Setting Up Your LAN
When you have all your LAN hardware in place
1. With all the LAN hardware in place, start up all the computers in the LAN, and turn on all
peripherals (such as any printers) as well.
2. If one Windows XP computer in the LAN will be providing Internet access to all (or some) of the
computers in the LAN, go to that computer first and connect to the Internet. Remember, that
computer is referred to as the ICS host or ICS server.
Caution If the ICS host is running some version of Windows other than XP, ignore Step 2.
Instead, go to the ICS host computer and make sure it is connected to the Internet.
That is, if that computer uses a dial-up connection, go ahead and log on to your ISP
normally. Then go to any Windows XP computer in the LAN and go to Step 3.
3. Click the Start button, and choose All Programs → Accessories → Communications → Network
Setup Wizard. The Network Setup Wizard starts.
4. Follow the instructions on each wizard page, followed by a click of the Next button. Windows
can usually detect your Internet connection.
5. Just keep following the instructions presented by each wizard page, followed by a press of the
Next key, and then click the Finish button on the last wizard page.
Repeat Steps 3–5 on each computer in the LAN. If one of the computers in the LAN is providing a
shared Internet connection, stay logged on to your ISP. After you have run the Network Setup Wizard
on each computer in the LAN, you’re ready to test the network.
Sharing Drives
In My Computer, right-click the icon for the drive you want to share, and choose Sharing and
Security.
Initially, you’ll see a warning about sharing the root of a drive. click the link to continue.In the Sharing tab of the dialog box that opens, choose Share This Folder