How do I join a Windows XP computer to a Win7 homegroup?

Or how do I just make the XP box know about the Win7 box? They're both fed from the same router so should have IP addresses in the same group - but although the Win7 PC can see the XP PC, it doesn't work the other way around.

AFAICT the only place (in XP) where I can view other computers is in my XP workgroup. But Win7 uses homegroups which don't seem to be quite the same thing. A workgroup seems to have a name but no password whereas a homegroup seems to have a password but no name.

What am I missing here...?

XP can't join a homegroup.

Funnily enough I've kinda managed it. If you select View Workgroup Computers (on the XP machine) you can initially see only the local XP PC. But if you navigate up one level to Microsoft Windows Network you can see the other machine listed there. If you click on its Properties you can find the name of its workgroup (not its homegroup but its workgroup). You can then join your XP machine to the same workgroup. Each PC can then see the others shared folders although they're using different mechanisms to achieve it.

I always found XP workgroups to be a bit slow so this probably isn't an ideal solution but it seems to work.

If all your computers have Windows 7 you need to use a homegroup.

If you have Windows XP and Windows 7 computers then you need to be using a workgroup.

When you use a workgroup with XP and 7 you need to make sure that all the computers are using the same workgroup name.

Join or create a workgroup

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...nd-a-homegroup