Whenever I try to access my desktop from my notebook I get a dialog box asking for password. It always tries to access the “IPC$” and entering any password does not work. How do I access my Windows XP notebook from my desktop, which has Windows 98 installed on it?

To access your Windows XP notebook from your desktop with Windows 98 installed, follow the steps mentioned below:
Make a note of the username and password you use to log in to your Windows 98 machine. This refers to the initial login screen you get when Windows boots to the desktop. If you
don’t have one then create one—don’t use a blank password. On the Windows XP machine, create a user account similar to the one you use to log in to the Windows 98 machine.
Click on “Start | Settings | Control Panel | Administrative Tools |
Computer Management” on the Windows XP machine.
Under “Computer Management (Local), go to “System Tools | Local Users and Groups | Users”.
Click on the “Action” menu and select “New User”.
Create a new user just as the one you use on the Windows 98 machine. The password also has to be the same. Uncheck “User must change password at next logon”.
Now check “Password never expires”.
Click on “Create” and then on “Close”.
Disable “Simple File Sharing” on
Windows XP. Open Windows Explorer and click on “Tools | Folder Options”.
Click on the “View” tab and uncheck
“Use Simple File Sharing”.
Click on “Apply” and then on “OK”. Now try to access your Windows XP shared
from the Windows 98 machine. If this also does not work, check to see if Windows XP’s fi rewall is on and restricting access to the machine. Disable it.
You have in all probability assigned manually entered static IP addresses to the desktop and notebook. On the XP notebook, click on Start | Settings | Network Connections.
Right click on your network connection and select “Properties”.
Click on “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” and select “Properties”.
Click on the “Advanced” button and then select the “WINS” tab.
Select “Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP”under “NetBIOS setting”.