Network setup problem - one way connection

Hi, I am trying to set up a simple two machine network. A desktop using Win XP Pro sp2 and a laptop using Vista Home Prem sp1. They are connected by a Linksys WRT160N wireless router (using wpa security) which is cabled to the desktop and a DSL modem. Printing is done wirelessly. This setup was done with the DSL modem & Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 disabled.
Both machines have same username & password. They both access the internet & printer individually, prior to setting up this network. Haven't tested them with the network yet.
The laptop can see the desktop, router & printer. When I click its' icon I can log on to the desktop & access the files in the shared folder. The desktop can see the laptop & router. When I click the laptop icon, the logon window freezes (no error messages). Cursor movement outside the window changes to an hourglass. I can still use the computer, just that the login will not connect. Clicking cancel shuts the login window. I ran the network diagnostics on the desktop & everything passed. At this point i am stumped. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. OleGreyGhost

 

TonyT,
Thanks for the link, I read the article already. I am going to use it to double check my work. What does not make sense is the Vista laptop being able to access the XP desktop but not the other way around even though they can see each other. I'll post back with my findings. If you can think of any thing else, I'll check that out also. I appreciate you taking the time & effort. OleGreyGhost

 

Computer World has an article here about mixing XP/Vista in a network that you may find useful.

 

wildfire, thanks for the link, I will check it out.

 

No problem, be sure to read the comments too, some issues are referred to in them that aren't part of the article.

Let us know how you get on.

 

Wildfire, I read the article & the comments. On the laptop map, the desktop is listed as an unknown device, but can be logged onto and files read in the shared folder. I tried downloading the lltdr from MS. No luck - download failed. Most of the problems in the article were accessing the shared files. I am taking that as they were able to login to the other computer. On my desktop, I can see the laptop. When I click on its icon, the login window opens, I enter the user name & password, the screen flashes and the login window remains there. with the password dots highlighted in blue. When I move the cursor outside the login window it turns to an hourglass. waited for 10 minutes but the hourglass just wouldn't go away. When I hit cancel control of the was returned. So right now my main problem is logging into the laptop from the desktop. Any other thought will be greatly appreciated. OleGreyGhost

 

TonyT, Still working on the file & printer sharing. Half way thru & everything checks out OK so far. Will complete tomorrow and post the results. OleGreyGhost

 

TonyT, Thank you for the reply.

I am not using Vista firewall at all..

Print sharing was never enabled & probably never will be. I also do not intend to use the internet connection sharing. My intention is to be able to edit, copy & exchange files between machines.

I finished checking the file & printer sharing document against the laptop settings. Everything appears in order. If I just knew how the login worked I might be able to track this down. I am going to poke around the innards of Vista to ascertain how the login connection is made. I will let you know the results. OleGreyGhost

 

Network setup problem - one way connection - solved

TonyT & wildfire,

Thank you for time & your input. Your insight and links were the direction I needed to locate the answer.

After poking around inside Vista, I found the answer. It seems that I took the file & printer sharing instructions, too, literally. When I created the account on the laptop to match the username on the desktop I observed I couldn't access any of my files on the laptop. So I deleted the new account & changed my existing account username & password on the laptop to match the desktop. It seems my action totally confused Vista & then Vista faked me out.

In windows explorer under my documents, Vista changed the username to reflect the username on the desktop. I thought this satisfied the requirements of the file & printer sharing document. But in the registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Volatile Environment (HomePath & UserProfile) still showed my original username on the laptop. This is probably the reason the login screen froze without any errors. Verification was found in windows explorer on the C drive. The directory showed C:\users\(original username).

So I changed the account back to the original username & password. On a whim I accessed the laptop, the login window opened, I entered the original username & password from the laptop (which is different from the username & password on the desktop) and hit enter. To my surprise, the desktop connected to the laptop. I could access the public folder and read the files that were in it. Further testing reveals I can now connect in both directions. It also reveals I have a lot more to learn on sharing & permissions. So we can consider this problem resolved.

I apologize for any confusion that I caused by creating my own dumb problem. Also for the long winded post.

I sincerely appreciate the efforts of TonyT, wildfire & the other forum members for their assistance. OleGreyGhost