Not Connecting to a Vista PC

Question

Ok i have a vista ultimate pc, connected by ethernet to a netgear router. The router also has wifi, via which my Macbook pro is connected. Both get proper internet access. both computers have sharing switched on, and i can access my mac shares from my pc. However, it isnt working the other way round. In finder, i click on connect to server, enter smb://192.168.1.3 ( my PC's ip), and click connect. However it gives me an error saying 'Could not connect to the server because the name or password is incorrect', when i havent even got the popup to enter my login credentials!! Can someone please help?? Additional details below:
Vista connectivity settings:
Network Discovery: On
File Sharing: On
Public Folder Sharing: on(read only)
Printer Sharing: On
Password Protected Sharing: Off
Media Sharing: Off
Workgroup: WORKGROUP
I even tried switching password protected sharing on but to no avail. I installed bonjour for windows but it has been completely and utterly useless. Its so pathetic it doesnt even have any interface at all. Zero-config networking my ***...
Mac settings:
Firewall:
Allow:
Personal File Sharing
Windows Sharing
iChat Bonjour
iTunes Bonjour
iPhoto Bonjour
Active Directory Settings:
SMB/CIFS enabled, v1.3.1
workgroup: WORKGROUP
Bonjour enabled.
Someone please please help as this is getting really irritating.

Answer 1

Well, the keychain is a thought, and thank you for explaining your netgear configuration to me. That makes sense. The first machine on the router would be 192.xxx.x.1, the second 192.xxx.x.2, and so forth.
Coming back to the keychain, yes, a wrong password/ username would certainly be able to prevent connection.
Have you run "keychain first aid" (open apps/utilities/keychain access). In the finder bar you could select "keychain access/keychain first aid", which is the safe option to repair any errors.
If you are certain which the item pertaining to the wireless connection is, you could manually delete it (but exercise that with caution, as the wrong deletion could create havoc, so keychain first aid is best).
And your network setup utility should be able to do the rest.
You said earlier, that you have set up your mac correctly. What about the Vista settings?? Have a look at that: http://chris.pirillo.com/2007/03/07/file-sharing-from-windows-vista-to-os-x/
as I stick to XP Pro and have no issues whatsoever working (and printing) wirelessly using WPA2 and a "hidden" wireless network.
On that note, I must leave you to try the above for tonight, as I will have to return to my essay (studying). So hope you get some ideas from this.
NB: Often, I had problems with the wireless in Tiger. It would not work 5 times (or 3 or 4), then on the subsequent, repeated correct input of username/password, the connection would come alive! (It turned out to be an intermittendly faulty Mac airport card in the end)