Windows 7 - Sharing files b/w a pc and lap

i have a acer laptop (4740G) with windows 7 and a pc having windows xp and i want to set up a homegroup !!!
can any one help me with my problem

Yes, first dont use homegroup. It is primarily for win 7 networks, not mixed win 7 and xp. For those you should use workgroup.

To set up a workgroup go to network and sharing, create a new connection. there is a good tutorial here. Homegroup - Create

let us know if you need help

Ken

these steps are for pc's running on windows 7 but i have 1 pc on xp and another on windows 7

yes you can. you set the network setting for each pc based on their OS

for 7,make you sure to..
-turn on printer and file sharing(set to others can read only)
-turn off password protected(do this only if another user is someone you trusted)

on XP
-go to control panel>network connection>setup home or office network
along the side you will be prompted to turn on printer and file sharing,turn on and you're finish

if you want to browse the file that you shared on windows seven. just go to my network connection and you'll see a list of pc that are connected to you

if you're connected through LAN, make sure to set IP adress different at the end of the numbers

example 101.10.1.20
the other pc IP should be 101.10.1.21 (you can use 50,40,64,just make sure the end number is the different) this is to avoid IP conflict

the DNS number should be 225.225.0.0
DNS number should be the same on all pc that you're connecting

hope this helps

Read the red box at the top of this tutorial and see if that helps,

Workgroup Name - View and Change

Also here's another tutorial that might help,

Homegroup - Add Computer or Join