Since the release of Windows XP, Microsoft has made it very easy to share files, folders and peripherals over a home network. In a matter of minutes you can connect all your home desktops and laptops together and create a easy to use secure home network. Before we begin, there are a few items that are required to create a home network.
Items needed for a home network
- Wireless or Wired Router: This is the main component to a home network. This is the central point where all computers in your home will connect to. This is also useful if you want to access the computer simultaneously on more then one computer in the house.
- Ethernet Adapter in each computer: Most computers today come standard with this, however it is vital that your computer has an Ethernet adapter either wired or wireless in order to connect to the network.
In essense, these are the two components required to connect multiple computers together. Once you have verified that you have these items you can start setting up the network.
Setting up the home network
For the purpose of this article, I will not be explaining the exact steps required to setup a network, however I will point you in the right direction. For a full detailed walkthrough of the home networking process please refer to Appendix A at the bottom of this article, for a link to my website.
As mentioned Windows XP makes it very simple to setup your home network. Microsoft has added a feature to every Operating System called the network wizard. This wizard walks you through step by step asking you various questions about your home, to setup your network. The wizard breaks down into roughly 6 different steps, and once you have completed the steps you will be asked to restart your computer. Upon restart, your computer will be on the network. Note: This step must be ran on each computer you want to add to to your network.
You can access the Network Wizard by:
- Click Start
- My Network Places
- Setup Network for Home or Small Office
This will get you to the first step in the network wizard. As mentioned to learn what each step means and what you should enter, please follow the link at the bottom of this page under Appendix A.
Sharing Files and Folders
Once you have ran the network wizard on all computers you are ready to share files on the network. Once again, Microsoft makes it very easy to share files over the network. For the purpose of this article I will be use “My Documents” as the folder that I want to share. If you wanted to share all files and sub-folders within my documents you could perform the following steps:
- Click Start
- Right Click on My Documents
- Click Properties
- Find the “Sharing” Tab
- Click on the “Share this Folder” option
- Provide it with a descriptive name
- Select Apply then OK
These are the basic steps required to shared the My Documents folder on your home network. Please keep in mind that there are other steps that you should perform such as setting up permissions to ensure security, however they are not required to share files. If you wish to learn more about securing your network, please follow the link under Appendix A.
In summary, this was a quick overview of how simple sharing files could be between your personal computers. I am a big fan of setting this up for many reasons, one in particular being that when you save your personal data such as pictures and music on more then one computer, it takes away alot of the risk of losing your valuable information. Some people have a fear that other people can access your home network, and this is true, however if you read my article on home network security I promise that this will no longer be an issue. Once again thank you for your time, and look forward to helping you with another computer need in the future.
Tags: Computer Network, computer networking