanks!

[SuperSparks]

Use the same password on both machines, it makes things easier, in that you won't be nagged to enter your password all the time. You can set one or both machines to autologin if you want, just as long as they both have a password set.

[HeadHuntin']

OK....I matched logins on both machines and turned on all the sharing rights on the Vista desktop PC. On the laptop, when I go to My Network Places, Workgroup....the laptop shows icons for the laptop and the desktop both, so it knows it is there, but when I double-click the desktop icon from the laptop it gives me a messege saying "Logon failure: the user has not been granted the requested logon type at this computer". The desktop doesn't show the laptop as a network choice (it doesn't show up). Also, when I right-click the folder I want to share on the desktop computer, the "Share" button is not clickable, it will not let me share from the desktop?

[SuperSparks]

In both machines, type "secpol.msc" without the quotes into the Run dialog. Then in Local Policies>User Rights Assignment, see who has permission to "Access this computer from a network". Default should be "Everyone, Administrators". Once that permission is correctly set it should get rid of the error message.