We have recently bought a netbook with Windows 7 Starter version on it. We also have a desktop with Windows XP Home. I have set them both up for file sharing but this only seems to work periodically. I have made sure that both systems are on "homegroup" and that network discovery, etc. is turned on. When I go into "Computer" on the Windows 7 machine, then click on Network at the bottom of the list on the left hand side only the one (Windows 7 machine) shows, again periodically. Sometimes the desktop shows, sometimes not. The desktop is always turned on while attempting to do this.Any ideas as to why this is happening and how to properly fix it so that it always works?1 person got this answerI do too

You cannot use Homegroup sharing unless all machines on the Local Area Network are running Windows 7. I'm not sure why network visibility periodically works, but here are general networking instructions for Win7-XP.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 discoveryTurn ON file and printer sharingTurn ON sharing in the Public folder sharing sectionTurn ON password protected sharingA. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network (LAN) traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, turning on Window's File and Printer Sharing as above will take care of this for you. In XP you can run the Network Setup Wizard or just enable File/Printer Sharing in the Windows XP Firewall's exceptions. 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 UACUncheck 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).XP - Configure Windows to Automatically Login (MVP Ramesh) -http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htmD. 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 the scope of this response.http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15247/complete-guide-to-networking-windows-7-with-xp-and-vista/MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

I have read through and followed your instructions. It looks like I already had everything done in your list except for having matching user accounts on each computer. I created this but it still is not working. The link that you provided at the end of your reply is the exact one I initially used when setting the file sharing up, which did work but has not become intermittent.Not sure if this will help or not but this morning I was in my Norton Internet Security looking at the network security map and it does show both computers in there. Any other suggestions?

Uninstall any third-party security programs which have firewalls such as Norton Internet Security. Do not simply disable them, uninstall them. If networking now works, replace Norton with a better antivirus and use the built-in Windows Firewall. I recommend NOD32 (commercial) or Avast Free.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

I have removed Norton from both computers and it now seesm to be recognizing it again! That seems to have done the trick! If the issue arises again I know where to come to! Thanks for all your help.