How to create a network between computers at home?

Every year more and more computers appear in our lives. In our time, not just any office is equipped with dozens of PCs integrated into a single local network. Several computers have long become the norm not only at work, but at home - in addition to a stationary PC, many families acquire compact laptops or netbooks that are used for a variety of purposes. And very often the owners of these devices want to know how to create a network between their computers.

First, let's figure out why you might need a home LAN? If everything is extremely simple with office computers - at work, operative exchange of files and data between employees largely determines the speed and result of the work of several employees at once, at home computers connected to a single network can greatly facilitate their owners life.

First, the local network will allow to transfer files of any volume from one computer to another and users will not need to write them to disks or removable media, and then spend time copying. Secondly, thanks to the local network, all households will be able to watch movies, listen to their favorite music and read books from any computer connected to the "locale". And, thirdly, if one of the computers of the home network is connected to the Internet, this channel can be used by the owners of other computers, which is a very convenient and economical solution.

Despite the fact that several computers have long been available in many homes, not all users know how to create a network between them. But for this it is not necessary to call a specialist and pay him money. Almost every experienced PC user will be able to create a network in the house with their own hands, and this article will help you to understand the possible difficulties in setting up computers when they are connected to the "locale".

First you need to check whether all PCs have network cards. If the computer was bought for a long time, this device may be missing in it, but it is not too expensive and it can be purchased in almost every specialized store. Laptop owners also in most cases have nothing to worry about - almost all modern laptops are equipped with network cards.

Then you should check whether the operating system version is controlled by the computers that you want to combine into the local network. This is due to the fact that it is not difficult to unite two computers running Windows XP on a network (the main thing is to follow the prompts in the section "Configuring a network connection"). At the same time, the network between Windows 7 and the same XP is forced to work much harder. To do this, you will need to step-by-step perform a few simple, but understandable "teapots" actions.

First, we check if the network cable is properly connected (the lights on the network cards of the connected computers should light up with a green light), and then we sit down at the computer under the control of the "seven". Open the "Network Management Center" (you can find it in the "Control Panel", which is located at the root of the "Start" menu) and create a "Home Group". Next, you should allow access to the folders and files of this computer, and enable it with 40-bit or 56-bit encryption, because Windows XP does not support other types of encryption. We disable the password for shared access and save the changes made. Before creating a network, we go to a computer running Windows XP and in the line "Run" (it is located in the "Start"), enter the name of the computer with the "seven". After the PC finds its "neighbor", the local network will be ready to work!

Do not forget that before you create a network, you should select on the computers files and folders that will be shared from your home network. Otherwise, users simply will not be able to work on the network, despite the fact that the "localhost" will be configured correctly.