So, I now have a lovely new machine that is Windows 7. I don't want to loose access to files on the Windows XP machine. They will sit 2' from each other under my desk. What are the simplest, easiest means to network these two computers?

Setup a WORKGROUP, not a HOMEGROUP. Share the folders on the XP machine that you want to access from the new Win 7 machine. Click on Start then Network. You will get a message saying something about Network and File Sharing is not enabled, do you want to enable it. Click Yes. Once that's done you should be able to browse the shares on your XP machine, and likewise from XP to the Win 7 machine once shares are setup there. Rich

You can share folders between two computers. To easily access the other computer, I suggest you use the same username\password on two computers. If the Windows XP system is Home Edition, you need to enable Guest account, and give the account permissions to access the shared folders. If you do not use the same username\password, to easily access the other computer, you may disable Password Protected Sharing in Network and Sharing Center in Windows 7, also enable Guest account in Windows XP. On both computers, give the Guest account permissions to access the shared folders.Arthur Xie - MSFT