petehutch

I found the problem. Something, perhaps an update, had turned the laptp's Windows firewall on Pesky computers thinking they know best. I have a firewall in my modem/router. Thanks to everyone for looking.

I have a desktop running Windows 7 and a laptop which for good reasons is running Windows XP. They are both wired to a Belkin router and both can connect to the internet. For a short time the Windows 7 computer would read files on the laptop. I need this facility but the desktop now will not connect to the laptop. There are shared files on the laptop. Does anyone know how to sort thi out please?