Chapter 15
Connecting Computers with a Network
In This Chapter
Understanding a network’s parts
Choosing between wired and wireless networks
Setting up a small network
Connecting wirelessly
Creating a Homegroup to share files
Sharing an Internet connection, files, and printers on a network
Buying yet another PC can bring yet another computing problem: How can two or more PCs share the same Internet connection and printer? And how do you share your files between your two PCs?
The solution involves a network. When you connect two or more computers, Windows introduces them to each other, automatically letting them swap information, share an Internet connection, and print through the same printer.
Today, most computers can connect without anybody tripping over cables. Known as Wi-Fi or wireless, this option lets your computers chatter through the airwaves like radio stations that broadcast and take requests.
This chapter explains how to link a houseful of computers so that they can share things. After you’ve created a wireless network, you can share your Internet connection with not only your Windows PCs but also smartphones, tablets, and other computerized gadgets. And, if you choose to give the password to your visitors, even they can connect to the Internet.
Be forewarned, however: This chapter contains some pretty advanced stuff. Don’t tread here unless you’re running an Administrator account and you don’t mind doing a little head-scratching as you wade from conceptualization to actualization to, “Hey, it works!”
Understanding a Network’s Parts
A network is simply two or more computers that have been connected so that they can share things. Although computer networks range from pleasingly simple to agonizingly complex, they all have three things in common:
- A router: This little box works as an electronic traffic cop, controlling the flow of information between each computer, as well as between your network and the Internet. Almost all modern routers support both wired and wireless networks.
- A network adapter: Every computer needs its own network adapter — an electronic mouthpiece of sorts. A wired network adapter lets you plug in a cable; the cable’s other end plugs into your router. A wireless network adapter translates your computer’s information into radio signals and broadcasts them to the router.
- Network cables: Computers connecting wirelessly don’t need cables, of course. But computers without wireless adapters need cables to connect them to the router.
When you plug a modem into the router, the router quickly distributes the Internet signal to every computer on your network. (Some modems come with built-in routers, sparing you from having to connect the two.)
Most home networks resemble a spider, as shown in Figure 15-1, with some computers’ cables connecting to the router in the center. Other computers, laptops, tablets, and gadgets connect wirelessly to the same router.
Figure 15-1: A network resembles a spider, with each wired or wireless computer and gadget communicating with a router near the center.
The router divides its attention among networked computers efficiently, letting every computer simultaneously share a single Internet connection.
Windows lets every computer share a single printer, as well. If two people try to print something simultaneously, Windows stashes one person’s files until the printer is free and then sends them automatically when the printer is ready for more work.
Wireless routers deliver an Internet signal to all connected wireless gadgets, not just Windows computers. After you set up your router, it also delivers your Internet signal to iPads and other tablets, Apple computers, smartphones, and even some home theater devices (such as Blu-ray players, game consoles, televisions, and streaming video gadgets such as a Chromecast or Roku box).
Setting Up a Small Network
If you’re trying to set up a lot of computers – more than ten – you probably need a more advanced book. Networks are fairly easy to set up, but sharing their resources can be scary stuff, especially if the computers contain sensitive material. But if you’re just trying to set up a few computers in your home or home office, this information may be all you need.
So without further blabbing, here’s a low-carb, step-by-step list of how to set up a small and inexpensive network. The following sections show how to buy the three parts of a network, install the parts, and make Windows create a network out of your handiwork.
Buying parts for a network
Visit the computer store across town or online, buy this stuff, and you’re well on your way to setting up your network:
- Network adapters (optional): Because most new computers and laptops include both wired and wireless adapters, you can probably cross this off your shopping list. But if you need to add an adapter, pick up an inexpensive wired or wireless adapter that plugs into the computer’s USB port. (Mobile devices like laptops, tablets, and smartphones all include built-in wireless adapters.)
- Network cable (optional): Not using wireless? Then buy Ethernet cables, which resemble phone cables but with slightly thicker jacks. Buy a cable for each computer you want to connect. The cables must be long enough to reach from the computer to the router, described next.
- Router: This little box does all the magic. Most routers today include built-in wireless; many also include a broadband modem for Internet access. Wireless routers usually include four jacks to accommodate up to four nearby computers relying on cables.
