I wouldn't expect your larger apps to be the culprits, actually, assuming
they are from "standard" sources and not something unique or unheard of by
most.
You mentioned "public" is the folder. How about if you use the standard,
XP provided share directory? Will that share OK? Will ANYthing on that drive
share? Printer? Etc.

But since you apparently have two "identical" drives(?) I'd tend to agree
with you. Unless the "bad" disk has problems the other doesn't. Have you
run chkdsk and mfr test software on them both? I haven't followed this whole
thread but since it's been here so long I thought I'd take a peek at it.
I think I'd be sorely tempted to "clone" one disk to the other here if
things are as they seem to be. If they're not identical drives, I've
misunderstood you somehow.

As for uninstalling, that shouldn't be an issue if you have current
backups/images of the drive being worked on. Delete away until you find the
culprit or have no results. But start with the smaller apps, unusual apps,
helper apps, anything to do with drive permissions, things like that.
Then when you think you've located a culprit, re-image/Restore the drive
from backup, and check the fix there. If it still works, you're all set.
It's just too easy to restore a disk to let uninstalling get in your way.
Considering the work you're doing, if you don't have both the OS and data
backed up, you are making a huge mistake that will definitely really trash
you someday.

Anyway you look at it, you're going to have some work to do. Back up both
drives and play away with whatever you wish. Were there specific error
messages that were lost along the way in this thread? Have yo ucheck gpo's,
etc too? Permissions? Is Event Viewer clean? Every error will be recorded
there, along with pre/post activity.

HTH,

Twayne`
,
JCO typed:
Added Information:
There is nothing wrong with my hardware. I have multiple
harddrives for this computer and the "Share Folder" works
fine when I boot up using the other drive. I'm convinced
that I have some software installed that is blocking the
Share. Its not the typical Firewall issue. I've tested
that. I don't know how to pin down the installed software
that might be causing the issue. I certainly don't want to
uninstall stuff. This drive has some very large
applications installed such as Visual Studio 2008 and a
very elaborate Drawing Package (CAD/CADAM type).
Any ideas?

"JCO" wrote in message
...
Running several computers all with WindowsXP Professional.
I typically have a shared folder on each computer named
"Public". This allows me to send files back & forth to
each computer. Just recently, one computer stopped
sharing. The proper icon is displayed... that is, it
shows the Hand underneath the icon as if it is shared. But you can't see
this folder via the network or from
other computers. I'm guessing it might be the network card, but I have
no
issues getting on the Internet.
Any Ideas?