Setting up a home Network

[MrCanuck]

Hello.

I know a lot about computers but have done very little with Networking, mostly because i only ever had 1pc and dial-up.

Now i have my laptop, and my desktop. I have a D-Link router that my desktop plugs into and my internet plugs into, then i pick up the internet wireless with my laptop.

It there a way to network the two computers together using my D-Link router..........sharing the printer and then also playing some LAN games with my brother (would be just him and me playing, not over the internet).

Both computers are running Windows XP Professional.

Thanks.

[Dave@Bytes]

Sure.

You can do this easily by running the network wizard in the Network Connections section of the control panel.

But you do not need to do this. Just make sure the network name is the same on each computer and that you have File and Print Sharing turned on.

To set the network name, right-click My Computer, then choose Properties. Look for Network Name and change the workgroup name to match the workgroup of the second machine.

The router is already making your IP addresses local to each other.

All you will need to do at this point is share files. Right-click a folder and select Sharing.