No internet access on win xp guest & shared folder mapping

[gadgetgirl]

I've just installed Virtualbox version 3.2.8 v64453 on my Macbook Pro and running Windows XP Professional SP3 on it.
I can't seem to get any internet connection and have checked that virtualbox network settings has network adaptor enabled and set to NAT as per user manual. Adapter type is also set to the default PCNet FAST III (Am79C973) with some default mac address that existed on the settings. Cable connected is also set to checked. I've searched the forum for similar issues and the relevant ones all pointed towards ensuring these settings are set which it currently is and yet no internet connection. So I'm at lost as to where to go from here.
My macbook gets its internet connection via wifi.
Could someone please provide some advice on how to solve this issue?
I have no IT knowledge so it would be greatly appreciated if you could explain it in layman's terms.

The other problem i have is mapping the shared folder on the guest windows xp. I've followed the steps as outlined in the user manual by going to windows explorer and looked up: My Networking Places” -> “Entire Network” -> “VirtualBox Shared folders" and right-clicking on the shared folder i've created on the host machine. However i can't see the shared folder at all. The shared folder was created via Virtualbox and is located on my macbook's desktop.

Does anyone have any idea how to solve these 2 issues?

Many thanks

[Sasquatch]

Issue 1: Does the Mac have internet before you boot the VM? That is a vital step, as information from the Host is passed to the Guest through translations and if there is no information, it has nothing to translate to.

Issue 2: Have you installed the Guest Additions? Those are needed. The share needs to be configured in the VM settings and it should show up like that. If you have done both and you still don't see the share, use the command line option in the manual, net use x: \\vboxsrv\share.