Lyon Computer Solutions

If you have two or more computers at home you may wish considering networking them together. The advantages of networking the computers is obvious. Besides being able to share any printers you have, you can also share files, disk space and in most cases share the Internet connection.

There are a number of ways the computers can be connected. The first, most common and cheapest method is by using Ethernet cable - this means running a length of cable between the computers.

The second way is by using a "Wireless" network which requires very little in the way of cabling, but is more expensive. The last method is by using PowerLine networking - this is using the electricity supply and 240 volt ring mains in your house. For the purpose of this article, we will be describing the hard-wired method.

1x Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC) per desktop computer.	1x Ethernet Cross-over cable
For laptop computers you will need a 1x PCMCIA Network card per Laptop computer (as shown on the right).

1x Ethernet Network Interface Card (NIC) per desktop computer.	1x Straight Ethernet Cable per computer system
1x PCMCIA card per laptop computer.	1x Network Hub

Follow the instructions provided with the network cards. In most instances this will involve powering off your computer, installing the card, powering the computer back on and then installing the software.

Check the network card is working by looking in the Control Panel - "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "System", "Device Manager" and "Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "Networking". If the card appears in the Device Manager and there is no yellow exclamation mark present to the left of the item (indicating a problem), we can assume the installation was successful. Install the next card in the next target computer.

For up to 2 computers, place the Ethernet Cross-Over cable into the Network card on one system and into the other Network card on the second computer.

For 2 or more computers, connect one end of the straight Ethernet cable into the computer network card and connect the other end into the hub. Connect all computers into the hub in the same way.

You need now to decide which of the computers will be the "Master" computer. This is normally, but not always, the computer which is the most powerful or biggest, or the computer which us physically connected to the Internet.

1) Go to the network properties ("Start", "Settings", "Control Panel", "Networking", "Properties"). You will see small icons to the left of each item. should have the something like the following in the list:

	Client for Microsoft networks

	Ethernet Adapter (10/100)

	Dial-up Adapter (or ADSL Adapter)

	TCP/IP -> Ethernet 10/100 Adapter

	TCP/IP -> Dial-Up Adapter

	NetBEUI -> Ethernet 10/100 Adapter

	NetBEUI -> Dial-Up Adapter

2) Double click on the TCP/IP Ethernet 10/100 Adapter and then click on the "IP Address" tab. Click the radio button "Specify an IP Address" and type into the "IP Address:" window 192.168.0.1 and 255.255.255.0 into the "Subnet Mask:" window. Click "OK". The computer will load the relevant software and most likely request you reboot. If the computer allows, say "No" to reboot now.

3) If needed, navigate back to the same window as above and click on the "DNS Configuration" tab. Click the "Enable DNS" radio button and type a name into the Host: window. This can be any name, but is normally the name of your Computer - I.e. "Computer1".

4) If needed, navigate back to the same window as above and click on the "File and Print Sharing..." button. Tick both options and click "OK.

The computer will load the relevant software and most likely request you reboot. Reboot the computer now.

You now need to configure the second second computer system in a similar way.

	Client for Microsoft networks

	Ethernet Adapter (10/100)

	Dial-up Adapter (or ADSL Adapter)

	TCP/IP -> Ethernet 10/100 Adapter

	TCP/IP -> Dial-Up Adapter

	NetBEUI -> Ethernet 10/100 Adapter

	NetBEUI -> Dial-Up Adapter

2) Double click on the TCP/IP Ethernet 10/100 Adapter. Click the radio button "Specify an IP Address" and type into the "IP Address:" window 192.168.0.2 and 255.255.255.0 into the "Subnet Mask:" window. Click "OK". The computer will load the relevant software and most likely request you reboot. If the computer allows, say "No" to reboot now.

4) If needed, navigate back to the same window as above and click on the "File and Print Sharing..." button. Tick both options and click "OK.

The computer will load the relevant software and most likely request you reboot. Reboot the computer now.

When both systems have rebooted you can see if the two computers are communicating with each other. On the master computer, do a "Start", "Run" and type into the window: command.com - when the black window appears, type in the command: ping 192.168.0.2

c:\WINDOWS\Desktop> ping 192.168.0.2

Pinging 192.168.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.0.2: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.0.2: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.0.2: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.0.2: bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.0.2:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

c:\WINDOWS\Desktop>

On the second computer, do a "Start", "Run" and type into the window: command.com - when the black window appears, type in the command: ping 192.168.0.1 - you should see similar results to the above.

If the above hardware and software configuration works, you can now start to share your files and printers. To share files:

Go to "My Computer", highlight the "Local Disk (C:)" and press the right-hand mouse button. Choose the "Sharing.." option. This will produce a pop-up window. Click the radio button "Shared As:" and in the "Share Name:" window type in a name. This could be some like "Drive-C" and press OK.

You can of course choose not to share your entire Drive contents but rather folder. In this case navigate to the relevant folder on your C: drive and perform the right-hand mouse click on that folder, click the radio button and choose the "Share Name:" etc.

If after you have installed the card you find an yellow exclamation mark beside the item, then you could have a conflict with another hardware item. Experienced computer users could potentially resolve this by removing the conflict, however inexperienced users are advised to seek expert help.

NOTE: Internet Connection Sharing is not possible if you use AOL for your Internet connection.