NETWORK YOUR COMPUTERS

It's Easy in Win 95/98

Back in the early days of Windows I made my first attempt at networking two computers. F I N A L L Y, I got them connected but it was about as easy as carrying the data back and forth with a tin bucket. Then came Windows for Workgroups. Wow, networking took only a day or so of sweaty labor to accomplish the same objective. And it worked much more elegantly than before. The connection was by no means bulletproof, but it worked well for the most part.

The next secret weapon out of Microsoft was Windows 95. I didn't even think of networking for the first several months after installing the new OS, after being 'empowered' by Mr. Gates and his new system. There was enough, heaven knows, to keep me busy mastering this new monster. (Note: when I say mastering, I mean that I learned enough so that Win95 didn't master me!). The conversion to Win95 also came about at the same time I was changing and upgrading computers, so networking sat on the back burner for a time. But it soon became apparent that there was a real need for hooking up not two, but three computers.

First, my notebook (which sits in the bedroom except when I am traveling) always needed updating before I charged forth to a client meeting. Second, I needed to share the information on various CD-ROM drivers. (Some of the CD-ROMS had been copied to big hard drives. See article for details). Third, I wanted to export and store the really vital information to as many drives as possible (I call it the perfect backup). And, fourth, it makes it easy for me to have access to all the information on the net from any location in the house. I am continually surprised by how frequently I use the convenience and the power of networking.

The cost for connecting two computers in a peer-to-peer mode (as opposed to client-server) is nominal. The DATA COMM WAREHOUSE catalog (1 800 328 2261) lists countless options. I used all 3-Comm products but I doubt brand name is of much value for the basic 10BaseT Cards. The Ethernet AT-2000+, for example is $40, T Adapter BNC connectors and the terminators you need are about $8 a set and figure about $10-15 for cable with BNC's attached. So, call it $105-115. If you have a laptop on the network, it is a bit more expensive because the PCMCIA adapter is about $140. No software is required because everything is included in Win 95. Each additional computer is about another $50-55, of course. So if you operate with ten computers in your shack it could be expensive. Then again, if you have ten computers, you don't need to worry about expense anyway!

The first step is to install the network cards. Unless you have a box that is already crammed full of one card or another there should be no difficulty with this step. Win 95 will recognize the card the next time you boot up and, if it doesn't have the proper driver, the system will ask for the disk that came with the card. The PCMCIA card is even easier. Then connect the two computers and reboot both machines. Before rebooting, please understand that the cable to each computer must connect to a T connector with a terminator at the unused end of the T adapter. The BNC on the end of the cable cannot go directly into the BNC connector on the network card. Remember that. Here's what a T adapter looks like. This is the one connected to my T6600. Note the red terminator at one end of the T.

Now to the details. On one machine and then the other, do the following chores. Click Network Neighborhood on your desktop with the right mouse button. Click Properties.

Make certain that the following the following network components are installed: Client for Microsoft Networks; Client for NetWare Networks; 3Com Etherlink in PnP mode (this will vary depending on the network card you buy); IPX/SPX Compatible Protocol; NetBEUI; File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks. Note that if you are an Internet user your dial up adapters will show on the list as well. No problem. No conflict. You need them all. Adding the components is very simple. Click Add and a list of available components appears. Click File and Print Sharing and put a check in both spaces. Note that this is only the first step in Sharing, as you will see below.

Bill KB8WYP, a professional at this business suggests that you do not need to have the IPX/SPX protocol loaded if your network is running with only Win95 machines. Win95 uses the NetBEUI protocol unless you tell it otherwise, and NetBEUI has less overhead then does IPX (thus it is faster). All you need to do to get Win95 going is to make sure NetBEUI is bound to your ethernet card, and that all the services you are using (file sharing, print sharing, etc.) are using NetBEUI. IPX gets installed for backward compatibility with Novell Netware networks which use it. BTW, 3com products outperform the generic cards. Their parallel tasking really does improve performance. (Tnx Bill for the commentary).

