Slow Transfer speed

I am getting slow transfer speeds
when i connect my laptop (win xp home)and desktop(win xp pro)
with a crossover cable or when they are connected through my hub
they transfer files painfully slow.
Faster to burn a dvd and transfer it that way.
When through my Hub they can access my win98 system
and recieve files at a good speed (10 meg file transfers in a few seconds)
But if i try to send that file back to win98 system it will take about 6 minutes.
I am using NetBEUI Protocol on all systems.
Each system has its own ip address.
Any suggestions would be great.
Thanks
Bren_ji

 

Just a small update
I have uninstalled NetBEUI from all systems
and I am using just tcp/ip
I am still able to transfer file between all systems
(not sure why ARG!! more googleing and reading for me)
But I still have the same Transfer speed problem.

Bren_ji