Networking win xp to 98 help

I managed to get the two computers to see each other...
Now I can share from the xp computer but the 98 computer seems to have lost internet access. I enter the subnet mask the IE screen comes up saying "the page cannot be displayed" and an error saying "unable to browse the network... the network is not accessible". If I do not enter the subnet mask, I have internet access but the 98 still cannot see the xp. They both get a good ping. I have tried multiple things.... using connection wizard and checking the settings I know..

Any help would be appreciated... I cant seem to figure it out???

I think you're confused, as I don't understand what you mean when you enter the subnet mask. Have you setup DNS correctly? What happens if you try to browse to http://66.102.9.104?

on both pages I go to Google... really I am not sure why the xp can see the 98 but not the other way around...

ok I'm not really sure what the problem is. Are you having problems with Internet access or communication between the two computers? Can you just confirm again that you can ping between the two computers?

yes I can ping both computers...

here is what I have:
Two computers: one a laptop running xp, and the other a desktop runing 98.
Internet access through a wireless Linksys cable gateway.
Each computer was assigned an IP address from the Linksys site.
Both computers are able to ping each other on their prospective IP addresses.
The xp computer is able to view and access the shared files/printer of the desktop.
But the desktop cannot see the xp computer.

When I try to go into the network neighborhood on the 98 and try to see the Entire Network I get the error message "Unable to browse the network."

I have turned off the ICF of the xp and disabled the firewall that is supplied by Norton Internet Security.

I think that is everything that I have done... I have tried more but have hit a wall....

Thanks for the help.

Ok, I understand now what your problem is.

Can you map a network drive to a share on the laptop? What happens if you type \\laptopname into the address bar on the desktop?

When I enter \\laptop I get an error saying
"\\laptop is not accesible. Not logged on."

I also have another question:
I have the printer shared on the 98 but every time I shutdown, and later restart, the xp finds new hardware and has to reinstall the printer (or I have to go and do this myself). I would think that once a printer is set as default it would stay installed, and not need to be reinstalled. Is there a way to fix this?

On both computers, try using exactly the same username/password and see if this helps.



Perhaps try installing the printer differently. From the Add a Printer wizard, select "Local printer attached to this computer" and make sure the "Automatically detect..." option isn't selected. Click Next and select "Create a new port". From the dropdown list select "Local Port". Click Next. In the Port Name box that opens, enter something like \\windows98\printer-share-name and click OK. Then just follow the rest of the wizard to complete the installation and install the drivers.

I had the same problem. This was overcome by reinstalling 98