Unable to setup 802.11b ad-hoc network between two Windows XP machines

I recently got hold of two wireless adaptors and briefly managed to
setup a wireless LAN which worked fine and was able to share the
internet connection and network drives. We have now moved house and
despite my best efforts I cannot raise a network connection between
these two cards.

I now have the two machines setup in the same room, one reports signal
strength as very good (USB adaptor) and the other as Excellent (PCMCIA
adaptor). But despite being able to 'see' the other card I am unable
to form an IP connection between these two machines.

I have set fixed IP addresses for both cards, WEP is set to 128bit and
an identical WEP key is set on both adaptors and the channel numbers
and SSIDs are identical.

If I change the SSID on one, I can see the change on the other and ask
it to connect. I can even see a local access point for an external
network so this would appear to suggest the cards are physically
working.

The working setup I had previously used my laptop as a bridge to allow
my wifes machine to use the ADSL connection. This worked fine and I
was able to share files across the connection. Now I cannot even ping
one adaptor from the other when both report each others presence and
give their signal strength as adequate.

Any suggestions on this as I want to get my wifes machine connected so
she doesn't keep hogging my laptop!

Regards,
Jason.


Jason Arthurs