Why won't it work???

[KJD]

My forehead is red and flat from banging it on the table - Why won't it work? I've connected a laptop and desktop with a crossover ethernet cable to enable file sharing and internet connection for the laptop. The laptop can access the desktop's files and has internet access - that's good. The desktop cannot access the laptop's files - that's the bad part. Both have XP. The desktop is running Zone Alarm. Having the Windows firewall turned on or off on the laptop makes no difference. I've run the network wiz on both. I've set certain folders on the laptop for sharing. When I go to My Network Places I can see the laptop but when I click on it the following message appears: Laptop is not accessible. You might not have permission to access this network resource. Contact the administrator of this network to find out if you have access permissions. The network path was not found.
I know it's probably something stupid I haven't done but I don't think my forehead can take much more. What's the answer?

[Rob Pomeroy]

Windows file sharing is horrible.  Particularly with XP Home.  Is that what you're using?

Have you ensured you are properly sharing a folder on the laptop?  If so, I recommend this: ensure that you are using the same username and password on both machines, and ensure that the share permissions reflect this.  If it still doesn't work, try going to Windows Explorer and in the file bar, type "\\laptop\share", where laptop is the name of your laptop in the workgroup, and share is the name you gave to the shared folder on the laptop.

Report back!

[KJD]

We're using XP Pro. No luck yet. I have Administrator accounts with the same username and passwords on both computers. I've shared the folders. I went to windows explorer and typed what you said (with the correct names of course) and ..... nothing. It comes up with a message saying windows is unable to locate folder. The laptop still has no problem accessing the desktop's files so I'm now confident this is not a hardware issue. Any more ideas?? Thanks

[Rob Pomeroy]

Repeat the above instructions with ZoneAlarm turned off.

[KJD]

Nope. Still nothing. This must be cactus too.