CentOS does not see Windows in a network

[varelg]

Hi,
I have two machines connected into LAN directly via crossover cable. One of them is running CentOS 4.2, the other is Windows XP Home Edition. They are set up for simple file sharing. Their IP addresses are manually assigned:

-Windows XP IP: 192.168.1.1 and subnet 255.255.255.0 with default gateway and DNS server address fields left empty;

-CentOS IP: 192.168.1.2 and the same subnet as WinXP.

At CentOS, samba is installed but smb.conf has not been touched.
When I ping the local loopback at both machines, it works. Pinging their own IP addresses also works, but when I ping WinXP from CentOS (by the IP address), it shows no output unless I press Ctrl-C (and then follows statistics about packets sent, zero received and 100% packet loss). This is happening even with the Windows firewall off. Cable has been checked and changed but problem still remains
What is to be done to make XP visible from CentOS?

[Compunuts]

YOu will have to configure SAMBA in order to see WinXP box.

Also, you need to put CentOS's IP in the default gateway entry of your XP or put the IP manually in "hosts" file. Do a search on XP box with the file name "hosts".