In order to get your PC’s to talk, it is necessary to perform some simple configuration. Here are the items that will need to be visited:

• IP Addresses. Each network adapter needs to have an IP address. Luckily, this functionality is usually taken care of automatically by your switch or router.
• Installation of Microsoft Network Client software. This is the software that allows your computer to share files and printers.
• Give your computers each unique names. Each computer will get a computer name and that will identify the computer on the network. Each computer on the network needs to have a unique name.
• Assign workgroup. Windows organizes computers on a network into workgroups.
• Blah blah blah

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Luckily, all this is taken care of automatically when you run the Network Setup Wizard in Windows. To start the wizard, click the Start button / Accessories / Communications / Network Setup Wizard. You will get a welcome dialog. Click Next. Windows will then detect to make sure all your network hardware is installed. Click Next.

This screen is important. You will have options to choose your connection method to the internet. If you choose the first option (computer directly connected to the Internet), you will be setting your PC up as an Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) server. If your modem is connected directly to the computer and you wish to use that computer as a proxy server for the rest of your network, then choose this first option. The second option (computer connects through another PC or a gateway), you are telling Windows that it is not using ICS on that computer. If you are using ICS as a client (another of your computer’s is the proxy server) or you are using a router to which is attached the modem (most people do it this way), then choose this second option. The last (Other) option is only used in circumstances that are less than usual, such as when the computer is connected directly to the net without a firewall or if you have a LAN and no internet connection. Upon selection, hit Next.

On the next screen you will choose which network connection to use. The top option is usually selected to let Windows automatically make the choice for you. However, Windows does not always get it right. You can also choose “Let me choose the connection to my network” and then you can pick the connection yourself (such as “Local Area Network”).

On the next screen, you will select a description and name for the computer. The description field if optional and is just for your reference. The computer name is important, however, as that is how the computer will appear on the network. Try to choose something memorable and which makes sense for the computer you are using.

On the next screen you will choose a Workgroup. The workgroup is the grouping of computers on the network. Computers in the same workgroup can easily “see” each other and share files, printers, etc. It is important that you choose a Workgroup name that make sense and that you can easily enter onto every other computer which is going to be on your LAN.

The next screen will give you a chance to confirm your choices. Hitting Next will apply your changes.

Lastly, Windows will ask you about creating a Network Setup disk. This is a disk that contains all of the settings you just configured. By running that disk on other computers on the network, you will ensure that they all share the correct settings to actually work together on your LAN. It is not really necessary to create a diskette if all other computers are using Windows XP because you can just as easily go to each computer and just run the Network Setup Wizard and do the same thing. If, however, you intend to set up some computers on your LAN with older versions of Windows (namely 95, 98 or ME), you can create the disk and then go run the Network Setup Wizard (not normally a part of those older OSes) on those machines.

When the wizard is complete, you will almost always need to reboot the computer for your changes to take effect.

Now go and run the Network Setup Wizard on all other computers on your LAN. Make sure you select the exact same Workgroup name for all machines. Since a Workgroup is a P2P, a login is not required. A workgroup does not need a primary central server. Any computer that is active on the network with a specific Workgroup name is automatically joined to that group.

Above: Any computer on your home network with the same workgroup name
will be able to “talk” to each other

The default workgroup name that Windows® uses is called WORKGROUP or MSHOME. It is suggested you change it to something familiar to you and also change the name of the computer.

Changing These Settings

At any time after running the Network Setup Wizard, you can still go back and change the settings. The easiest way is simply to run the wizard again, making any changes you want along the way. In the interest if showing you your way around Windows a little bit, here is how you would do the same manually:

In the Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance

Click System

From the tabs that appear, click Computer Name, then click the Change button.

Next to Computer Name, enter a name for the computer. Next to Workgroup, enter a name for your workgroup. Remember this name as you will have to use it again on any other computer that participates on your network. The workgroup name you select should be a single word that is small and easy to remember, such as HOME.

When finished, click OK, and then restart your computer when prompted.

Assigning IP Addresses

Most people use a router to share internet access and act as a switch for their LAN. In this case, your computer should already be set up to use automatic IP addressing. As I talked about before, all routers have a built-in DHCP server for managing a pool of IP addresses and each computer on the LAN will automatically be assigned an IP address. If, for some reason, you are not using a router, you won’t have a DHCP server. Windows XP, though, contains a feature called Advanced Private IP Addressing which will act as a DHCP server for you.

Automatic addressing is just that – automatic. The way it works is when you boot up your computer, the computer will look for a DHCP server. IF it finds one, it will request an IP address. If Windows cannot find a DHCP server, it will attempt to use the manually entered IP addresses (described below). If that doesn’t work, Windows will create an IP address for itself.

You can set up an alternative IP configuration for Windows. With this, you can hand-type some IP addresses into your configuration. If Windows cannot use a DHCP server, Windows will attempt to use the alternative configuration. To set this up:

1. Open the Control Panel and go to Network Connections.
2. Right-click the connection you want to change and select Properties. Usually the connection you are after is your “Local Area Connection”.
3. Select the “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” item and click Properties. This will take you to the TCP/IP properties dialog.
4. On the General tab, you will usually see that the computer is set to obtain an IP address automatically. In almost all cases, this is what you want. To specify an Alternative Configuration, choose the tab of the same name.
5. Manually enter the IP addresses for the computer itself, the subnet mask (always 255.255.255.0), the gateway and the DNS servers. You might need to contact your network administrator to get this information (especially considering you will rarely need to use this feature on home networks).

This feature is useful on laptops which, at home, might use DHCP on your own network, but at the office might need to make use of a corporate network that does not use DHCP.

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