New to the forum - help with file sharing please

Hello,

My requirement is quite straightforward...hopefully :biggrin:

Simply, what I want to be able to do is to create and save WORD and Excel documents on my desktop PC and then be able to access, edit and re-save the saved documents on my laptop, and vice versa.

I am fed up with e-mailing docs to myself, or saving to memory sticks to enbale me to work between the 2 PCs. Only I will access the PCs so there are no permissions issues.

My setup is:

Desktop PC - XP Home with SP3.
The PC is connected to boradband via a BT Voyager router via Ethernet cable.
I have successfully run the Network Set Up wizard on this PC, during which I asked for File and Printer sharing to be set up.

Laptop PC - VISTA Home Premium.
The laptop connects wirelessly to the router via internal wireless adapter.
In Network and Sharing Centre I have enabled the following:
Network Discovery
File Sharing
Public Folder sharing
Printer sharing
Password protected sharing is off
Location Type is set as Private Network.

I have navigated to a specific documents folder on the laptop, right clicked the folder and selected SHARE.

This is where I get stuck. Is there anything else I need to do? Is there a simple check that will verify that the computers can "see" each other? Should I now be able to "open" the shared folder (on my laptop) and view the contents on the desktop?

I am a bit of a novice (the above steps were only pikced up from posts on this forum!), so please bear that in mind when responding.

Thank You for any advice.

Hello wolfie882!

Basically you just need to that (right click the folder and select SHARE) as you said in you post. You don't need to do anything else to share the file or folder on the same network.

However, if you are unable to do so or get any error then feel free to ask. Also remember to post the error message (if any) to get proper solutions.

1. Make sure they are on the same workgroup. On both computers, go to:
   Start -> Right click My Computer -> Properties -> Computer Name tab
   Click "change" near the bottom, and set a name for the "Workgroup". Do this on both computers then restart them.
   
   
2. Right click the folder(s) you want to share, and go to "sharing and security". Click "If you understand the risk but still want to share etc etc...", then click "Just share the files" or something like that. Next, click the checkbox that says share this on the network, as well as let them modify it.
   
   NOTE: If you want to share your entire computer files, right click your C:\ drive and do the same process. Do this on both computers for the files you want to share.

Assuming that you have a common router and that you have set a home network, then wherever your files are, just right click on the folder and make them shareable. Go in Network and you should see that folder, then you can either use them from there or just copy them into a folder in your laptop.

Please specify the operating system on your desktop and laptop. Please specify the method of communication between the laptop and the desktop (i mean ethernet or wifi ??)


I am going to assume here that the laptop is running _Vista, but that the desktop is running XP - correct or not?

You may need to download and install the so-called LLTD utility for XP from Microsoft. As described in MS knowledge base article 922120, because of the way that _Vista sets up its network graphic, _Vista machines frequently cannot "see" XP machines unless the XP machines have the Link-Layer Topology Discovery ("LLTD") responder installed.

This may be your problem inasmuch as it seems to be the case that your _Vista laptop cannot "see" your XP desktop (assuming that I was correct that you're running XP on the desktop). This link will take you directly to the validation page for the LLTD responder; once you've validated, you can download from there.

hello wolfie882!!

so you are new.,,.
okk just do this- right click the folder and select SHARE

hope this may help u...