A very complex problem

[Randompanda]

I have been seeking help on a very hard issue. Its nothing of vital importance; I could just use a DvD to transfer the files. The home network I have is a tad... well not working at all actually. Having both desktop (XP) and laptop (Vista) going into my router through both ethernet and wireless, I cannot see why the network wont connect. I have configured both computers, I have downloaded various softwares that "make it a snap" And i can see the other computer but I wish to transfer files between them with no luck whatsoever. The group of files is almost 40gb... so it would be a waste of time and money to use DVDs.I know i did not give very much info, but I have tried alot of things in these forums.

Scratch all that. No configuring, no alterations, no settings changed. The network app I'm currently using just popped up this notification as i typed this "Computer X has joined the network. Would you like to..." And I kinda flipped. I have been working on this for several days now, and these two computers never seem to comunicate. I also tried hamachi for several apps It would be needed for and these two will not directly connect.

I have went so far as to disable both firewalls, and no luck. Cofigured and forwarded ports, and various other things. Any ideas why they wont comunicate?

EDIT: Also...From the XP desktop, if i were to try and access any sort of file on the Vista laptop, it gives me a "Folder not found". Problem with that is that on my vista computer I am in the process of uploading a file that is on that computer to my desktop... so how is this possible (not to mention to and from the same folders that were inaccessable)

[johnwill]

Turn off any firewalls for debugging. If the firewall is the problem, you'll have to configure it to allow access to "trusted zone" addresses. Note that some firewalls must be completely uninstalled to stop them from affecting your networking.

PING each computer by IP address, and if successful, PING by name. You can obtain the IP address of a computer by opening a command prompt (DOS window) and typing IPCONFIG. This should work for any Windows version. A failure here needs to be corrected before you go any farther.

Check your Services are Started on all PCs: Workstation, DHCP Client, DNS Client, Server, TCP/IP Netbios helper, Computer Browser.

All computers should be in the same workgroup for computer browsing to function properly. File & Print Sharing has to be enabled on any computer you wish to share files or printers from. You also need to actually share the resource in question from My Computer, right click on the drive/printer/folder, and select sharing.

If you encounter difficulties accessing computers that are visible in Network Neighborhood, make sure the computer being accessed has an account with the same name/password as the system connecting to it uses to login.

While the default NetBIOS setting is correct for normal network configurations, it's possible for it to be altered, and it costs nothing to make sure it's correct. NETBIOS over TCP/IP must be enabled for normal network browsing.

[Randompanda]

Sadly, all but one of those have been checked.

How does one work on fixing a lack of ping response?

It cant be pinged, and they're on the same network. Even over hamachi, a internet autoconfiged to lan it doesnt work.

[johnwill]

Failure to ping is virtually always a firewall issue. Perhaps you had a firewall installed, and it left a component behind? ZoneAlarm is infamous for this issue.

[Randompanda]

Both of then used norton and both were disabled.
I can also connect to another computer, and as can the other one.

[johnwill]

Try totally uninstalling Norton, just disabling their firewall doesn't always get it done.