Home Network

UNC (Universal Naming Convention)

- the fix when you can't see the other PC's -

The most common problem, by far, with home networks, is that the other PC's do not show up in Network Neighborhood.  This is sooooo, sooooo common.  In fact it happens all the time.

There is no 100% fix to this problem - fortunately there is a workaround  .  .  .  UNC.

Step 1 - Make sure your PC's are configured Properly

all PC's must be in the same "Workgroup", and must be named - go to each PC, right-click on "My Computer", and select "Properties". The name, and the Workgroup of that PC will be listed under "Registered To:" The name will be the first line, and the workgroup will be the second line

all PC's must have TCP/IP loaded and the drivers must be bound to the Network Interface Card (NIC)

each PC must have a TCP/IP address, and they all must belong to the same Class network address block.  You can use dynamic IP addressing, DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), where each PC receives a unique IP address upon bootup.  However, static IP addressing is more stable and easier to understand and maintain.  I recommend assigning the following static IP addresses :

Win95-98-ME - (right-click on Network Neighborhood, select properties, then TCP/IP, Properties, click "Use the following IP address", and enter the following

WinXP - go to Control Panel/Network Connections, double-click your LAN Adapter, click Properties, select TCP/IP, click Properties, click "Use the following IP address", and enter the following

Connect using UNC

1. Start/Run  .  .  .
2. \\computername  <Enter> (this is the UNC address of the remote computer)
3. OK

An Explorer box will now open with the remote computer shown !!

Add  Shortcuts to Each Remote Computer

1. right-click on an empty area of your desktop
2. left-click New . . . Folder
3. name the new folder "Connect to LAN PC's"
4. double-click the folder to open it
5. right-click on an empty area of the folder
6. left-click New . . . Shortcut
7. type in the command to connect to a remote PC, fo example:  \\bob
8. name the shortcut, for example, "Bob's PC"
9. repeat steps 5-8 until you have a shortcut for each remote PC
10. go to each computer, and repeat steps 1-9