How-To Geek

I have 2 Questions regarding networking since I'm new to this:

1 - Are there any different between created a regular shared folder and created a mapping drive? I mean computer A or computer B can still access to the same shared folder or the mapping drive depending on the user preference. I saw some people used the regular shared folder while other use mapping drive to share their networking file. I was just wondering if there's any difference.

2 - This question was also asked in YouTube, so I'll ask again. I was playing and testing the shared folder since I just purchased a router so now I can do some networking between my Desktop computer and my Laptop.

I created 2 shared folders (REM1 and REM2). REM1 was created from Desktop computer (WinMe) and REM2 from Laptop (Vista).

My Laptop pick up the REM1 shared folder from my Desktop comp. And I can see my Desktop computer icon from my Laptop. This one is working correctly since I can access to the file.

On the other hand, my Desktop comp. did not pick up REM2 shared folder which was created from the Laptop. Also my Desktop comp. did not show the icon of my Laptop from window explorer. It's like the link wasn't connected up.

So the question is, how come my Desktop comp (WinMe) didn't pick up the networking from my Laptop (Vista)? I type every thing correctly. My Laptop can read my Desktop but not the other way around.

Cool, now I understand for #1. But for #2, I did all of that. When I created a shared folder from my Laptop computer (Vista) and later tried to open from my Desktop computer (WinMe), I would get an error message like not accessible/ access is denied.

What I don't get is this, if created the shared file from my Desktop computer, then it's okay since my Laptop can pick it up. But not in the reverse direction.