There is something about networks that I just don’t get. It is not using networks or the internet, that I do every day. Networking with a Windows Domain server I understand. It’s when configuring a home network that I run into a minor problem (well, maybe not so minor!). Getting various computers to connect to a wireless router along with wired connections is no problem. Neither is connecting to the internet. It is the simple task of sharing resources on a home network. Now at work I have absolutely no problem with this, but then professionals have set up the network. It is at home where I run into problems. The simple matter of sharing a directory (folder) just causes problems. Getting it shared is not the problem, it is having Windows crash when I copy from a shared folder to another computer. Admittedly it could have been overzealous antivirus or firewall software which I was using at the time, but eventually I gave up.

Then I found a product similar to Encore Network Now! Pro. It made networking simpler. One of the things it did was recommend a range of IP addresses of my computers which had to be entered as a local network in my firewall. It paid for itself when I was able to install and share a printer connected to one of the PCs, and print from a wirelessly connected notebook.

Posted on May 11th, 2008 by mervyn