Hi I've trailed through the forum and I cannot seem to find a thread that answers my question, so here I go: I have the following: 1 x Windows XP Desktop 1 x Windows Vista Home Premium Laptop Both are connected to our BT Home Hub using ethernet cables. I have tried to set up both computers on a network with no luck at all- both are in work groups called MSHOME. Both has file and printer sharing enabled. Yet my computers cannot see each other and we cannot share our HP Laserjet printer. I can run the network set up wizard on the xp machine - all runs ok but I do not have a floppy disk to create a disk. I tried setting up the network on the Vista laptop. It gets so far and then sends me to the BT Home Hub set up page (where I cannot find any settings to enable a network etc) Please could someone tell me how I can set up a home network so we can share the printer. Its driving me mad!!! Many Thanks in advance.

XP To share a folder, right-click it and select Sharing & Security > Sharing Tab > Share this and optionally, Allow Network users to.. You only need to share the highest level folder, e.g. not every sub-folder. A little hand should appear on the icons of those that are shared. Alternatively, drag the folders you want to share to the Shared Documents folder (Public folder in Vista). In XP Professional you may have to turn off Simple File Sharing in Folder Options > View Tab > Advanced Settings at the end. ASyou are sharing with a Vista machine, you may need to install the Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) responder on the XP machine so that the computer shows up in Vistas network map, get it here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=4F01A31D-EE46-481E-BA11-37F485FA34EA&displaylang=en VISTA To share a folder, click it > Share on the toolbar, type 'Everyone' (not the quotes), click Add and set the drop down Permission Level alongside Everyone to either Reader or Co-owner then click Share at the bottom. Two little people should appear on the icons of those that are shared. Alternatively, drag the folders you want to share to the Public folder. Make sure in Control Panel > Classic View > Network and Sharing Center you have Network Discovery, File Sharing and Public Folder Sharing set to On and, if youre not using passwords set Password Protected Sharing to Off, unless you want to set up identical usernames and passwords on all computers in your network. If you have it on, you will be asked for a username and password when you try to access a Vista computer from an XP computer. GENERAL Windows firewall is normally set to allow file and printer sharing but if you have a third-party firewall make sure file and printer sharing is enabled so that each machine can talk to the other(s). Dont disable the Windows firewall if its the only one youre running. To see or copy files, click Start > My Network Places (Network in Vista) and the computers/folders/files should appear. Using Windows Explorer, drag them from one PC to the other. SHARE A PRINTER On the machine that the printer is connected to, go to Control Panel > Switch to Classic View > Printers & Faxes (Printers in Vista), right-click the printer, click Sharing, check Share this printer. On the other machine(s) go to Control Panel > Switch to Classic View > Printers & Faxes (Printers in Vista) > Add Printer > and follow the wizard. Bear in mind that the printer and the PC that its connected to must be switched on, unless you have a proper wireless printer/adapter.

Hi Lisa, You can also refer to the following articles for more information: Share Your Printer Over a Home Network Using Windows XPhttp://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/honeycutt_july2.mspx How to Use Windows XP to Share a Printer with Others on Your Networkhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457001.aspx Windows Vista Help: Share a printer http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/e3faee7d-a7cd-40aa-b240-006dca11dc451033.mspx File and Printer Sharing in Windows Vista http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727037.aspx

Jason, I have the same problem as Lisa, trying to share a printer connected to a desktop that uses Windows XP with a laptop that uses Windows Vista Home Premium connected wirelessly to the desktop. I can access the Internet and files on the desktop from the laptop but have been trying for 5 days now to set up a capability to print from the laptop. When I look at "Network" from the laptop I see my laptop and the desktop, and can access files on the desktop. But when I look at "My Network Places" from the desktop I don't see the laptop. I have tried unsuccessfully 25 or 30 times to add my laptop as a "Network Place" on the desktop. I also downloaded a Vista drive from Canon but can't get it to install on my desktop. I'm almost ready to give up and go get a hair transplant to replace what I've pulled out! Any help would be appreciated.