http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l.../bb727037.aspx

Have a read of the above link re Vista File and Printer Sharing.

Permissions/Share info is there as well.

If using Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro I.S., make sure file and printer
sharing is enabled in THEIR firewall.

1st thing to do is make sure that the Workgroup Name of ALL the computers is
the SAME.

In Vista Network and Sharing:

Network Discovery: ON (So it can see the other computers)

Network set to Private (Public is for hotspots, airports, etc)

File Sharing: ON

Public Folder Sharing: ON (Vista’s Public Folder is the same as XP’s Shared
Docs)

Password Protected: OFF (unless you want to set up identical usernames and
passwords on ALL computers in your Network) If you have it ON, you will be
asked for a username and password when you try to access a Vista computer
from an XP computer.

..


"Earl" wrote:

> This related to a Toshiba Satellite U305-S5077 laptop running Vista Home
> Premium
> with an Atheros AR5007EG Wireless Network Adapter. Trying to create an
> ad hoc network fails with no indication of the reason. Trying to connect to
> an
> existing network fails with an Error log entry of
> "failed due to an unknown reason".
>
> I have been using ad hoc networking between two other Vista systems without
> any problems.
>
> The wireless adapter works and has current drivers.
>
> Any suggestions on what else to look at?
> ------- Details ------------------------------------------------------------
>
> When I try to set up an ad hoc network named WW, it fails and gives the
> message
> "Windows could not set up WW".
> I can't find anything in the Event Viewer that seems to correlate with the
> failure. I've tried different network names, different Security types but
> nothing works.
>
> It will detect an existing ad hoc network named WW but will not join it.
> It gives the message:
> "Windows cannot connect to WW"
>
> The Network Diagnostics Events Log entry is
> "
> HelperClassName RNWF MSM Helper Class
> EventDescription Wireless Diagnostic Helper Class Event For complete
> information about this session see the Wireless Diagnostic Informational
> Event. Helper Class: Native WiFi MSM Initialize status: Success Information
> for connection being diagnosed Interface GUID:
> 34784088-82dd-42b5-a53c-ee9a22fb97ea Interface name: Atheros AR5007EG
> Wireless Network Adapter Interface type: Native WiFi Profile: Discovery
> connection SSID: WW SSID length: 2 Connection mode: Ad hoc Security: Yes
> Connect even if network is not broadcasting: No Result of diagnosis: Problem
> found Root cause: Windows cannot connect to "WW" Wireless association failed
> due to an unknown reason. Detailed root cause: 802.11 connection failed due
> to status code 1: unspecified failure Repair option: Try connecting to "WW"
> again If the problem continues, contact your network administrator or
> hardware manufacturer for further assistance.
> "
>
> Trying again gives the same results.
> The Device Manager claims the Wireless Network Adapter is working
> properly and that the driver is current.
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks,
> Earl
>
> Speed, Quality, Price Pick any two.