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Networking Tips |
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Introduction
Home networking, while getting easier, is
still complicated at times. Getting the
network up and running is only the first step. You need to keep your network running
effectively and need to be able to troubleshoot problems when they
occur. Common problems include not
being able to print, loss of internet connectivity, computers not being able
to see one another, etc. Some of the troubleshooting tips appear
below. Once in a while, the issues can
be fixed by refreshing the entire network, which is also explained
below. The set of topics included in
this section are as follows: Setting
Up and Securing a Home Network Troubleshooting Your Network – Printing and File Sharing
Problems |
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Pinging can tell you where you have connectivity and where you don’t. Command Window
The
first step to pinging locations is to get to the DOS Command Window. One way is to click on Start in the Taskbar
and select Run.
This
brings up the Command Window.
Using the Ping
Command
You can ping computer addresses (192.168.1.2, etc.) or the computer name (DellHome) by entering at the prompt: ping 192.168.1.2 or ping DellHome. If you get a Reply message, you have a connection to the other computers on the network. If you get a Request Timed Out message, you do not. Note that the ping command returns 4 messages as part of its execution. It is usually a good idea to ping your router to see if you are connected to it. You can also ping any web site, ex. ping www.google.com. If you do not get a reply, either the web site is down, or more likely, your internet connection is down. You can try 2 or 3 sites to prove this out. If you have connectivity to your network but cannot ping the internet, your ISP is probably down. IPCONFIG Command
Type the following in the command window at the prompt: ipconfig /all and hit enter.
The IP address should be in your normal network range (ex. 192.168.1.6) and Default Gateway should be the address of your router (ex. 192.168.1.1). If not, you are not connected to the router or the router is not on. NET VIEW Command
Type the following in the command window at the prompt: net view and hit enter. This will display connected computers and their names. This is effective in helping to troubleshoot whether computers are connected to the network or not.
For any of the PC’s, if you want to view the shared resources, you can type in NET VIEW \\computername to see the shared items on that computer:
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Once in a while, one or more computers in
the network seem to lose the ability to talk to other computers or the
router, which means they lose their internet connection as well. Steps to Restart
Entire Network
1. Shut off al computers, your router, and your cable or DSL modem. 2. Turn on the modem first and wait about 1 minute for the modem to
establish connectivity with the ISP. 3. Now turn on the router and wait a minute for that to set itself up. 4. Turn on other PC’s as you want to use them. If you have one that has a shared printer,
turn that one on first.
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Setting up a home network
is as simple as connecting your cable or DSL modem to a router and connecting
up computers to it. However, if your network
is wireless, then it is very important that you secure it. There are really 4 main things to do to
secure a wireless network: 1.
Change the
Network Name and the User ID and Password for the Router. Everyone knows the standard defaults. 2.
Use MAC Address
Filtering which only allows computers that have a MAC address that matches to
access the network. 3.
Use some form
of encryption, with WEP being common.
This means each PC that connects wirelessly must have a matching key
to the router. 4.
Hide the SSID
of your network. This is one less
thing that someone “sniffing” out networks won’t have to try to get into your
network. A good article on this
subject can be found in one of Kim Komando’s columns by clicking on the link
below. Rather than repeating this info
here, you can read about this in her column. Finally, a couple other
facts to remember if you are doing more than sharing the internet connection
and are planning on sharing files and computers, the workgroup should be
similar and File and Print Sharing should be turned on. |
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One of the most common problems with a home
network is losing the ability to print to a network printer or to share files
with other computers. It seems like
this is always difficult to work with and the solutions are often
different. The first thing to do is refresh your network as described
above. You should also be sure you
have done virus scans and removed Adware and Spyware. You can also make sure the computers are
connected, which you can check within your router or using the NET VIEW
command as outlined above. Firewalls are often a problem as well. Before disabling firewalls to test, be sure
to shut off your modem to be sure no internet traffic can get into your
machines with the firewall off. (You
may need to refresh your network
later after turning off the modem.) After that, it becomes more
complicated. I’ve provided links to a
few articles that might help you find that setting or property that is
causing the problem. Network
Troubleshooting Articles
Here is one article that might help written
by Bradley Mitchell in About.com: Top 7 Tips for Troubleshooting Windows File and Printer
Sharing
Here is another one, although a little more
complicated from Microsoft with a great deal of information: How to troubleshoot home
networking in Windows XP
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Last Revision Date: 12/25/2008 |
