EXPERT VISTA WORKSHOP ▲

Vista workshop: Home networking

If you’ve got two or more PCs in your house they don’t need to be strangers. Simon Clark explains how to get them talking by creating a home network

Having two or more PCs in one

household is slowly

becoming the norm.

Everybody wants to get online

but sharing a single Net

connected computer between

all the members of your

household just isn’t practical.

With multiple PCs you’ll want to

share a single Internet

connection, a printer and your

files as well. The answer is to

create your own home network.

Now, grand as it may sound,

the whole process is

incredibly straightforward,

especially due to the way

networking has been

simplified in Windows Vista.

It’s easy to create a simple

peer-to-peer network, which

means there’s no need for

your PCs to be built around a

server. Each PC simply

Using a wireless modem/router is the simplest way of sharing your Internet connection

▲

Attaching a USB Wi-Fi adaptor is a lot easier than fitting a new network card ▲

communicates with all other machines

on the network.

Each PC you want to incorporate in

your network needs its own network

adaptor or network interface card

(NIC). If you want a cable-free

environment it’s a good idea to

go wireless. Most new laptops

have a wireless network

adaptor built in, making

wireless networking a

convenient option. If you’re

using a desktop PC you

may need to install a

wireless network card if you

want to go down the Wi-Fi

route. This can be inserted

into a free PCI slot on the

motherboard. Alternatively, it’s

possible to purchase an NIC that

attaches to a USB port instead.

With all your PCs connected to the

network you can start sharing

resources. For example, you can share

the contents of specific folders on one

PC with all connected systems. This

helps to make it easier to share data

with other users on the network. You’ll

also be able to share a single printer

between all PCs on the LAN. The printer

can be wireless or simply attached via

USB to one of the PCs on the network.

The single biggest reason for getting

▲

Configure Windows Vista to automatically connect to your wireless network when your PC starts

NETWORKING AND SHARING TIPS

▲If you decide to share a file or folder over your network there’s no need to relinquish total control of it. Right-click on the item you want to share and choose the Security tab. From this dialog you will be able to tailor access for individual users. 1 ▲ Under Group Or User Names select the userwhose access you’d like to change then click on Edit. Under Permissions For Authenticated Users place a tick in the box alongside the permission you’d like to grant or deny. 2 ▲ With other users having access to your PC itmakes sense to keep control of how much disk space can be used. Click Start/ Computer then right-click on c:/ and choose Properties. Select the Quota tab and click on Show Quota Settings. 3

www.pc-utilities.co.uk issue 90 68

▲
NETWORK AND SHARING CENTER

The Network And

Sharing Center displays a graphical

representation of your network. If you are

connected to your router but not the Internet this

will be indicated.

Check if any wireless

networks are within range by clicking on

Manage Wireless Networks. You’ll also be

able to change priority and connect

automatically if you wish.

VISTA WORKSHOP ▲

EXPERT

Creating a home

network manually and from scratch can be

complicated. Click on Set Up A Connection

Or Network for a simple step-by-step

guide.

Activate password protection so that

only people who have a user account and

password on the PC are able to access

shared files and folders.

If you’re having problems with an aspect of your Internet

connection, click on Diagnose And Repair. This launches Windows Network Diagnostics, which will either fix the

problem or advise you on a probable cause.

To stream media between your

PC and other devices on your network make sure that Media

Sharing is set to On.

your PCs on a network will be to share

your Internet connection. The simplest

way to do this is with a wireless router.

QUICK TIP

If you want to use your wireless Internet connection but the signal is too weak you can give it a boost. A device called a repeater or range extender will enable you to extend the range of your existing network and broadcast the wireless signal further.

Each PC can then connect directly to

the router. If Wi-Fi isn’t an option you

can set up an Internet connection on

one PC and set the remaining

computers to connect via that machine.

Managing your network If you’ve never set up a network before

there’s plenty of help in Windows Vista.

For the inexperienced user the Network

And Sharing Center in the Control Panel

takes a lot of the guesswork out of

connecting multiple PCs. In fact it

“Ifyou’ve never set up a network before there’s plenty ofhelp in Windows Vista”

simplifies the entire process. There’s an

option enabling you to create a network

from scratch via a step-by-step guide.

You’ll also be able to use the Network

And Sharing Center to monitor your

wireless network connections. Using

the settings provided you can also

choose which aspects of information

are available to be shared with other

users. For example, it’s possible to

stream the media on your PC to

another network device.

What’s interesting about the Network

▲ Place a tick next to Enable Quota Managementin order to impose an overall limit on disk usage. Alternatively, click on Quota Entries in order to impose limits on a per-user basis. This will help to prevent your hard disk from getting filled with unnecessary files. 4 ▲ To access shared items on another PC fromwithin Windows Vista click on Start/ Network. The Network screen will list all available devices on your network, including media shares. Double-click an item to drill down to individual files and folders. 5 ▲ It’s easy to lose track of the files and foldersyou’re sharing with other users. In the Network And Sharing Center click on Show Me All The Files And Folders I Am Sharing. This will bring up a folder view of all the items that can be seen by other users. 6

issue 90 www.pc-utilities.co.uk 69

▲