Cannot see other computer in workgroup

I have a Netgear wireless network with a desktop computer and a laptop
computer. The desktop is the host computer using Windows 2000 Pro, and
the laptop is wireless using Windows Vista Home Premium SP2. The laptop
can see the desktop and access shared files. The desktop cannot see the
laptop. In My Network Places on the desktop computer, only the desktop
computer shows in the Workgroup. On the laptop computer both laptop and
desktop computers show in the Workgroup. What can I do to be able to see
the laptop on the desktop computer so that I can access the shared
laptop files on the desktop computer?


--
aftermath

aftermath wrote:

>
> I have a Netgear wireless network with a desktop computer and a laptop
> computer. The desktop is the host computer using Windows 2000 Pro, and
> the laptop is wireless using Windows Vista Home Premium SP2. The laptop
> can see the desktop and access shared files. The desktop cannot see the
> laptop. In My Network Places on the desktop computer, only the desktop
> computer shows in the Workgroup. On the laptop computer both laptop and
> desktop computers show in the Workgroup. What can I do to be able to see
> the laptop on the desktop computer so that I can access the shared
> laptop files on the desktop computer?

There is no "host computer" in your network. Since the laptop can access
shared files on the Win2k desktop, you know the problem is with Win2k.

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.

A. Configure firewalls on all machines to allow the Local Area Network (LAN)
traffic as trusted. With Windows Firewall, this means allowing File/Printer
Sharing on the Exceptions tab. There is no built-in firewall in Win2k so you
must be using a third-party one. 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. In Vista, turn Password Protected Sharing ON. 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:

I believe the process is the same in Win2 as for XP but I don't know for
sure:

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/Autologon.htm

For your Vista laptop:

Start Orb>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 when prompted.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Problem solved. Printer and File sharing was not checked on the Vista
laptop. After activating it, both computers are now listed in the
Workgroup.


--
aftermath

aftermath wrote:

>
> Problem solved. Printer and File sharing was not checked on the Vista
> laptop. After activating it, both computers are now listed in the
> Workgroup.
>

Glad you sorted it. Thanks for taking the time to post your solution.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