Thinking of setting up a network?

[pyro]

to brika se ena allo forum kai eipa na to postarw edw:

 

Originally posted by iam

Thinking of setting up a network?

 

Assumptions:

▪ You have Windows 2000 or XP installed

▪ You have a basic knowledge of computer hardware

▪ You have a basic knowledge of navigating Windows

 

For many people, the idea of having their computers connected so they can share the resources amongst them appeals a great deal. However, the challenge of actually setting up this network among the computers up can at first seem daunting for many. Alas, you need not worry. Setting up a network has become an easy affair thanks to modern ‘plug and play’ technologies.

 

The Simple Setup

 

The first step for many is making a connection between two standalone PC’s. Another thing you need not worry about, is cost. Today, a peer to peer connection can be set up for under £20.

 

Here’s the very simple list of equipment you’ll need:

▪ 10/100mbps Network Cards (NIC’s herein), two of them, which can be picked up for approximately £5 a piece.

▪ Cross-over Cat5 cable, to your desired length. The longer the length, the less you pay. For example, 3m length costs approximately £3, whereas you can get a 30m length for £12! Make sure the cables come pre-crimped, that is, with the ethernet connectors on either end.

 

Now, I’m assuming you have a basic knowledge of installing PC hardware, so you should be at home with installing the NIC’s in each computer. Basically, just find a spare PCI slot, insert the NIC, and screw it into place. Once they’re installed securely, boot up your PC’s, and Windows should automatically recognise the NIC’s, and install the correct drivers for them. If however you’ve somehow managed to buy an NIC with a obscure chipset, which Windows requires the driver for, then this is were you hope your NIC’s came complete with a driver disk/CD. As a guide, you should be looking for a chipset made by the large firms such as 3Com etc.

 

Right, now you should be left with two PC’s, both with working NIC’s. To test that they are recognised and working, just quickly go to: Start > Run > Type cmd > Then at the command prompt type: ipconfig

 

You should get something that looks like the following:

Windows IP Configuration

 

 

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

 

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

The x’s should be a selection of seemingly random numbers, don’t worry about them, it’s this line that’s important: Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection; this shows that Windows has recognised your NIC (Ethernet adapter).

 

Right, now that’s done, it’s time to do the obvious, hook them up using the cable you’ve bought! So, simply plug either end into either computer! Almost by magic, a little balloon should pop up on your desktop informing you that: “Local Area Connection Connected: 100mbps”. (“Hoorah!” I hear the old lady at the back shout, well not just yet madam, we’re not quite done.)

 

On PC1, you need to do the following:

1. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Network Connections

2. Now, you have two options, you can run the ‘Set up a home or small office network’ wizard, or you can do things manually. By all means, have a go at running the wizard, but for the purposes of this guide, I’ll tell you how to go about things manually to avoid confusion and problems.

3. Still in ‘Network Connections’, right-click on “Local Area Connection”, and click properties.

 

 

You should be presented with a properties box like above, although obviously your NIC device name will be different to mine. From there, select “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” and then click Properties.

 

 

 

Then, put exactly the same numbers into exactly the same boxes I have as shown above. (The subnet mask field should appear automatically once you specify your IP).

 

Then click OK.

 

Now, out of ‘Network Connections’, back into Control Panel. Now double click on the System icon, and then click on the ‘Computer Name’ tab.

 

 

So you should now be presented with the window above, obviously with different values to mine. You now need to click the ‘Change’ button:

 

 

Here you need to enter a name for your computer, if you get stuck, simply use the computer name PC1. Then select the ‘Workgroup’ radio button, and then enter a workgroup name of your choosing. Again, if you get stuck, you can’t go wrong with ‘homenet’! Once you’re done, click OK. Then close all the open windows.

 

4. Now, you need to scoot over to PC2, and do exactly the same as above, but this time, when you come to the IP properties box, instead of typing 192.168.0.1, type 192.168.0.2, and then again, click OK. And when you come to the Computer Name properties box, you need to select a different name than your other PC. However, you do need to use the same Workgroup name as you did on the first PC.

5. That should be all for that side of the setup!

 

------------------------

 

However, there is no point in creating a network if you aren’t able to share the resources between the PC’s!

 

To get you started, I’ll tell you how to share a folder, and a printer, as they’re the two most obvious things you’ll be wanting to share (besides the internet, but that’s for another day kids!).

 

So to share a folder, you need to do the following:

1. Either find a folder you want to share, or create one. Typically, this folder can be anywhere. However, for ease of navigation, I suggest you share folders at the base of the system, for example, share the folder: C:\pub . So if you’ve created a folder at C:\, you can now continue to share it.

2. To start, locate the folder within Windows Explorer, right-click on the folder, click properties, and then select the Sharing tab:

 

 

Then do as above, click the ‘Share this folder’ radio button, and then select a suitable share name for the folder. Once you’ve done that, simply click OK.

 

3. And that’s it! You’ve shared a folder! Which you should now be able to see on the other PC by going to Start > Run > Then type: \\pcname . Obviously, you have to replace ‘pcname’ with the PC name you want to see, for example, PC1. Once you’ve clicked OK, a window showing all the available shares on that PC should appear, like this:

 

 

And there you can see the shared folder! (Now would be the time for the lady at the back to shout “Hoorah”. )

 

It’s not over yet though! I bet you’re still itching to share a printer or two! So here’s how to do it:

 

1. On the PC with the printer installed that you’d like to share, navigate your way to Control Panel, then to ‘Printer and Faxes’. There you should see your printer. Right-click on it, click properties, and then select the ‘Sharing’ tab. It’s pretty much the same as sharing a folder, simply click on the radio button to say that ‘I’d like to share this printer’, and then give the printer a share name. Then click OK.

2. Hey presto, you’ve shared a printer. (The woman’s really giving it beans at the back by this time).

3. Now of course this is no good to you unless you can use it from the other PC, so in order to do so, you need to go to Control Panel, Printers and Faxes, and then click on ‘Add New Printer’.

 

 

From there, click next, and then select ‘Browse for Printers’, and then next again, which should leave you here:

 

 

From there, you should be able to easily find the printer on the other PC. All you’re left to do then is complete the wizard, and hey presto, you’ve successfully shared a printer! (The lady at the back has become so hysterical she needs to be escorted by this point.)

 

Well, it would appear we’ve come to an end! Undoubtedly there will be some discrepancies between different users setups, but with a little bit of common sense (which I hear you can get at Tesco nowadays folks for those who are lacking) you should be able to apply the lessons taught above to your individual setups! But please feel free to post suggestions/corrections!

 

I’ve been iam, and you’ve been a wonderful audience!

 

http://www.digi-darkroom.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3227

 

This is a creation of iam, who can be found over at http://www.xtremeinc.co.uk

[kavaliotis]

Παρα πολυ καλο pyro, τωρα δεν ξερω αν ειναι εδω το καταλληλο σεκτιον αλλα το αφηνω για την ωρα για να δουν αυτοι που εχουν προβλημα με το hardware μπας και κανουν καποιο αλλο λαθος και δεν φταιει η καρτα ethernet κτλ...