Shutdown command in windows xp home?

[Connor N]

I have been trying to get the remote shutdown command to work on my windows xp home netbook for a couple days now with no avail. I am trying to run the command from the xp home netbook to shut down a windows vista laptop, but I always get the infamous access denied error. I have tried the GUI interface, the regular one, programs that I've downloaded, but I always get the access denied. I have the same user name/password for the accounts, I've tried the NtRights.exe (when I ran the commands they stated it was successfully granted). I have tried opening ports on the remote computer as well as disabling the firewall altogether. This is all being done over LAN. I can see the target computer in "net view" and I can successfully ping it. I have tried using the internal ip address and the computer name. They are also on the same workgroup. I can VNC successfully (I understand this would let you shut down through taskmgr, but I would rather find a cleaner option. Sorry for the super long question, and thanks for any help! Oh and would it be possible to do a remote shutdown to a computer not on your lan? Thanks!