Chapter 2

Configuring Your Network

In This Chapter

• Showing your computer how to find your network adapter
• Installing network components
• Naming your computer and giving it a workgroup
• Setting up your network for file and printer sharing
• Creating a username and password

After you have the hardware for your network in place, you’re ready to configure it and install the software components that make it work.

In this chapter, we cavalierly assume that you already have your networking hardware successfully installed in all of the computers you want to include in your network. Whether that means you opened up computers and installed PCI network adapters (see Chapter 1 for more on that), simply plugged an appropriate network adapter into the USB ports of the computers you want to include, or popped a PC card into a laptop is up to you. In either case, you need to have your physical and software installation complete.

Refer to the Installation Guide that came with your USRobotics product for specific installation instructions.

Adding File and Printer Sharing Services

One of the best things about having a network is that it enables you to share files and devices, such as printers. We discuss how to set up a shared printer in Chapter 4. However, before you can make use of the information in that chapter, you need to add something called File and Printer Sharing Services. The following numbered steps enable this important feature of your network.

1. Click the Start → Settings → Control Panel, as shown in Figure 2-1.

Figure 2-1: Selecting the Control Panel.

The Control Panel appears, as shown in Figure 2-2.

Figure 2-2: The Control Panel.

2. Double-click the Network icon to view the network properties.

The Network dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2-3.

Figure 2-3: The Network dialog box.

3. Click the Configuration tab.

4. Click the Add... button.

The Select Network Component Type dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2-4.

Figure 2-4: The Select Network Type dialog box.

5. Select Service.

6. Click the Add... button.

The Select Network Service dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 2-5.

Figure 2-5: The Select Network Service dialog box.

7. Select File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks.

8. Click OK.

Windows may prompt you for additional files that need to be copied in order to update the configuration changes you made. Make sure you have your Windows CD-ROM available to insert as the installation requires.

You return to the Network dialog box.

9. Click OK to close the Network dialog box.

You are prompted to restart your computer.

10. Click Yes to restart your computer.

You’re almost there — just one more set of steps.

Naming Your Computer and Putting It in a Workgroup

You may already have a name for your computer — Fred, Nimby, or maybe *&@$^ depending on how well it’s been behaving. In this section, we show you how to teach your computer its name.

Naming each computer in your network is what allows other computers in your network, or more specifically, their users, to identify the location of resources (for example, files, a printer, or a CD-ROM drive) in the network. We explain in Chapter 4 how to share a drive on a computer in your network, thereby giving other computers in the network access to that drive. This concept is much easier if each computer has a name — the computer named Dad can access a shared resource on the computer named Mike and so on.

We suggest that you name the computers in your network after their users. Or, maybe by the room they’re in (kitchen, office, garage, and so on). Any way you do it is fine, just remember that the name should be short, one word, and contain no funny characters (like / or *).

Here’s how to name them:

1. In the Network dialog box (you should still have it open from the previous set of numbered steps in this chapter), click the Identification tab, as shown in Figure 2-6.

2. Enter a name and workgroup for your computer.

For instance, you may want to name the computer you’re working on “Mike” and put it in the workgroup called “Home.”

You must remember two important things when creating computer and workgroup names: First, you need to give each computer in your network a unique name. Second, you need to put all of your computers in the same workgroup — they must all have the same workgroup name down to the exact spelling.

That’s it. Remember to perform these steps for all the computers in your network.

Figure 2-6: The Network dialog box with the Identification tab selected.

Entering Your Network Password

After you restart your computer, Windows prompts you for a Username and a Password. This process is called a login. Your username and password may consist of any combination of letters and/or numbers except for a few of the punctuation symbols — Windows tells you to try a different password if you enter one of the “forbidden” symbols. When entering a password, choose one that you will remember. You’ll be prompted for the password each time you turn on your computer.

You can also choose not to enter anything (simply click OK when the login appears). Doing so will mean that anyone who turns on your computer can gain access to your network. However, if you’re in an environment where network security is not an issue (for example, at home with kids you trust), you may not want to bother with a password.

If this is your first time logging in, Windows asks you to verify the password you entered. Re-type the password in the pop-up window and click OK.

You will not have access to the network if you press <ESC> or click Cancel, but you will be able to use Windows.

Installing Network Protocols and Services for Windows Me

If you’re running Windows Me on any computer, you can automate all the steps in this section for every computer on the network as well as set up a shared Internet connection. This magic is accomplished with the Windows Me Home Networking Wizard.

Note: The Windows Me Home Networking Wizard will not work to connect a computer running Windows 2000 Professional. If you find yourself in this situation, you need to manually install network protocols and services (similar to the numbered steps earlier in this chapter). Remember to consult the guide that came with your networking products for specific instructions.

You can connect your network either through an Internet device connected to your Broadband router, or via an Internet device connected to one of your networked computers. As we cover in Chapter 3, connecting through an Internet device connected to your Broadband router is the preferred method. Be sure to determine which method you plan to use before launching the Home Networking Wizard.

To launch the wizard, double-click the My Network Places icon on your desktop and then double-click the Home Networking Wizard icon. The first wizard window is a welcoming message that requires no action on your part, except clicking Next to get started on the real work.

The Home Networking Wizard may prompt you to enter some information regarding protocols, identifying your network hardware (type of network adapters and so on), and whether to start file and printer sharing services. You can find the information you need to enter in the first part of this chapter or in the installation guide that came with your network hardware.

Installing Network Protocols and Services for Windows XP

If you’re running Windows XP on any computer, you can set up your home network using the cleverly named Network Setup Wizard. To get to the Wizard, click Start → My Network Places and then double-click the Network Setup Wizard.

You can connect your network to the Internet in one of two basic ways: Through an Internet device connected to your Broadband router, or via an Internet device connected to one of your networked computers. For reasons we explain in Chapter 3, connecting through an Internet device connected to your Broadband router is the preferred method. The Network Setup Wizard asks you a question on the third screen about how you connect to the Internet, as shown in Figure 2-7.

Figure 2-7: The Network Setup Wizard asking how you connect to the Internet.

We’ve selected the option to connect via a residential gateway (that’s the Network Setup Wizard’s term for connecting through a router) because we have a DSL modem connected to our USRobotics Broadband router.

If you’re using the Windows Internet Connection Sharing feature to connect to the Internet, you need to specify whether you are

• Connecting all of your networked computers via the computer you are currently setting up (the first option in Figure 2-7), or
• Connecting the computer you are currently configuring to the Internet via another computer’s Internet connection (the second option in Figure 2-7).

As you go through the steps in the Home Networking Wizard, you may need to enter some information regarding protocols, your network hardware (type of network adapters and so on), and whether you want to start file and printer sharing services. You can find this information in the numbered steps in the first part of this chapter or in the installation guide that came with your network hardware.

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