With many people owning several computers in their home it can be useful to have all your computers networked together so that they can share files. You may also want to network two or more computers together so that you can play a LAN (Local Area Network) game.
Hardware required to network computers:
The most popular way to create a home network is to either use network cable or to use Wi-Fi. Network cable will be faster, stable, and secure while Wi-Fi is more convenient as there are no wires.
If you want to connect two computers together to play a LAN game then it is advisable to use a network cable which will plug into the NIC (Network Interface Card) of each computer. You may also use a hub or switch which will allow several computers to connect to the network at the same time (see diagram above).
If you have a Wireless Broadband Router allowing all your computers to access the internet then your computers are already part of a Wi-Fi (wireless) network. If you use a wireless network then it should be encrypted using WPA or WPA2 so that it is secure.
Using Windows Homegroup to share files between your computers:
Windows Homegroup is an easy way to connect computers that are running the Windows 7 or Windows 8 operating system only.
1. First, make sure your computers are connected together via a Network Cable or Wi-Fi.
2. Look in 'Network and Sharing Center' which is in the Control Panel, and make sure it says 'Home Network'. If it says 'Public Network' or 'Work Network' then clicking on it will give you the option to select 'Home Network'.
3. Click on 'Homegroup' which is also in the Control Panel, and select which public folders you want to share from 'Pictures', 'Documents', 'Music', 'Printers', and 'Videos'. Click 'Next'.
4. It will then display your password which you should make a note of.
5. Click on 'Finish' and you get the option to change your Homegroup settings again. The Homegroup is now set up.
The other computers on the network can now join the 'Homegroup'. Open 'Windows Explorer' and click on 'Homegroup' and you will be prompted to enter the Homegroup password which we made a note of earlier. Files can now be shared between all the computers on the 'Homegroup'.
To share specific folders across the 'Homegroup' then open 'Windows Explorer' and right-click on the folder and select 'Share with", you will then have the following options: 'Nobody' (share with nobody), 'Homegroup Read' or 'Homegroup Read/Write' and 'Specific People (only specific people that you allow can share).
Using Windows Workgroup to share files between your computers:
Windows Workgroup is a bit harder to set up compared to a Windows Homegroup but will work on all versions of the Windows operating system.
1. First, make sure your computers are connected together via a Network Cable or Wi-Fi.
2. Go to the Control Panel, and click on 'System'. You should make sure that it says 'Workgroup: WORKGROUP'. If you click on 'Change Settings' then you can select 'Workgroup' and have the option to rename the Workgroup name. All computers on the network must have the same Workgroup name.
Complete steps 3 & 4 if using Windows 7 only
3. Look in 'Network and Sharing Center' which is in the Control Panel, and make sure it says 'Home Network'. If it says 'Public Network' or 'Work Network' then clicking on it will give you the option to select 'Home Network'.
4. From the 'Network and Sharing Center' page, select 'Change Advanced Sharing Settings' and select 'Turn off Password Protected Sharing'.
Complete steps 5 & 6 if using Windows Vista only
5. From the 'Network and Sharing Center' page, set it to 'Private Network' (not Public Network) by clicking on the 'Customize' button.
6. Turn on 'File Sharing' - Turn on 'Public Folder Sharing' - and Turn off 'Password Protected Sharing'.
You should now be able to share files over the network by opening 'Windows Explorer', and clicking on 'Network'.
Sharing Folders:
Setting up a 'Homegroup' or a 'Workgroup' as we have done will only allow you to see the 'public folders' on each computer that is on the network. If we want to share a different folder on a computer then we can either put that folder into a public folder or leave it where it is and do the following:
Open 'Windows Explorer' and right-click on the folder that you want to share on the network. Select 'Share with' ('share' on Vista), and click 'Share'. The folder should now be shared on the network.
Security and Permissions:
Right-click on a drive or folder that you have shared then select 'Properties', then the 'Security' tab. See if 'Everyone' is listed under 'Group or user names'. If it is not then click 'Edit', then click 'Add', and type in 'Everyone' (without the quotes), then click 'OK'. 'Everyone' should now be listed in the 'Group or user names' list. Select 'Everyone' and enter the permissions that you want to use. Click 'Apply' and 'OK' and all computers will now be able to access this folder on the network.
Make sure that your firewall is configured to allow your network to work.
Map Network Drive:
It is quite easy to map a network drive or folder. This will place a shortcut to the drive or folder so that you can view it in 'Windows Explorer' or 'Computer' without having to keep looking for it in 'Network'.
Open 'Windows Explorer' and click on 'Network'. Select the networked drive or folder that you want and right-click on it and select 'Map Network Drive'. You then specify a drive letter and click 'Finish'. You will notice that the drive or folder is now listed under 'Computer' and has its own drive letter. If you want to remove the networked drive or folder then right-click on it and select 'Disconnect', and then 'Yes' and it will be gone.
1.Click Map network drive
2. Assign a Drive Letter for your new network drive
3.Check Boxes bellow
It will be Look Like-
More detailed information on connecting computers on a network that use different Windows operating systems can be found here.
From Other PC's it will be look like this
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