Next, go to the Identification page. Each computer needs a name. I use some model numbers--in this case T6600 or T4850 and for the main computer, Home Base. The workgroup is Jim and the computer description is obvious. Then, click the Access Control page and click Share-Level Access Control.

Now comes the Control Panel. Click Printers, Sharing. Click Shared As, name the printer and the password. Now go to Explorer, or whatever File Manager you are using. Click the Drive C icon with the right mouse button. Click properties. Here's a typical Properties page.

Click the Sharing page, click Shared As and fill in the remaining blanks. Do the same with other drives on each computer, including CD-ROMs. Reboot the computers. Make certain that each computer sees the other by clicking on the Network Neighborhood. You should see something like this:


If not, then go back through the details above and see where that little devil is buried. You missed one of the critical little steps outlined above. Go over it again, and again. Go to Control Panel/System and make sure that each computer sees its network card. Click Network Adapters and your particular card should be described there. If not, the card is not properly identified by Win95. Go through the Add New Hardware routine on the Control Panel, if necessary.

The time has come now to map the network on each computer. Let's assume that you have a C and D drive on the first computer. D is CD-ROM. First bring up the network drive mapping tool. In Explorer file manager this is under Tools.

Click Map Network Drive, and we can begin to bring the network to your first computer. you need not map every available drive. For example, you may wish to have only the other computer's C drive available, or only its CD-ROM. As you add more computers you automatically become more selective.


The next available drive letter on Alpha is E. Enter that in the top blank if necessary. Next we must choose which drive we wish the letter E to represent. The logical choice is the C drive on the second computer. Click the down arrow on the Path window and you will find all of the drives available on the network. Choose \\Omega\C (or whatever you call your other computer) and that will then become the E drive on the first machine. F then becomes the D drive on the second machine, and so forth. How terrific! Then, go to the second machine and do the same thing. Suddenly each computer has access to all the drives on your system, doubling or even tripling its capacity and resources. That is the secret of peer-to-peer networking. Whatever is on one computer is available in full to the other linked computers.

Printers are a problem and an opportunity on the network. This is the area where most everybody makes a mistake. If you have a printer installed to the first computer, it must be installed as a Local Printer. If you choose to add that to the second computer, then it must be installed as a Network Printer. Only through that technicque can you access printers from each computer across the network.

CD-ROM handling is a bit different, and this is true whether you have the contents on a CD Disk or hard drive. The installation procedure for each computer is the same. To access Encarta on the first computer's D drive, for example, you must install it on each computer. The installation directory must be on both machines. The only difference is that, on the second computer, the drive is identified correctly as one resident on another computer. No problem, if you understand the protocol niceties required by the CD.

So what can you do, now that you are linked? Your utilization of the network depends largely on your habits and the demands you place on your computers. Do you want to avoid waste space on your network drives? Install programs like MSWord on one computer and use it without all the overhead from the other. Backup? There are a multitude of opportunities to put your most important data on several different disks. Coordination? Same thing. It is so easy to dump up-to-date files to the laptop that there is no hassle to concern you. But, mostly, it is a question of distributing to all your computers the power to access every last bit of information from each of the other computers. Without duplication. Without fuss. Look at, for example, the view of the C drive on the T6600 from the Main computer on my network.

It's all there. From this vantage point, I can move any file, move any folder, delete it, search it, execute it, copy it, edit it . . . exactly as if I was at the keyboard of the other computer. This is a convenience and a power that I thoroughly enjoy. While you can't see it in this screen print, on the T6600's desktop, there is an icon for both Word and Excel. Note that there is not directory for either. When I double click the icon for Word, it brings up the program on the T6600 screen (as well as all the supporting files) but everything resides on the other computer.

There are some missing elements. So far, though there are shareware programs available, it is difficult to share a modem across the network. Or to share a commport. Each would be a quantum leap forward in networking power. And they are coming. The reason I haven't fought through the shareware software is that Win97 will answer all of those questions as well as they have answered the basic networking need. So I will be patient, at least for a while.

Send me your comments or questions.