When you say “small computer network”, it means that it is a set of computers (two to ten units) that is interconnected. The advantage of this network is quite tremendous. By setting up home or office computer networks, you get to save on a lot of things, namely, resources, energy, and space. Plus, setting up one network can be pretty easy especially with the guidance of the Windows Installation Guide.
Primarily, the network should have a central device (aka server) which would be the heart of the whole network. The central device will be the main computer connected directly to the internet. Now when the computer has been selected and the wires are all set up properly and connected to their proper places, we should go to the central device and do the following steps:
- Open the Start menu.
- Right click My Computer.
- Click Properties.
- Go to Name.
After doing the four steps above, rename your computer with a new short name and then press change. After that, set up a name for the would-be workgroup of the network (in the workgroup box). The computer will then welcome you with a box saying the creation of the new workgroup. Reboot your computer.
Now that the central device is already selected and set up, you may now add the additional computer/s to be connected to the network. Here’s how it’s done:
- Go to Network Locations.
- Go to Install Home Network.
- Click “This computer is connected to the internet through a home port or another computer”.
- Describe the computer using the same workgroup name of the central device.
- Activate “Common Use of Folders, Archives, and Printers”.
- The internet connection will then be configured (wait until it’s done).
- Create a network installment disk.
Then you will just have to redo the process again for all other computers to be included in the network.
