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scene creating a home network was a fearsome task reserved for the knowledgeable or the courageous. That's no longer the case. Windows XP makes setting up a network easy. The toughest part of the deal is physically installing the hardware; the software side is a minor operation.
If you are a multiple-computer household, now's the time to get those computers hitched. Doing so has a lot of benefits. You can: Share printers, CD-ROM drives and other removeable drives between the computers. Eliminate SneakerNet (passing files around on floppy or CD) and share files directly between PCs. Share a single Internet connection between computers (provided your agreement with your ISP allows this type of sharing). Play multiplayer games. Store only a single copy of large files, saving space on the other PCs' hard drives. You can network computers that run different operating systems, but you'll find the ideal networking setup for a small home LAN (local area network) is with XP running on your most powerful machine(s) and either Windows 98 or Windows Me running on the other computers. I don't recommend trying to include computers running Windows 95 in your network unless you are an experienced user. Please turn over for the Main Points !
Apart from XP's easy handling of ICS, by using an XP computer as your ICS host you get the benefits of using the Internet Connection Firewall.
7. Switch it on
Switch on all computers, printers and other peripherals.
Office Network. Follow the instructions in each screen and press Next to continue. XP's Network Setup Wizard takes much of the pain out of setting up a home network. The Network Setup Wizard will guide you through: Configuring your network adapters (NICs). Configuring your computers to share a single Internet connection. Naming each computer. (Each computer requires a name to identify it on the network.) Sharing the Shared Files folder. Any files in this folder will be accessible to all computers on the network. Sharing printers. Installing the Internet Connection Firewall to guard you from online attacks.
Make sure you maintain an active Internet connection on your host computer as you proceed through this process. geekgirl.tip If you don't have a CD-ROM drive on one of the network computers, you can run the Network Setup Wizard from a floppy disk: 1. While running the Network Setup Wizard on the ICS host computer, select the option to copy the Network Setup Wizard to a floppy disk. 2. Once you've completed setup on the ICS host, take the floppy to the 5
next computer and insert it in the drive. 3. Double-click My Computer. 4. Double-click 3 Floppy (A:). 5. Double-click netsetup.exe.
Sharing a printer
With your home network installed, your PC suddenly gains all the advantages of the other PC's on the network. If you've been lusting after your sister's colour photo printer, you can now print directly to it from your own machine. Provided, that is, your sister decides to share her printer. (You might offer to let her share your laser printer in return as an inducement sharing works both ways.) To share a printer, on the computer which is directly connected to the printer: 1. Click Start -> Control Panel -> Printers And Other Hardware -> Printers And Faxes. (Note: These steps will be a little different if you're sharing a printer on a PC running a version of Windows other than XP. For example, under Windows Me, you click Start -> Settings -> Printers.) 2. Click the printer you wish to share. 3. Click Share This Printer in the Task Pane. 4. In the printer's Properties dialog, click the Sharing tab. 5. Click Share Name and OK. Make a printer accessible to others on the network by sharing it. Once a printer has been shared you can access it from other computers on the network. To do so: 1. Click Start -> Control Panel -> Printers And Other Hardware. 2. Click Add A Printer. 3. In the Add New Printer wizard, when asked whether the printer is a local or network printer, select the latter. 4. In the next screen, select the option to Browse For A Printer and click Next. 5. Select the appropriate printer from the list and continue with the wizard.