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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 $20. 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 .
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