Networking problem.

hi guys,
i want to establish a home network for sharing internet and files etc. I am using 5 ports netgear switch. Both computers have Windows XP 2002 Service Pack 1 installed in it. IP is set to obtain automatically on both the computers. but the problem is that i can see other computer on network and the same problem is with other computer. let me clear. I can only see my computer name using my pc and my mate can only see his computer name using his pc. Any idea why is that ??? :confused:

your just networking with a switch i guess?? no router??

if that is the case and the switch doesn't have DHCP then u will need to assign IPs yourself....

Assingn the lan adaptors IP addresses then configure firewalls to allow access from one pc to the other and vice versa. The setup network shares.