Windows Vista Tips: Home Networking Setup Tutorial Tips for Tackling Vista's Networking and File-Sharing Capabilities Vangie Beal
The most daunting part of upgrading to Windows Vista may be trying to figure out where in the layers of menus the networking and file-sharing options are hidden.
If you're familiar with (wired) home networking using Window's XP-based computers, then you're probably familiar with the basic tasks, such as connecting the PCs to the network and configuring file sharing. If you're planning to make the upgrade to Windows Vista, rest assured the process doesn't change too drastically. For most users the most daunting part will be trying to figure out where in the layers of Vista menus the networking and file-sharing options are hidden.
Our Network Hardware and Systems
The network hardware used for this article, for those interested in such things, includes a Xincom (HC-0PG402) Twin Wan Router, D-Link 10/100 Ethernet switch, 3Com 3C17203 Switch, and Motorola 5B5100 Cable Modem. We primarily connect three PCs to the network and also use a D-Link AirPlus G - 2.4Ghz Wireless Access Point for connecting both a Windows XP-based notebook (that is not being upgraded) as well as a G4 Powerbook that is occasionally plugged in to the network as well. The upgrade was from Windows XP Home Service Pack 2 to Windows Vista Home Premium.
Getting Started
If you currently have a successful wired home network running Windows XP on the systems (and we assume you do if you're upgrading to Vista) you should consider using Microsoft's Windows Easy Transfer. This handy little tool, if used correctly, will back up all your important XP data. During our test of using Windows Easy Transfer on three PCs, it also saved our XP workgroup and file sharing information. This goes a long way in getting your workgroups and file sharing configured in Windows Vista, if you don't plan on making many changes to sharing and Internet connections.
If you went for a clean install and are ready to get started with the process of correctly configuring your computer's network settings you will first need to visit Vista's 'Network & Sharing Center'. The hardest part of using the new Network & Sharing Center is figuring
out where the options are located to set up your networked PCs and devices.
Quite often you will have to work your way through several layers of menus to find the options you want. In XP the options are usually only a click or two away. If you're too impatient to look around, here are the step-by step instructions to getting the PCs on your network communicating under
Windows Vista.
Setting Up Your Workgroup
The first thing you'll want to do is ensure that your PCs all have the same Workgroup name. If you kept the default from Windows XP, your workgroup is called MSHOME. In Vista, the default is WORKGROUP. If you want to view and edit the computer details on each PC to rename your workgroup, you can access this from the main "Vista Welcome Center" screen by choosing the first option "View
Computer Details" and selecting "Show More". This will quickly bring up the Computer Name tab. Here you want to name your PC (this is what it will show up as on the network) and also change your workgroup name. You will need to use the same Workgroup name on each PC that you want to enable file sharing with.
TIP: The "Computer Name" tab is available from "Control
Panel". Choose "System and Maintenance", choose "System", select the "Change Settings" button, choose "Computer Name"
tab.
NOTE:Windows Vista displays a User Account Security Control window after making most changes related to sharing. This is basically a prompt asking you to confirm your choice. You'll see this prompt frequently while using the Network & Sharing Center.
Once you have successfully changed your Workgroup name on all PCs, you can then access a network map from within Vista's Network & Sharing Center. Click the Start Orb, choose "Network" then select "Network & Sharing Center". Here you select "View Full Map" to see all the systems and devices on your network.
From the Welcome Screen select
'View Computer Details'
Set your Computer and
Workgroup name
Vista's "Network & Sharing Center"
In this view you may notice an area at the bottom of the screen that shows devices that cannot be placed on the map. You can still access the devices, but there are some key reasons as to why some PCs or devices may not show in the map view — the main reason being that support is not currently available for the required protocols.
Computers running Windows XP that cannot be detected probably do not have the Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) protocol installed on the
machine. You can download the Link Layer Topology Discovery Responder from the Microsoft website here to install on Windows XP PCs.
Another possible reason why you might not see all devices under Windows Vista could be because the Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) protocol is disabled on the network adapter, or is not supported by the network adapter itself (a very likely culprit).
