what happens when you try and connect the vista machine to the network?
All the PCs appear to be able to talk to each other and are showing-up in My Computer/Networks.
Although:
Using Vista to copy files from the XP PCs will allow files to be copied over.
Using Vista to copy files from the other Vista PC is asking for a password before it will allow a connection.
Using XP to copy files to the Vista PC was not tried.
Basically I think it may just be another Vista quirk that needs a setting changed to allow further sharing as no passwords have been set on either of the Vista PCs.
what does the 'network and sharing center' say its doing?
I don't know about that one ('network and sharing center') as I never came across it. (yet)
does your friend shut down their vista machines or put them into standby when not in use?
As far as I know they would be shutting them down.
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Over the last couple of days things seem to have quietened or settled down as I have not had any further queries.
However saying that, whether they are actually working as we would say "properly" is possibly a debatable point, because ALL the PCs are basically only used for either accessing MSN or playing games which they are able to do so.
(Maybe it's just that I wanted the network accessible properly that is/was the problem)
At the moment because the main PC is XP, this is also the original PC that has all of the photo's stored on it which is what they will be wanting to copy from and this is not presenting a problem.
Copying from Vista to Vista may not now be a problem either, because one of these PCs is not now based at the same address and possibly only on a rare occasion will they need to communicate with each other.
(I will have to cover that hurdle when it occurs)
Also I have only just learnt that the not connecting to the internet and dropping of problem has been happening since before Christmas on the original XP PC, so this is not a PC problem but an ISP problem.
(Probably to much of a demand in the area)