Question : XP Pro SP2 Home Network issue

I have seen a few questions around this isue, but perhaps not excalty the same.

I have a client, who set up a home network, with the Address range of 192.168.7.x
with a router that has a built in firewall.

On this home network is a Win98, XP Home, and two Windows XP machines.

The client has had two prior consultants do parts of the setup and "dissapear".

So, I am trying to figure this out.

I found a new laptop that was not part of the Workgroup - named other than "WORKGROUP".
The other computers are part of the custom workgroup.

I added the new laptop to the custom workgroup and I could see the computer in the Network Neighborhood.

I could see the other computers on the network from the new Laptop.

But focusing on the two Windows XP Pro boxes, I wanted to make sure that each of these boxes could see and access their Shared drves.

Computer 1 has XP SP2 with the XP Firewal enabled and McAfee Installed but not the firewall software configured to control. - Let us call this box AF1.
Then there is a Second Computer that is also XP Pro, SP2, and this also has McAfee Installed and the XP Firewall is not enabled the McAfee software is running the Firewall operations.  Let us call this coputer SIGN.

I went into the McAfee on SIGN and setup an address range for the home network, and enabled the pors (139 needed) to allow for File Sharing between the computers. I tried to connect from AF1 to SIGN and the AF1 tries to signin with COMPUTERNAME\Guest and askes for a password.

I went back to the SIGN Computer and found GUEST as being turned OFF. When I turn it ON the challenge response goes away but it says the coputer is busy or is not allowing connections.

AF1 gets the Challenge Response when connecting to SIGN.  AF1 gets the erro message when attempting to connect to the SIGN copmuter.

Each box can ping the other.

I can even use Remote Desktop from AF1 to SIGN once I turned on that feature on the SIGN Computer.

But Plain old FILE SHARING is not working..  

This may be a SP2 issue, as I have not dealt with SP2 on XP PRO before, and have personally avoided it.

I turned off all the security I could find on the SIGN computer McAfee setup and could not reach it from the AF1 computer.

AF1 is hardwired to the network, and SIGN is wireless in the connection via a LinkSys Router.
Both can reach the internet, and you can each computer from the other.

I spent about 2 hours on this today, and was feeling baffled.  

Any ideas that I could use, or more info that I could provide to help answer this?

Answer : XP Pro SP2 Home Network issue

First I would check to see that file and print sahring are turned on both of the XP machines.  Second, unless you want to setup the same user names and passwords on each box, check the permissions on any shares and make sure the everyone account has privliges.


The guest acount is always disabled by default as well.