File and Printer Sharing in Windows Vista
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/network/evaluate/vista_fp.mspx#E5B

Network Map in Windows Vista does not display computers that are running Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922120#appliesto

Networking
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/networking.mspx

Make sure you use the Vista Network Diagnose and Repair procedure available from the Network Sharing Center.  Watch out for third party firewalls and other security programs interfering in the process.


These are XP related but may help too?

Simple File Sharing- enabled
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/filesharing.htm

Simple File Sharing - disabled
http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_filesharing/index.htm


http://www.michna.com/kb/wxnet.htm

Tony, how about bunging on good ol' NETBEUI protocol?  Bit of a retro step I know, but it works a treat here.  Use the files from your XP CD.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

This is ridiculous...thanks for the links linney but no helpo...Vista Diagnose and repair reports "No Problems".  I tried running the LLTD Responder component to no avail.  No third-party firewalls, I have tried with the individual machines' firewalls off, too.

Quote (G0AOZ):

Tony, how about bunging on good ol' NETBEUI protocol?  Bit of a retro step I know, but it works a treat here.  Use the files from your XP CD

Roger- if NetBUI will work let's have at it.  A bit of a primer would be appreciated, as I have not done this in the past, could you perhaps post your procedure?  

http://forums.techguy.org/networking/549197-connecting-vista-98-a.html

Quote from Bob Cerelli  MVP


 
"The basics for troubleshooting are:

1. Make sure you have the same IP scheme (e.g. 192.168.0.x).

2. Make sure you have the same Subnet Mask, Gateway, and DNS IP addresses.

3. Make sure you can ping the other computer's IP address. If this fails, just for testing, make sure you turn off XP's as well as any other firewall.

4. Make sure you can ping the other computers by name.

5. Make sure you have the same workgroup name (watch for trailing spaces)

6. For troubleshooting purposes, turn off XP's and completely uninstall any other firewall software. You can always add more complexity after you get it working.

7. With XP, make sure you have the same username and password as the person logging onto the other computers. The default setting for XP Pro is to require a password for network access.

8. More details about how to network Vista can be found at:
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking/vista_network.htm

9. More details about how to troubleshoot TCP/IP networks can be found at:
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/networking/trouble.htm

There continues to be a lot of misinformation about needing NetBEUI or to changing the NetBIOS setting. You can ignore both. Installing NetBEUI to solve a networking problem will just mask a some underlying and potentially important misconfiguration with TCP/IP. The default NetBIOS setting usually works. If browsing is a problem, you might set it to Enabled. But do not Disable it".
__________________
Bob Cerelli
http://www.onecomputerguy.com  

No probs Tony...

In the XP CD goto folder VALUEADD, then MSFT, then NET, then NETBEUI. Copy the following two files:-

Copy NETNBF.INF to the INF folder within the main WINDOWS folder.

Copy NBF.SYS to the WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC folder.

Now click START, then CONNECT TO, Click OPEN NETWORK AND SHARING CENTRE, and click VIEW STATUS.

(Breathe deeply, nearly there!)

Then click PROPERTIES, click CONTINUE, click INSTALL, double-click PROTOCOL, highlight NetBEUI Protocol, click OK, and the "YES" to restart computer.

73 de ROGER - G0AOZ.

I must have picked up a virus (not my PC but my body) and have been in bed resting the past few days...thinking...I have been networking PC since Windows for Workgroups...and while I may have stumbled a few times, I always figured it out.  This is what upsets me about Vista.  "For our own safety" networking with other computers across a wire must be made so inscrutable.  There are lots of options for wireless connections, but I don't care.  Why make this so hard?  And I am thankful I dual-boot my old Mandrake Linux w/ Vista 'cause that might cause me to go over the edge.  Thanks guys, back to bed for me.

Tony  

Get well soon Tony.  I'm sure we'll all be wanting your input to the forum before long!

ROGER - G0AOZ.

Quote (wahnula):

I have been networking PC since Windows for Workgroups...and while I may have stumbled a few times, I always figured it out.  This is what upsets me about Vista.  "For our own safety" networking with other computers across a wire must be made so inscrutable.

I agree Tony, I quite like the way they had networking set out in XP, sure it had it's problems and there were improvements to be made. Vista is supposed to make networking easier, and maybe it does for novice users, but I hate having to wade through 3 or 4 windows to do what I could in XP in a single window.

Greg Palmer
Freeware Utilities for Windows Administrators.
http://www.palmersoft.co.uk

G0AOZ, thanks for the well-wishing.  I am getting back up to snuff.  I managed to get Vista to "see" my printer long enough for it to tell me it is not supported.  Neither is my scanner.

I am sick of those RED X's, and if the screen goes dark one more time with an asinine warning I might lose it.  I  know I can defeat that function but I should not have to work so hard to use a "new" OS.  One of their trillion versions should have been "Vista for Power Users" that assumes we know how to not break our system.

I guess the fact is for me, Vista has nothing better to offer than XP, except the Aero.  It was supposed to be so wonderful for multimedia, but the default Vista digital picture viewer is hideously dark and makes flesh tones an ugly orange.  ACDSee 3.1 (umm,1999?) kills it for quality.  VLC media player smokes WMP11.

I have Vista on its own 36GB SATA Raptor and it's still slower than XP on a 35 GB partition on a 7200.10 320 GB RAID 1 array on the same machine.  Then there's the networking snafu, the lack of support for many of my favorite apps, the works-today-and-doesn't-tomorrow problems with some apps.  I have had it.  

I will let Vista enter its "reduced functionality mode" (what an oxymoron) and let its unplugged drive sit where it is until it's ready to become a contender.  In the meanwhile I am hoping Steve Jobs is taking notes.  I bought Intel hardware for my latest build in the hope that OSX will be ported to Windows hardware sooner rather than later.  I will view the $200 I spent on Vista Ultimate the same way I do on other hard/software that did not meet my expectations...cut my losses and save my sanity.

Thanks for listening to the rant.  Seeya around the board.  That NetBUI trick was slick Roger.

Tony