Member Avatar for bushman91

My computers are a tower windows XP with SP2 and a laptop with XP and SP2
I have ran home networking wizard on both systems and they cant seem to find each other.

I would like to file share and play games over this network .
Could someone help

thanks,

  • 4 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 180 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Squires

Dani AI

Generated

Short diagnostic tied to the thread: has both machines on XP SP2 and reports a hub/Cat5 setup (an Xbox on the same hub suggests the switch/hub and cabling are probably fine). correctly separated Home vs Pro, and and pointed at IP/workgroup and firewall as likely culprits. The fastest way to isolate the problem is a small set of tests that distinguish link, IP, NetBIOS/SMB, and firewall issues.

Run these commands on each PC from a command prompt to collect basic facts:

ipconfig /all
ping <other-PC-IP>
nbtstat -a <other-PC-IP>
net view \\<other-PC-IP>

Interpretation notes: if ping by IP fails, check NIC link lights, hub ports, or NIC drivers. If ping succeeds but net view fails, NetBIOS/SMB or firewall is blocking. nbtstat shows NetBIOS name resolution; an empty result suggests NetBIOS over TCP/IP is disabled.

Practical configuration checks: confirm both NICs have addresses in the same subnet (or assign static test IPs if no DHCP), confirm the same workgroup name in System Properties, and ensure the network connection properties include both "Client for Microsoft Networks" and "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks". In XP, verify "TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper" and the "Server" and "Workstation" services are running (services.msc). If no DHCP is available, use simple static addresses like 192.168.1.10/255.255.255.0 and 192.168.1.11/255.255.255.0.

Firewall and sharing tips: XP SP2 firewall and many third-party firewalls commonly block SMB ports (TCP 139/445, UDP 137/138). Temporarily disable or add a File and Printer Sharing exception to confirm behavior, but do not leave protection off. For quick sharing tests, give a folder a simple share with permissions for Everyone (short-term) to rule out NTFS/share-permission problems. These checks should reveal whether the issue is address, NetBIOS/SMB, or firewall-related.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for DMR

XP Home or XP Pro? The networking capabilities and configurations of both versions differ...

Member Avatar for MartyMcFly

Do both have non-conflicting IP addresses - if you run one ip from the other computer does it connect.

Do they have the same workgroup address

How are they connected, have you got the right cable, ie. cross-over if their directly connected. Is it in the right port on you PCs.

Member Avatar for bushman91

Both have XP home
they are set up through a HUB with regular cat 5 ethernet cables. I know the set up works becase i use my xbox on one of the cables.

Member Avatar for Squires

If they are both XP Home, check your firewall settings. When you use the network setup wizard it turns the firewall on by default.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.