Set up your computer for home networking
Published: August 15, 2006
Microsoft Windows XP makes it easy to configure your computer for home networking. The Network Setup Wizard walks you through the process, asking you for information one item at a time. After you add your computer to your home network, you'll be able to print to a printer on your home network (the printer will no longer need to be attached directly to your computer), and to access the other computers and devices connected to your home network. You'll be able to share files, which means you can get data from any computer you connect to the network. You can even share one Internet connection among all your computers.
Before you set up your computer for home networking, make sure you have:
•Contacted an Internet service provider (ISP) to acquire an Internet connection to your home. For more information, read
Connect to the Internet.
•Installed a network adapter—
wired or
wireless—in your computer.
To use the Network Setup Wizard to set up your computer for home networking, follow these steps on each computer in your home network
1.
Log on as a member of the Administrators group.
2.
Click
Start, and then click
Control Panel.
3.
Click
Network and Internet Connections.
4.
Under
or pick a Control Panel icon, click
Network Setup Wizard.
5.
The
Network Setup Wizard starts. On the
Welcome page, click
Next.
6.
On the
Before you continue page, click
Next.
7.
If the wizard informs you that it has found disconnected hardware, make sure your network adapter is connected as described in
Add a computer to your network. It's okay to have a disconnected network adapter if you're using a wireless network connection or if you connect to the network using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable. If you're sure everything has already been properly connected, select
Ignore disconnected network hardware. Otherwise, connect your network cables, and leave the check box cleared. Then click
Next.
8.
If you connect your computer directly to the modem provided by your ISP, click
This computer connects directly to the Internet. If you connect your computer to a router, click
This computer connects to the Internet through a residential gateway. If you're not sure, leave the default setting. Then click
Next.
9.
If the
Select your Internet connection page appears, click
Next.
10.
On the
Give this computer a description and name page, type a computer description (such as "Kid's Computer") and computer name (such as "Desktop"). Click
Next.
11.
On the
Name your network page, type
Workgroup. Then click
Next.
12.
If you have files or a printer that you want to share with other computers on your home network, select
Turn on file and printer sharing. Otherwise, leave
Turn off file and printer sharing selected. Then click
Next.
13.
On the
Ready to apply network settings page, click
Next.
14.
The
Network Setup Wizard sets up your computer. On the
You're almost done page, click
Just finish the wizard. Then click
Next.
15.
On the
Completing the Network Setup Wizard page, click
Finish.
16.
When prompted to restart your computer, save any open files, and then click
Yes.
After your computer restarts, you'll be connected to the network with the settings you provided.