Home Networks:
With the price of computers (and especially notebooks) dropping on a weekly basis, many people have more than one computer in their home or office. It makes sense to configure a network, be it wired or wireless, to take advantage of Broadband internet connections and for sharing media files and documents.
Hardware:
Diagram 1 shows a common home network and in most cases this is a simple matter of plugging everything in correctly.
Diagram 1
Operating Systems:
Windows Vista® and more recently Windows 7® have added more security and in doing so, have created a more complicated way of sharing files on a private network. Windows 7® has gone some way toward improving this with the Homegroup® settings, but this doesn’t help if you’re running multiple operating systems in your network.
Points to Note:
On all computers in the network:
- Check IP address is set to Automatic from DHCP
- Check Workgroup name is the same on all computers
- Check all cables are connected correctly
- Check all devices are switched on
- In Vista and Windows 7 make sure Sharing is enabled.
- User’s Public folder is available by default.
If you need help:
The easy way is to contact My Computer Guy. We’ll have your network running correctly in no time and we can also supply any devices you may need at a competitive price.
If you’re having problems with a wireless network you can read some information and see a diagram on the Wireless Networking page.