Hi, I am having a problem setting up a direct link between two Windows XP
PCs via ethernet. The Windows XP Support site says this:

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Ethernet network: what you'll need

For two computers:
     . Network cards for each computer

     . Crossover cable

Networking only two computers together? With Ethernet technology, a
two-computer network is the simplest of all to install. Each computer needs
an Ethernet network card inside, and then you can run a crossover cable
between them. That's it! It's not much different than plugging an appliance
into the wall. Note that an Ethernet crossover cable is not the same thing
as an Ethernet patch cable. We'll cover patch cables next.
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I have my PC (connected to internet via USB cable modem) linked up with my
laptop. Both have network cards installed, using a crossover ethernet cable,
both systems recognise the connection, yet when I perform the Network Setup
Wizard, I am constantly getting an error message. It appears at the very end
of the wizard, after it attempts to set up a network.

All it tells me is that it cannot complete the setup, and that I should set
it up manually. The same operation on my laptop works successfully, but as I
cannot complete setup on my PC, it still doesn't recognise this.

Any help greatly appreciated.
Rich