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Computer1: Meet Computer2One of the greatest things to happen with computers was the ability to allow them to communicate. I remember the first time I set up a network in my house (it was just two computers), I was perfectly elated. To be able to take files from one computer and copy them (or just open them) on the machine I was on, rather than having to run upstairs, copy the file onto floppy, then run downstairs and copy it to my computer made my day -- nay, my year! Networks at home (even if it's just two computers) are becoming commonplace. Many people today actually expect to have their computers communicate to one another. So this week, we'll be delving into how to set up the connectivity between Windows boxes. There won't be too much detail as to make one's head spin, but anything that is not mentioned here will have a reference so as not to leave you without guidance. Most of the images on this page are linked to a larger image. Click them to see the larger version.
Once you have all the hardware and cabling in place, you are extremely close to network connectivity. Like humans, computers need an agreed-upon language to communicate with. This is called a "protocol". A very common protocol -- certainly one that you need in order to access the Internet -- is called TCP/IP. Sometimes we call it IP for short, as in, "What's your IP address?" It stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, but you don't have to remember that. Once you have your computers plugged in and powered up, and if you are running Windows 9x/Me, you can go to the Start menu and type winipcfg and press enter, or if you run Windows 2000 or XP, you can use this file. When you download this file, save it to your c:\windows directory(or c:\winnt if you don't have a c:\windows directory). When you run this file, it will tell you what IP address your computer has. Make sure that the dropdown menu under Ethernet Adapter information shows your network card. Otherwise, you can change it from the dropdown menu. What you are looking for is the IP Address (not the Adapter Address). If it reads something like 192.168.1.100, then you're ready to share your files.
A couple of more settings and we're done. If you're in a Windows 9x/ME environment, this is a piece of cake(we'll get to XP/2000 in a moment). Right-click Network Neighbourhood and select Properties. Click on File and Printer Sharing and make sure both boxes are checked. Click on the OK button and any other windows that present you with an OK button or an means of progressing (like "Finish"). You'll be asked to restart. After you finish restarting, open up Windows Explorer (windows-key+E or right-click My Computer and select Explore). From here, you can right-click any folder you want to share, and select Share Folder. From the other computer, double click the Network Neighbourhood icon, double click the name of the computer you find and you should see the contents of the shared folder.
To share your printer, the method is similar for most Windows operating systems: If you go to the Printers folder, you can share your printer by right-clicking the printer and selecting share. The other computer can discover the printer in the same way that it found the files. The other computer should right-click the printer and select the "Connect" or "Install" option. You may require the drivers for the printer, much like how you installed it on the original computer.
One major note of considerationIf you have multiple computers with different versions of Windows, you may have problems when it comes to accessing each others' folders. If you find you are having problems in this regard, make certain that the username you log in to your machine with also exists on the other computer, along with the same password. If you are not certain what your username is, click on the Start menu and select Log Off. When you log off, you will be prompted with a window to log in again, showing you what name you used to log in with last. That is your username. If you never type a password, then you do not have one. This is a very common issue in mixed-Windows networks.That is home computer networking in a nutshell. There are so many details involved that your minds would be bored numb if you tried to read them all. However, if all of the above seems beyond your abilities, look for your local computer geek who knows something about networks. It's pretty easy after you've done it the first time, or after someone has shown you how it's done.
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