I have these 2 computers that can perfectly access the internet just fine. the XP Dell has a printer directly connected to it and can print just fine on it, but the local network Win2000 Dell can not print to it. And can ALSO NOT ping eachother. I at first thought it was a spooler problem until I noticed I could not ping either computer to eachother. it gives me "request timed out" error. and under Network Neighborhood on WIndows 2000 Dell, the XP machine shows up, but when I double click it to try to access it, it gives me an error message of "..is not accessile. the network path was not found." they both connect fine to the internet so I dont believe it can be a cable problem. i also pinged www.yahoo.com to see if there was any problem with the DNS and that worked just fine. so I came to conclusion that no DNS problem, nor a cable issue. not a printer problem either. I desperately need assistance. I will GREATLY APPRECIATE IT if you help me out. THANK YOU VERY MUCH...I LOOK FORWARD TO READING OVER YOUR ASSISTANCE. AND 1 MORE THING...they do have the same network ID address in their IP address. 1 is 192.168.0.1 and another is 192.168.0.3

With XP pro SP2 the firewall blocks icmp by default. Im pretty sure you need to allow print sharing on the XP Dell...

You should still be able to ping the 2000 from the XP though.. is the subnet mask and default gateways set properly on both machines?

Do you have any firewall software on the 2000? like zone alarm or black ice?

My guess is you have a firewall blocking access. Life's more painless for the brainless.

I appreciate your help everyone, so far I have not yet tried any of your tips on trying to help troubleshoot the issue, it's for my uncle so as soon as I'll be going there I plan on checking the firewall definitely. 1 question too though..the Windows firewall can block access to the File and Print Sharing in WIndows? because whenever I did try to print to the network printer, it did give me error message saying..."print subsystem is unavailable" and "rpc server is unavailable" ...so all those messages would appear also because of the firewall possible..correct? hope to hear from you all again..THANK YOU AGAIN EVERYONE