I can't believe I am actually here asking a question about my XP PC. I first joined this forum to help me with all my Vista Laptop issues.

Well I have them all worked out...well manageable

I recently....I mean I started this quest a over year ago but have now worked out most of my kinks.

I have a 320Gb Seagate Free Agent hard drived share from my XP PC to my primary computer my Vista Laptop (Living room on the other side of the house). My goal was to be able to have all media stored on it and share it through my network.

Everything was fine until I tried streaming a 720p movie (BTW I stream to my PS3 using PS3 Media server "AWESOME PROGRAM" .

The HD 720p movies were choppy so I decided to try a Gigabyte card and voila..it worked!
Well it work because my PS3 is using PS3 media server to find that hard drive from my XP PC (we can also call it my server).

So the issue now is I can't share to my laptop because my XP's firewall is blocking it. (yes it is excepted)

Now that I have the Gigabyte card I have to disable the onboard 10/100 card in the Bios

so..


WTF!

HELP....I am so close!

Have you tried using a different port number in PS3 Media Server? See this thread from a similar problem: PS3 Media Server • View topic - PS3 not found with wired connection

I will try that.....if my PS3 media server is an issue in the future. But my PS3 MS isn't my problem. The issue was file sharing between PC's.

I have since fixed the issue. But I have to do it every night. It was a firewall issue.

I will take it from the top with my new issue.

I have my 2 PC's in my network one Vista an one XP. I don't think that has anything to do with my issue though.

I want to share folders from my XP PC to my Laptop (Vista). I set up my firewall on the PC to file share by opening port 445 to my host computer (XP).

All is good until my PC is rebooted or sleeps. Then the only way I can get it to re-connect is to disable my firewall the re-enable it..., why do I have to keep doing this?

What does your Windows Firewall look like? Mine is disabled as I use Comodo Firewall, but this is what it looks like now.


Have you considered disabling the Windows Firewall and using a free one like Comodo or Zone Alarm? If you decide to ue Comodo, download the Comodo Internet Security Suite, but install just the Firewall part if you already have a good antivirus. If not, you should install both the AV and Firewall.

Yep mine looks like that. And my file sharing (which had to be created by me with XP Home Premium) is definitely checked. I for whatever reason lose my mapped drives I am thinking when my PC sleeps (or rebooted). Then I have to turn firewall off then reconnect, then back on again.

I used to have Comodo but I had to get rid of it since it was conflicting with Kaspersky AV. They may have fixed the issue so I might look into it again. Also these 3rd party firewalls are confusing for a novice like myself. I have a hard time with knowing what to except when you first enable it. It seems like there is a constant pop up of windows asking if I want to allow something. Also it is usually coded in a way that the average user doesn't know if they should trust it or not.

Any idea if Comodo is fine to run with Kaspersky now...It was a know issue to have the 2 together about 2 years ago.

Try this:

Control Panel
Folder Options
View
Check "Automatically search for network folders and printers" if it's unchecked.

As for Comodo/Kaspersky, from what I can find, the general opinion is the conflict is still there, but disabling Comodo Defense+ resolves it. I don't use Kaspersky so can't say for sure.

First off thanks for your help. I sticky'd this in 3 forums and 3 days later you're the only bite.

But yes it is already checked.

You must be using a router, right? Have you tried the power all off, power on one at a time test?

By this I mean you power everything down. The you power up your Cable/DSL Modem and let it settle down. Next you power up the router and let it settle down. Next power up one of the PCs and let it settle down, perhaps the XP PC, then do the other Vista PC. I know this does not seem to address your issue but I've seen it fix weirder problems, so it might be worth a try.

Do you have a XP install CD? If so, it would also be a good idea to run System File Checker to make sure all critical XP files are good (not corrupted or missing). To do this, click on Start then Run, type sfc /scannow and press Enter or click Go. If any files are missing from \Windows\system32\dllcache, you will be prompted to put your XP CD in. Once the dllcache has been verified, then your boot drive is scanned and any missing or damaged files are replaced.

I will try this.

As for the XP CD I only have the 8 ghost/recovery discs that I had to purchase when I first wiped the slate clean. And I just literally within a week did it again. Fresh start!