Home LAN : XP Pro SP2 - passwords ? Master browser ?

Hi,

I recently connected a new laptop running XP Pro SP2 to an existing network
with the host desktop running XP Pro SP2 and a client running XP Home SP2. I
have a very common problem in that the host can't see the new laptop in my
network places. Sometimes, the other laptop, running XP Home SP2, can see
the new laptop, and sometimes it can't. The new laptop can access the other
computers' files. I think the problem was initially caused when the network
cable was plugged into the new laptop for the first time - DHCP attributed
an IP address and the (third party) firewall immediately thought an attack
was coming from the host and blocked it. So, an election was held and the
new laptop designated itself as the master browser. So now the LAN has
perhaps two master browsers and, chaos.

I've read that you can disable the browser service but that its not
necessarily a good idea to do so. I wonder therefore whether it wouldn't be
a better idea to reinstall the network connnection on the new laptop without
running the firewall at the same time. I can then configure the firewall on
each PC manually to stop false "attacks". Is this advisable or is there a
better solution ? And what would happen when the laptop was opened without
being connected to the LAN - another election ?

Also, I have seen that user account passwords must be used on XP Pro
machines with simple file sharing enabled. However, the desktop XP Pro and
the old laptop running XP Home see each other just fine without passwords
and can access each others files. So, is it really necessary or is the
current situation a reflection of a duff network configuration ?

Thanks for your advice.

Cheers

--
Peter Kennedy
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