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Setting Up a Home Network
With the cost of PC's dropping and the number of home users increasing,
it has become more and more reasonable to have a home network. Many
families now have more than one PC to suit the growing needs of
the home user, but many feel setting up a network is too daunting
or overwhelming to attempt.
Fret not. You, too, can set up your own network fairly easily and
inexpensively. Wired or wireless, it's easier than ever to get connected.
New Life for an Old PC
Let's start by discussing how you can use that old PC you may have
lying around. Perhaps you just purchased the most state-of-the art
PC with the fastest processor, tons of disk space, and enough memory
to last you a lifetime. So now what do you do with the old one?
Sure, you can donate it, but reusing that old PC can add a lot
of functionality to your computing experience. Besides, it feels
good to keep hard to recycle items out of our landfills.
Getting Started
There are a few things you need to do in order to prepare that
PC for its new use.
- Remove Unneeded Programs. If you don't intend to run
any applications from your "new server", remove every
application you don't intend to use. Simply go to the Control
Panel, select Add/Remove Programs and delete everything you don't
need.
- Clean Up The Hard Drive. Get rid of temporary files,
browser cache, and anything else you don't need that will free
up disk space. PC World has a great article on how to Reclaim
Hard-Drive Space.
- Install a Network Card. If the machine doesn't have a
network adapter, you will need to install one. You can get one
at almost any computer accessory retailer for about $15. To install
the card, you must take precautions. First, turn the PC off and
unplug the machine. You will need to remove the cover to find
an empty PCI slot so avoid static damage by wearing an antistatic
wrist strap while working inside your PC. Find a free PCI slot
and remove the cover. Carefully insert the network card and use
a screw to fasten it down.
When you start up the machine, Windows should detect the card.
To install the drivers, follow the directions that come with your
network card.
Put It To Use
Now that you have your PC set up for networking, you can use it
as a file server, print server or to share an Internet connection.
No one likes to fight over the only computer with Internet access,
or being kicked off so someone else can use the printer. Not to
mention the hassle of running back and forth to transfer files.
Use the steps below to implement your own file server, print server,
and shared Internet access.
File Server
To use that old PC as a simple file server, all you really need
is hard drive space. If you have 20GB or more, that should be enough
to use it for simple file sharing and backup. However, if you want
to store a lot of files or share and store digital media, you may
want to consider adding a second, larger capacity hard drive.
- Enable File Sharing. Depending on your Operating System,
right click the icon Network Neighbourhood or My Network Places
on your desktop, then choose Properties. Then, for Windows 2000
or XP, right click the Local Area Connection, select Properties,
and check File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks. For
Windows 98 or ME, click the File and Print Sharing button and
select I want to be able to give others access to my files and
click OK. Then restart your PC.
- Share The Drive(s). Now you just need to enable sharing on the
drive you want to share, so, double click the My Computer icon
on your desktop. Then, right click the icon for the drive or folder
you wish to share and select Sharing. Then just follow the instructions
on your screen to set up sharing. you can select to share full
access, read-only access, or password protected access. Do the
same thing for any other drive you wish to share.
Print Server
Enabling printer sharing is very similar to the setup for file
sharing.
- First, install the printer. Simply follow the manufacturer's
instructions for installing your printer and be sure all drivers
have been installed.
- Enable Print Sharing. In the steps above, you have already
enabled File Sharing. For those of you with Windows 98 or ME,
follow the directions in Step 1 above and also check I want to
be able to allow others to print to my printer in the dialog box.
Restart your PC.
- Share The Printer. Again, depending on what Operating
System you are using, go to your printer folder. For Windows XP,
select Start > Printers and Faxes. For Windows 98, ME, or 2000,
select Start > Settings > Printers. Right click the printer
icon you wish to share and choose Sharing. Then just follow the
instructions from there.
Share That Internet Connection
Now that you have your server set up, you can also use it to share
an Internet connection.
- Install a Modem and/or Additional Network Card. If you
are using a dial-up connection, you will need to install a modem
if one is not already installed on the server PC. Follow the manufacturer's
instructions for installing the modem. If you use a broadband
connection, the network card you installed when setting up your
network will work fine. You will need a second network card for
the cable or DSL modem, unless you have a USB broadband modem.
- Setup Internet Connection Sharing. For Windows 98 or
ME users, go to Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel
and select the Windows Setup tab. For 98, double click Internet
Tools or for ME, double click Communications. Select Internet
Connection Sharing, click OK and run the Internet Connection
Sharing Wizard or Home Networking Wizard. For Windows
2000 and XP users, right click the My Network Places icon
on your desktop and select Properties. Right click the broadband
modem connection and select Properties. For Windows 2000, click
the Sharing tab and check Enable Internet Connection
Sharing for this connection. For XP users, click the Advanced
tab and select Allow other network users to connect through
this computer's Internet connection.
Voila! You now have your own home network. Congratulations!
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