Setting up a .....ETHERNET..... network between two or more machines!
Sep 29 '00
You have two computers in the same location - and need to use the Internet at the same time. This is complete step-by-step instructions!
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This article is intended for networking two computers that are in the same physical location. If they are in other rooms, You have to go through the pain of running cables. If the machines are in different rooms, You may want to look at my Wireless ePinion included in this same category, the header is "Wireless network in my home/small business? Is that easy?"
Hardware
Head down to your local computer store and pick up the cheapest Network card you can find. What do you need to buy? 10mbps Ethernet is fine, though you might be hard pressed to find that in a store, 10/100 will be the defacto standard in many of them.
You can also visit virtually any computer seller on the Net and they will have them, or check http://www.ebay.com/. The price of these range anywhere from $10 to $70.
Next, You will need a Hub. These are also fairly inexpensive and range from $15 - $50. A 4-port hub will be fine. Many people also sell "cross-over" cables, but you should spend the few extra dollars and pick up a hub. (Crossover cables are designed to connect two hubs together)
You will also need a "10BaseT" cable for each computer you are connecting together. This is also commonly called "Ethernet Cable", "Network cable" and RJ45 in computer stores since it is usually the only type they carry.
Installing the Hardware
If you decide to do this yourself, the card will contain instructions on how to install it and is beyond the scope of this ePinion simply because there are different types of cards and installation methods. For 99% of them out there, you simply have to plug it in. One thing of note - It is important to always have one hand touching the metal casing when touching any computer components, this is to prevent ESD. (Electro Static Discharge).
Connect a cable from each machine and plug it into a port on the hub.
Whenever you turn on the computer, it should go through the "Add New Hardware" wizard. If prompted, Insert the driver disk that came with the Network card and follow the onscreen prompts.
Setting up your Network to Share Files!
For Windows '95 and '98:
1. Click on Start, select Settings and click over to Control Panel. Double-click on Network.
2. Click on Add. Click on Protocol and then click on Add again.
3. Select Microsoft for the manufacturer and then Netbeui. Click Ok.
You should now see Netbeui --> Name of your Network Card in the list.
4. If you see Netbeui --> Dial Up Adapter remove this from the list by highlighting it and clicking remove.
5. Click on File and Print Sharing. Check the boxes that you want to share out. (Files and/or Printer)
Note: After doing this, Double-click on TCP/IP ---> Dial Up Adapter and then click over to Bindings. Uncheck File and Printer Sharing. You will want to do this so that you are not sharing out files to the Internet!
6. Click over to Identification. Set your computer name and the workgroup name. These names can be anything, but you should keep spaces out of them and not make them too long. (16 Character limit, I believe) You want the name to be different on each machine, but the workgroup name to be the same.
7. Click Ok - Yes to restart.
For Windows Millennium:
1. Start > Programs > Accessories > Home Networking Wizard. Follow the on-screen prompts will take you through all of the above steps.
Setup Shares!
Now that your computer is all ready to network - It's time to make files available to the other machine!
1. Go to My Computer. Find something you want to make available to the network, or "Share" to the network. Maybe you just want to share out the whole C drive?..
2. Right-click on the drive or folder and choose "Sharing". Here you can also set a password to access it over the network if you so desire.
You're done! Now both computers should be able to "See" each other through Network Neighborhood (Or "My Network Places" in WindowsME) and you should be able to copy files between them! Yay!
To Share out the Internet Connection
1. Windows '98 SE and WindowsME include Internet Connection Sharing which will do this for you. It can be installed through Add/Remove programs Internet Tools section in Windows 9x or through the same Home Networking Wizard described earlier in WindowsME. Just follow the onscreen prompts! Remember that your Home adapter is the one plugged into the hub and the Shared adapter is either your Dial Up adapter or the one that is plugged into the Cable Modem/DSL (If applicable)
2. When running through the Internet Connection Sharing, You can create a Client disk which will automagically setup your client machine when run.
3. You can also use other programs like WinGate and Sygate to setup Internet Sharing.
You're done! Have fun and Enjoy!
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