Vista - IEEE Networking - wired

Saw a similar post that garnered no replies, but I figured I'd post this anyway:
In XP my IEEE port could connect to another machine that had an IEEE port via a cable and the two machines could transfers files and the like. With Vista, the port shows as working properly in Device Manager, there are no updated drivers and the machine will not sound off [bo-dunk!] when connected nor will it see the IEEE connected machine. Any ideas? I CANT be the only one who connects this way, although the Microsoft tech said I was the first to EVER call about it [Dell too, for that matter].