Some Internet service providers (ISPs) supply you with a wireless router/modem, and they even send a techie to your home to set up your network for you. It never hurts to ask.
Setting up a wireless router
Wireless connections bring a convenience felt by every cellphone owner. But with computers, a wireless connection also brings complication. You’re basically setting up a radio transmitter that broadcasts to little radios inside your computers. You need to worry about signal strength, finding the right signal, and even entering passwords to keep outsiders from eavesdropping.
Unfortunately, different brands of wireless routers come with different setup software, so there’s no way I can provide step-by-step instructions for setting up your particular router.
However, every router requires you to set up these three things:
- Network name (SSID): Enter a short, easy-to-remember name here to identify your particular wireless network. Later, when connecting to the wireless network with your computer, smartphone, or tablet, you’ll select this same name to avoid accidentally connecting with your neighbor’s wireless network.
- Infrastructure: Of the two choices, choose Infrastructure instead of the rarely used alternative, Ad Hoc.
- Security: To keep out snoops, this option uses a password to encrypt your data as it flies through the air. Most routers offer at least three types of password options: WEP is barely better than no password, WPA is better, and WPA2 is better still. Choose the strongest security option available and create a short, memorable password with mixed characters, such as One+One=2!.
Some routers include an installation program to help you change these settings; other routers contain built-in software that you access with your web browser in Windows.
As you set each of the preceding three settings, write them on a piece of paper: You must enter these same three settings when setting up the wireless connection on each of your computers and other wireless gadgets, a job tackled in the next section. You also need to pass out that information to any houseguests who want to piggyback on your Internet connection while they visit.
Setting up Windows computers to connect to a network
First, a word to the wired crowd: If you’ve chosen to connect a computer to your router with a cable, plug one end of the cable into your computer’s network port. Plug the cable’s other end into one of your router’s network ports. (The ports are usually numbered; any number will do.) To connect other computers to the same router, connect cables between those computers’ network ports and the router’s other empty network ports.
If your Internet company didn’t do it for you, plug a cable from your broadband modem’s LAN or Ethernet port into your router’s WAN port. (If your router and modem live together in one box, you can skip this step.)
Turn on your router, and you’ve finished: You’ve discovered how easy it is to create a wired network. (Be sure to set up a Homegroup, described later in this chapter, so your computers can begin sharing their files.)
Wireless is a different story. After you set up your router to broadcast your network wirelessly, you must tell Windows how to receive it. Chapter 9 offers the full course in connecting to wireless networks, both your own and those you’ll find in public, but here’s an abbreviated version for connecting to your own network:
Click the Start button and choose Settings from the Start menu.
When the Settings screen appears, click the Network & Internet icon.Windows sniffs the airwaves and then lists all the wireless networks within range of your computer, including, with any luck, your own. (Your network will be the name — the SSID — that you chose when setting up your router, described in the previous section.)
The Network & Internet settings page, shown in Figure 15-2, places the strongest available wireless networks at the top of the list.
Choose the desired wireless network by clicking its name and then clicking the Connect button.
If you select the adjacent Connect Automatically check box before clicking the Connect button, Windows automatically connects to that network the next time you’re within range, sparing you from following all these steps again.Enter a password and click Next.
Here’s where you type in the same password you entered into your router when setting up your wireless network. (To confuse things, Windows 10 refers to your password as a “Network Security Key.”)
If your router has a little button labelled WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), you can press it at this point. The router then slips the password to your PC through the airwaves, sparing you from having to type it in.
At this step, Windows 10 offers to let you share a wireless network’s password with all of your contacts. To do so, click the adjacent Share Network with My Contacts check box. This works fine for public networks, and for people with trustworthy friends. But if your contacts include some amusing but shady characters, don’t check this box when connecting to your home network.
Figure 15-2: Windows sorts the available wireless networks, usually placing the one with the strongest at the top.
At this point, Windows 10 treats your newly joined wireless network as a public network, the same as one you’d find in a coffee shop or airport. You won’t be able to find or access your other networked computers until you create a Homegroup, covered in the next section.
