Networking with PC - help please?!

I have previously networked to a WinXP laptop very easily from my Powerbook. I tried today and could not get anywhere on this.

Possibly a faulty ethernet cable ... but unlikely

The thing is, on the Sytem Preferences > Sharing section on OS X (am using 10.2.6) I cannot switch on Windows File Sharing. Every time I tick the box, it immediately unticks itslef. If I try pressing the start button, that too doesn't work.

Presumably this is the cause of my inability to network. The question is, why can't I tick that check box?

The usual suspects - yes, I am a full administrator, and I have done this before and knwo the steps that are necessary.

Any ideas?

I'd like to get help in this area as well.

I'm not 100% sure how to make my G5 talk to my PC running 2k.

So maybe someone can explain the steps better with this BUMP..

you might want to try having FTP Access checked before trying to turn on windows file sharing since windows doesnt use AFP