I wish to set up a home network so that my girlfriend and I can share files and printers etc, however I am running into an issue.

I am running Windows XP Home SP3. I have an ADSL 2+ internet connection and the PC is connected through a wired ethernet cable to the ADSL 2+ enabled modem.

To be completist about this, I will transcribe the exact steps I took to attempt to set up the network and perhaps someone can alert me as to where I have gone wrong.

Start>Control Panel>Network Setup Wizard>Next>Next>This computer connects directly to the internet>Local Area Connection - Realtek RTL8139/810xFamily Fast Ethernet NIC>Main Computer (Computer Description)>PETER (Computer Name)>PETENETWORK (Workgroup name)>Turn on file and printer sharing>Next (wizard will apply settings - this may take a few minutes)

So about 1 minute later it comes up with this message:

"Cannot complete the network setup wizard. An error occurred during configuration of the network on this computer".

The only thing I can think of is this:

When it asks to "select your internet connection" it gives the option between the following:

* Local Area Connection - Realtek RTL8139/810xFamily Fast Ethernet NIC

* 1394 Connection - 1394 Net Adaptor

I chose the first one because previously I had disabled both of them to see which connection was actually allowing me be connected to the internet - it was the first one.

However, at the very end of the Network Setup Wizard when it gives you a list of all of your choices thus far (just before it applies the settings) at the bottom it says the following:

"Connection to your network - 1394 Connection".

Could this be what is causing the operation to fail and if so what can I do about it?

I tried running the wizard again to make sure I checked the correct internet connection but got the same results.

Any ideas?

Thanks. Pete.

* Local Area Connection - Realtek RTL8139/810xFamily Fast Ethernet NIC
* 1394 Connection - 1394 Net Adaptor

I'm pretty sure you chose the correct one -- the Ethernet adapter. The other one, the 1394 connection is a Firewire adapter. I doubt that you are using Firewire to connect the two computers?

Can you "ping" the other computer (either by IP address or by name)? Try it. If you can't ping the other computer, you can't connect to it. If you don't know the IP address of a computer, click <START><RUN> and type "CMD" and hit the "GO" button. A command window will open up. In the command window type "IPCONFIG" <enter>. IPCONFIG will show you the IP address of your computer. Sometimes computers will have multiple IP addresses, so think about what it shows you to make sure you got the right one.

If you can't ping the other computer, you need to check your blocking software -- on both computers. Check to see if Windows Firewall is turned on. That can block access to the other computer. Turn it off and see if you can ping. Do you have Zone Alarm or some other "personal firewall" installed. If so, turn it off until you get the connection working. Later you can add the other computer to the trusted zone.

Make sure you gave it the correct Workgroup name. The default is usually "MSHOME", but most people give their workgroup another name. Ideally, networked computers will be in the same Workgroup. If they're not, the system might give you a bit of grief and aggravation.

You also have to share one or more folders on the target machine's disk.

Oh, and it's possible that your ISP will block connections between you and her if you're going through their network.

One more thing. If you can ping her computer, try to connect without using the wizard. Click <START> then <RUN> and enter \\###.###.###.### where the ###s represent the IP address of the other machine. This should allow you to see at least see the shared folders..