If you’re still having problems connecting, try the following tips:
Cordless phones and microwave ovens interfere with wireless networks, oddly enough. Try to keep your cordless phone out of the same room as your wireless computer, and don’t heat up that sandwich when web browsing.
From the Windows desktop, the taskbar’s wireless network icon (shown in the margin) provides a handy way to connect wirelessly, as well. If your desktop’s taskbar contains a wireless network icon, click it to jump to Step 3.
Setting Up or Connecting with a Homegroup
Creating a network between your computers makes it easier for them to share resources, such as an Internet connection, printers, and even your files. But how can you share some files while keeping others private?
Microsoft’s solution is called a Homegroup. A simpler way of networking, a Homegroup lets every Windows PC in the house share the things nearly everybody wants to share: music, photos, movies, and the household printer. Set up a Homegroup, and Windows automatically begins sharing those items. The Homegroup strategically leaves out the folder you probably don’t want to share: your Documents folder.
Homegroups work with any Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 computers on your network, as well. (Homegroups don’t work with Windows Vista or Windows XP, unfortunately.)
Depending on your network, you may be invited to join a Homegroup as soon as your computer connects with your router. If so, jump to Step 2.
Here’s how to set up a new Homegroup on your Windows PC as well as how to let Windows join a Homegroup you may have already set up with your other networked computers:
Right-click the Start button and choose Control Panel from the pop-up menu.
- When the Control Panel appears, click the Network and Internet icon. When the Network and Internet page appears, click HomeGroup from the right pane.
Can’t find the Homegroup setting? Then type homegroup into the Settings’ window’s Search box, located in the window’s upper-right corner. When the word HomeGroup appears in the Search Results, click it to open the Homegroup window.
In the Homegroup window, click the Change Network Location link, and click the Yes button in the pane that appears on the right.
When you first connect to a wireless network, Windows assumes it’s a public network, perhaps at a coffee shop. Naturally, Windows also assumes you don’t want anybody to snoop through your computer, so it leaves your PC “undiscoverable.” That means nobody can find it on the network, and, you won’t be able to find anybody else’s computer.
Choosing Yes, shown in Figure 15-3, tells Windows that you’re on a private network where you want to share things like files and printers.
Click either the Create a Homegroup or Join Now button.
If you see a Create a Homegroup button, click it to create a new Homegroup.
If you see a Join Now button (as shown in Figure 15-4), somebody has already created a Homegroup on your network. To join it, click the Join Now button.
Whether you click the Join Now or Create a Homegroup button, Windows asks what items you’d like to share.
If you’re asked to change the network privacy settings on your computer, be sure to choose Private rather than Public.
Choose the items you’d like to share, click Next, and, if joining an existing Homegroup, type in your network’s Homegroup password.
Shown in Figure 15-5, the window lets you select the folders you want to share with your Homegroup family. To share an item, choose Share from its adjacent drop-down menu. To keep items private, choose Not Shared.
Most people want to share their Music, Pictures, Videos folders, as well as their printer and media devices. Because the Documents folder contains more private material, it’s usually left unshared.
Sharing a folder simply lets other people access that folder’s files to view the pictures or watch a video, for example. They can neither change nor delete those files, nor can they create or place any files in your folder. Finally, if you’re joining an existing Homegroup, type in the Homegroup’s existing password. Don’t know the password? On a Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 computer, find the password by opening any folder, right-clicking the word HomeGroup in the folder’s left pane, and choosing View the Homegroup Password. (The password is case sensitive, so make sure you capitalize the correct letters.)If you’re joining an existing Homegroup, you’re finished.
If you clicked the Create a Homegroup button, take note of the password listed at the closing screen.
You must enter that same password into each computer you want to include in your Homegroup. Leave your computer turned on and follow these steps on your other computers to join the Homegroup you’ve just created.
Figure 15-3: Click Yes to make your wireless network private and allow sharing.
Figure 15-4: Click Join Now to join an existing Homegroup. Click Create to create a new Homegroup.
Figure 15-5: Most people share only their Music, Pictures, and Videos folders, as well as their printers and media devices.
When you’re through with these steps, you’ve created or joined a Homegroup that’s accessible from every Windows 8.1, 8, and 7 PC on your network. You’ve also set up your PC to allow its Music, Photos, and Videos folders to be shared, something I describe in the next section.
