I have a XP computer that is ethernet connected to a router and a printer. I set up networking on the XP and gave it a name a network name of Workgroup (although the computer has it's own name). I just bought a new laptop that had Windows 7 and I created a wireless SSID on the router with a WPA-2 incription and the laptop goes through the router with no problem. The printer on the XP connects through a USB port and is a local printer but I want to be able to share some files and the printer with the Windows 7 wireless laptop.I have tried to network to the XP but the windows 7 laptop only shows as it's network the router and the SSID name on the router. It does not see the local XP desktop that is ethernet connected to the router. Since the The XP desktop does not use the router SSID in any of it's network setup I have become confused and don't know what I am doing. Whwen I look at my networking map on my laptop it shows my network name as the SSID name that I have on the router. Do I need to chang on the XP the name that I gave it "workgroup" to the SSID name? (which incidently is obscured and not broadcast by the router)I have Kaspersky 2010 internet security which is providinng the firewall and I have windows firewall turned off. I do se that proteted mode is onI amtechnically challanged and very dumb and need explinations in detailedCan any one help?

The wireless network has nothing to do with this. You are setting up File/Printer Sharing on your Local Area Network. Here are general network troubleshooting steps. Not everything may be applicable to your situation, so just take the bits that are. It may look daunting, but if you follow the steps at the links and suggestions below systematically and calmly, you will have no difficulty in setting up your sharing. Problems sharing files between computers on a network are generally caused by 1) a misconfigured firewall or overlooked firewall (including a stateful firewall in a VPN); or 2) inadvertently running two firewalls such as the built-in Windows Firewall and a third-party firewall; and/or 3) not having identical user accounts and passwords on all Workgroup machines; 4) trying to create shares where the operating system does not permit it. In Windows 7, go to Control Panel>All Control Panel Items>Network and Sharing Center. Click on "Change advanced sharing settings". You don't want to use Homegroup unless you have all Windows 7 machines. If you do and you want to use Homegroup, see Windows 7's Help & Support. Otherwise, in the Advanced Sharing: Turn ON network discovery Turn ON file and printer sharing Turn ON sharing in the Public folder sharing section Turn ON password protected sharing A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network (LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, turning on Windows 7's File and Printer Sharing as above will take care of this for you. If you aren't running a third-party firewall or have an antivirus/security program with its own firewall component, then you're fine. With third-party firewalls,I usually configure the LAN allowance with an IP range. Ex. would be 192.168.1.0-192.168.1.254. Obviously you would substitute your correct subnet. Refer to any third party security program's Help or user forums for how to properly configure its firewall. Do not run more than one firewall. DO NOT TURN OFF FIREWALLS; CONFIGURE THEM CORRECTLY. B. For ease of organization, put all computers in the same Workgroup. This is done from the System applet in Control Panel, Computer Name tab. C. Create matching user accounts and passwords on all machines. You do not need to be logged into the same account on all machines and the passwords assigned to each user account can be different; the accounts/passwords just need to exist and match on all machines. DO NOT NEGLECT TO CREATE PASSWORDS, EVEN IF ONLY SIMPLE ONES . If you wish a machine to boot directly to the Desktop (into one particular user's account) for convenience, you can do this: Start>Search box>type: netplwiz [enter] Click on Continue (or supply an administrator's password) when prompted by UAC Uncheck the option "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer". Select a user account to automatically log on by clicking on the desired account to highlight it and then hit OK. Enter the correct password for that user account (if there is one) when prompted. Leave it blank if there is no password (null). D. If one or more of the computers on your network is XP Pro or Media Center, turn off Simple File Sharing (Folder Options>View tab). E. Create shares as desired. In Windows 7 I usually share out the user's Desktop and the Public directory. F. After you have file sharing working (and have tested this by exchanging a file between all machines), if you want to share a printer connected locally to one of your computers, share it out from that machine. Then go to the printer mftr.'s website and download the latest drivers for the correct operating system(s). Install them on the target machine(s). The printer should be seen during the installation routine. If it is not, install the drivers and then use the Add Printer Wizard. In some instances, certain printers need to be installed as Local printers but that is outside of this response.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!