Another File Sharing Thread, MBP and Netbook with XP Home

[LbSigman]

I don't know what in the heck I need to do to get file sharing to work properly. My ultimate goal is to use an Ethernet cable and to connect the 2 computers directly so I can transfer files over back and forth. I just bought this MBP a few months ago so the whole Mac thing is still sorta new, but i'm getting use to it. My other computer is a MSI Wind with XP Home Edition and no matter what I do, I can't seem to get the computer to talk properly to the mac. The netbook is giving me the attention icon where it says "Internet connection has limited or no connectivity available." I've tried pinging my netbook from my Mac, and it is going through as I can see the packets being sent and received from my netbook. I have disabled all fire walls on both computers. Enabled File sharing on the mac and have "attempted" to set up a file sharing connection on the netbook. Still no dice. Is there such thing as an idiots guide to get this up and running or am I just wasting my time. Thanks.