Hailing strictly from the world of Windows, Homegroups won’t allow you to share items with iPads, or smartphones. For sharing files between those devices, download their OneDrive app, which I cover in Chapter 5.
- When you create or join a Homegroup, you’re choosing which folders to share only from your own account. If other account holders on that PC also want to share their folders, they should do this while logged on with their account: Open any folder, right-click Homegroup in the Navigation Pane, and choose Change HomeGroup Settings. There they can add check marks to the items they want to share and then click Save Changes.
- Changed your mind about your Homegroup settings? Follow the preceding steps to change which items you’d like to share.
- After choosing to join a Homegroup, you may need to wait a few minutes until you’re able to share files or printers with your networked computers.
- Forgot the all-important Homegroup password? Open any folder, right-click the word Homegroup in the Navigation Pane, and then choose View the HomeGroup Password.
Accessing what others have shared
To see the shared folders of other people on your PC and network, click the File Explorer icon (shown in the margin), found on the taskbar that runs along the bottom of every screen.
When File Explorer appears, click the word Homegroup, found in the Navigation Pane along File Explorer’s left edge. The right side of the window, shown in Figure 15-6, promptly lists the names and icons of every account holder on your PC who has chosen to share files.
Figure 15-6: Click the word Homegroup to see any account holders who’ve shared their folders.
You may also spot names of account holders on networked Windows PCs — PCs connected to your own PC either wirelessly or with cables — who’ve chosen to share their files.
To browse the files shared by another person within the Homegroup, double-click that person’s name from the Homegroup window. The window promptly displays that person’s shared folders, as shown in Figure 15-7, ready to be browsed as if they were your own.
Figure 15-7: Click a person’s name to see her shared files.
You can do more than browse those files, as described here:
- Opening: To open a file on a shared folder, double-click its icon, just as you would any other file. The appropriate program opens it. If you see an error message, the sharing person created the file using a program you don’t own. Your solution? Buy or download the program from the Internet or ask the person to save the file in a format that one of your programs can open.
- Copying: To copy a file from one person’s Homegroup, drag it into your own folder: Point at the file you want and, while holding down the mouse button, point at your own folder. Let go of the mouse button, and Windows copies the file into your folder. Alternatively, right-click the file’s icon and choose Copy from the pop-up menu; then right-click inside the destination folder and choose Paste from the pop-up menu.
- Deleting or changing: You can’t delete or change the items in another person’s Homegroup folder. If you need to change something, copy it to your own computer’s folder and then make your changes on that copy.
Homegroups simplify sharing files among computers, but Homegroups work only with PCs and tablets running Windows 7 and Windows 8 (or 8.1), unfortunately.
Sharing a printer on the network
If you’ve created a Homegroup, covered earlier in this chapter, Windows makes sharing a printer extraordinarily easy. After you plug a USB printer — the kind with the connector shown in the margin — into one of your Windows PCs, you’re set: Windows automatically recognizes the newly plugged-in printer as soon as it’s turned on.
Plus, your Windows PC quickly spreads the news to all the PC in your Homegroup. Within minutes, that printer’s name and icon appear on all those PCs and in all their programs’ print menus.
Here’s how to see that printer on your other networked Windows PCs:
Windows 10: Click the Start button and click Settings. When the Settings app appears, click the Devices icon (shown in the margin). When the Devices page appears, click the word Printers along the left edge to see all of the printers available to your computer, including the shared printer.- Windows 8 or 8.1: Right-click in the screen’s bottom-left corner and choose Control Panel from the pop-up menu. From the Control Panel’s Hardware and Sound category, click View Devices and Printers. The networked printer appears in the Printers section.
- Windows 7: Click the Start button and choose Devices and Printers. The networked printer appears in the Printers and Faxes section.
Depending on the printer model, it might also work with networked Windows Vista and Windows XP PCs. Here’s how to see whether it’s available:
- Windows Vista: Click the Start button, choose Control Panel, and open the Hardware and Sound category. Click Printers to see the printer’s icon.
- Windows XP: Click the Start button, choose Control Panel, and open the Printers and Hardware category. Click Printers and Faxes to see the new printer’s icon.