Trying to get my 4 different Windows boxes (1 - XP Pro/HP notebook, 1 - XP Home/ Dell tower, 1 - XP Home/Dell Inspiron notebook and 1 - Vista Ultimate/Acer Aspire Tower all interconnected with a D-Link DI624 wireless router) to work together, i.e. share printers, files & support Internet access was consuming enormous amounts of my time to no avail.

After spending days & weeks setting and re-setting dozens of Windows parameters and registry settings, some functions would seem to work and then suddenly, for no apparent reason, print sharing, file sharing or whatever would stop working. After months of effort and total frustration, I accidently discovered a product called "Network Magic" from Pure Networks Inc. that solved the majority of these problems. The product is not yet bulletproof as I still have occasional problems with file & printer sharing that seem to come and go - with a little fiddling it's restored to normal - clearly and far & away much better than without the product.

The product is competitively priced ($39 US) for three computers. As well they offer a trial or evaluation version to try before you buy. It has a collection of other very useful features and utilities. Accordingly, if you have a small, local network of Windows-based boxes and your not an MCSE, I highly recommend you give it a road test.