FILE SHARING.

At one point I had believed it could be as simple as plugging the computers into each other.
I got a new computer, and am having the hardest time getting the two to share files with each other.
A direct connection between the two gives limited or no connectivity, and connecting the two with a router, the new computer can see the old, but the old can't see the new and the new can't access the old's files.
I've changed as many settings as I can thing of, is there something I can try to get the two computers to see each other?

And I am using a crossover cable for the direct connection.

openssh + rsync is love.

Oh, and both computers are running Windows XP, that's also something worth mentioning.

1. Put both computers into the same workgroup, with different names.  Just name one "ONE" and the other "TWO" and use any valid workgroup name (probably a default "MSHOME").  You can name them MOOT and WTSNACKS for all I care ... as long as they're DIFFERENT.

2. Make sure file sharing is enabled on both computers.

3. Create folder shares on each computer that you want to share to the other.  Usually, the default share C$ will work.

4. On each other computer, simply link a drive letter to the share on the other computer, like this example:

On computer ONE, assign drive K: to \\TWO\C$
On computer TWO, assign drive K: to \\ONE\C$

CONCLUSION:  You should be able to share between computers now.  Anything that's a problem now has to do with file and folder permissions.

Lol, Windows. Designed to work out of the box, even for morons. Only the 60% when it doesn't is when it gets really nasty.

Set up an Active Directory Domain.

It's not like I haven't tried all that.
I got it to work for a few seconds, but for some reason, that fell apart.
Now I'm on a router, and my new computer can access other computers on the network except for my laptop, while the laptop can't access any computers.
There seems to be some kind of setting on my laptop that's messing everything up. Once I figure out what that is, I'm golden.