Unable to connect MacBook to Vista Laptop...despair fast approaching

The 10.5 Leopard does not have the buttons related to Windows in Sharing.  Or, at least, I can't find them.
Am I crazy?  Blind?

To attach to a Windows share you need to open Finder. In the status bar at the top is the Go item. Click on it and select Connect to Server. In the box that pops up enter SMB://servername/sharename.  You will most likely be prompted for the username and password of a user on the Windows box who has access to the share.  If the Mac and the PC are in the same workgroup this should be as easy as entering user name and password.  If the workgroups are different, I think you will need to enter the name of the Vista box and then the user name like vista_pc/username.

I tried this using the IP address of the Windows box.
I got a popup box asking for username/password and used the one from my Vista box.  No luck.
Then I tried it again and got a no permissions message.
By servername/sharename am I entering the computer's name (in this case NPJLAPTOP) and sharename (What is that?  The various disks, printers, etc? as listed in folders I'm sharing?)

Apparently there are some problems with sharing Windows files with a Mac. I got this info from another EE member today and I'll share his info with you.

Windows 2003 offers Apple Filesharing Protocol (AFP) support which makes specified shared folders more OSX-friendly.  There are advantages and disadvantages of using the AFP tools in Windows 2003 server but it may explain why your users had damaged files.  IF you DON'T use the AFP tools then OSX will use the SMB protocol to connect to Windows shares.  This in turn can have issues with file extensions and resource data being lost.  This particularly affects fonts and certain other filetypes.

I have done some minimal fire sharing of files on a Windows machine with a Mac, but these are mainly Windows documents that I am opening in Word and Excel for the Mac and so far I have not have any issues with them.  I have not had the need to store Mac files on a Windows server.

Usually the reason to access one system from another is to either run an application (not likely in this case), use a printer of gain access to some files.  When you set up a resource on Windows such as a printer or file folder you can share this resource with others who have access to your computer and you can assign permissions as well.  

So, I could have a documents folder as I alluded to above that contains Word or Excel documents that I could open in Office for the Mac.  I would share this folder on my Windows machine and then access the share by using the method above.

I had to locate this link that I had about printing from a Mac to a Windows printer.  Take a look:

http://macs.about.com/od/macwindows/ss/sharewinprinter.htm

Sharing a printer is just what I had in mind.  Thanks for the links.  Lots to work with...tomorrow.  I'll report back.

See also:  http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/3022.html

Thanks for all the links.
I've followed them all, with the following result.
My Vista computer sees the Mac and can access all its files.
My MAC doesn't see the Vista box or its printers and files.
All are on the same subnet, and logged to the same router.
I'm at a loss.  It must be some simple thing that I haven't done.
None of this works unless all firewalls are completely disabled, by the way.

Well, for the Mac to get to the printer, the Vista PCs firewall would have to either be disabled or modifications made to it in order for the Mac to see and access the printer.

I think that I have read that something similar needs to be done on the Mac, which you experience seems to show. I'm trying to research what exactly that is.  I don't think you have to have to completely open in order to get this to work.

I tried the SMB "connect to server" route, using NPJLAPTOP/C.
It asks for user name and password.
I tried the MAC username and password.  Denied permission.
I tried my Vista username, and password.  Success.
But when I tried to install a network printer, using the Windows tab, my Workgroup wasn't listed.  It had been before.
Madness beckons.

The vista name and PW is want you would want because that is the user with access to the vista machine.
Getting printing to work on the mac to a PC is a little strange and the way to do it does vary by OS X level.

Something you might try is creating a user on Vista that has the same name and PW as your Mac user.  It also helps if both boxes are in the same workgroup, but I'm not sure that matters.

I have a similar setup to yours:

I am running Leopard 10.5.3.
I am running XP Pro and the shared printer lives on that PC.
Both the PC and the Mac are in the same workgroup.
I have a user ID on the PC that is the same as the one I use on the Mac.
When I go to the Printers and Fax in System Pref I click on the + button which starts up the add printer dialog.
I am using the WIndows icon at the top and when I hit that I see my workgroup.
I click it and I see the PC and I hit that and I am prompted to log in which I do and I see my printer.
Firewall is open on Mac.
I am running Zone Alarm Pro on my PC, it is on, but I have a "hole" for any device on my internal network.

I'll try experimenting with the Mac firewall and see what I can find.

In Leopard 10.5.3 if I set my Mac firewall for either "Allow all incoming connections" or "Set access for specific services and applications" I can see my workgroup, my PC and the PC's printer.  If I have it set for "Allow only essential services" I can't see any of this.

With the first, I assume that this means that the firewall is off.  However, if I pick the third setting I can get the printer to work AND if you click on the Advanced button, you can still set the firewall to stealth mode which should hide the Mac from the outside.  I think that in this settings "Set access for specific services and applications" the Mac opens ports that are needed for things you have specified as on elsewhere while still providing protection from the outside.

I set the Mac firewall wide open.
I still cannot see the Vista computer nor does the Printer utility see the Workgroup in the Windows tab.
This is very strange because Vista sees the Mac as belonging to the workgroup.

What is the status of the Vista firewall?

Vista firewall is disabled.  So is AVG firewall.  No firewalls at all.

I don't know.  If the firewalls are off and workgroups are the same it should just see it.  I would think that even if the workgroups were different, it should see it. What sub version of Leopard are you running?  I looked and didn't see anything specific in 10.5.3 that relaged to printing, but if you're not running that you might install the upgrade.

Printing between Mac and PC has always been a little messy, but since getting the iMac with Leoaprd it seems to have gotten a lot better.

Probably a waste, but can you ping the PC from your Mac by IP and/or name?