firewall how to

i have version 4 smart security and i have been very happy with it. however i just upgraded from Windows xp pro to Windows 7 ultimate. everything is great except that I know i should have exported my firewall settings to my new install because as the firewall is interactive mode i can not open a network share on my server which is server 2008 standard edition. i shares on there and when i try to open the folder or by unc path it does not work then when i turn off the firewall it works also i can not ping the server either while the firewall is turned on. how do i cofigure the firewall to allow these processes. also what other processes should i open up on the firewall.

 

can anyone help

 

is there a more definitive guide on using the firewall like what services do what and block what ports, services etc.

 

I'd suggest starting off with the standard procedure for cases when a particular connection is being blocked:
1, enable logging of blocked connections in the IDS setup
2, reproduce the issue
3, paste here the relevant records from your firewall log.