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The adapter is a device that allows the computer to communicate with the router. Almost all computers sold today have an Ethernet wired adapter built right into them.
Ethernet cables look like oversized old-fashioned phone jacks. Most laptops built today have wireless adapters built into them. Don't worry though, because you don't have to pick one type of network over the other, wireless or wired. Most networks use a mixture of the two.
In fact, most wireless routers also have places you can plug Ethernet cables into and it's not at all unusual to have the main computer in a household connected directly to the router with wires, and all the rest of the computers connected via Wi-Fi. So an ordinary network may look like this: The modem is plugged into the phone line or cable to allow access to the internet. It is then connected directly to a router with an Ethernet cable.
The router is then plugged directly into one computer, and simultaneously transmitting a radio signal that all the other computers in the house with Wi-Fi adapters can communicate with.
Now that all the computers are connected, you'll have to configure them with Windows to get them to communicate with each other. But don't worry. Like I said at the beginning of this article, Windows 7 makes this process incredibly easy.
So the next step is to select which computers you want to communicate with. You do this by creating what's called a Homegroup.
You can think of this like giving each member of your family a key to your house. This is important because I'm sure you don't want any stranger to be able to gain access to your personal files. So let's launch the Control Panel and see how to do this. Click Network and Internet and then Homegroup. Windows will automatically check to see if another Homegroup is already available on this network.
If it is, you can choose to join it, or create your own. In this example, there aren't any other Homegroups on our network, so we're going to create one. Click "Create a Homegroup. A new window will open asking you which items you'd like to share with other members on this Homegroup. If you'd like to share a printer which we'll talk about in more detail shortly , make sure that box is checked, then click "Next.
In the final step of this process, you'll be given a password. You will need this to connect other computers to your network so write it down. Now, on all of the other computers, you will have to go to Networks and Internet and select Homegroup. Windows will tell you that a Homegroup is already available and asks if you'd like to join.
Go ahead and join it on those other computers, and enter the Homegroup password when asked. You will also be given the opportunity to select which files and printers you'd like to share on each of those other computers. Microsoft really went through a lot of trouble to improve and streamline the process of creating a network. However, most of the best features are only available to other Windows 7 machines. To connect with computers that are running Windows XP or Vista, you will have to do a little bit more work.
After you have created a Homegroup on Windows 7, go into the computers running Windows XP and Vista and set up a new network. Now go back to your Windows 7 PC to connect to the network you just created and launch the Control Panel. Then click "Network and Internet" and launch the Network and Sharing center. On this screen click "Change advanced sharing settings" then make sure these items are turned on:. Password Protected Sharing must be turned off. If it is not, the computers running XP and Vista will be asked to enter a name and password before they can connect.
Nowadays, many homes and offices have several computers, but usually only one printer. Windows 7 makes it incredibly easy for every computer on the network to share that one printer.
To do this, simply plug a printer into any computer on your homegroup. Windows 7 automatically tells all of the other computers in that homegroup that a printer is available. To find it, simply click the start menu and select "Devices and Printers". You may have to install the driver on each computer manually before you can use it.
Once the network has been set up correctly, it should work fine without any further action, but if it doesn't, there are a few things you can try before pulling your hair out.
The first, of course, is to ask Windows itself to try and diagnose the problem. On the next screen where you're told to Browse for driver software on your computer , instead click on Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer at the bottom of the window. In some cases, simply browsing to the extracted folder location would be good enough here but the Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer option gives you more control in situations where there are multiple drivers available in the extracted folder, which is often the case.
You don't need to select a Network Adapter here. The zero, one, or more entries in that box don't directly represent the actual device s you have installed but instead represent the available drivers that Windows 7 has for this particular piece of hardware.
By clicking Have Disk A more generic Select the device driver you want to install for this hardware is common. There may be multiple folders within the extracted folder, so be sure to work your way to the one for Windows 7 if it exists.
Some downloads will also include both bit and bit versions of a driver with the bit driver in one folder and the bit version in another, sometimes nested under an operating system labeled folder as well. Long story short: If nicely named folders exist, get your way to the one that makes the most sense based on your computer. If you're not that lucky, don't worry about it, just navigate to the folder with the extracted driver files. Click any INF file that displays in the file list and then click the Open button.
INF files are the only files that Device Manager accepts for driver setup information. So while you may know that a folder you've selected has all sorts of files in it, it's an INF file that the Update Driver Software wizard is looking for. It really doesn't matter which INF file you open since Windows 7 will only actually use the appropriate one from the folder.
The driver download may have been damaged or you may not have extracted them properly. Try downloading and extracting the drivers again. See Steps 1 and 2 again if you need help.
You might notice the path to the folder you chose in the last step in the Copy manufacturer's files from: text box. This time, however, you want to choose the correct driver and then click the Next button. Important: Only one compatible driver is listed in the example above. However, you may have multiple drivers listed that Windows 7 sees as compatible with the hardware you're updating the drivers for. If that's the case for you, try your best to choose the correct driver based on your knowledge of the model of the hardware device.
Windows 7 is using the information included in the INF files you provided in Step 12 to copy the proper driver files and make the proper registry entries for your hardware. Assuming the driver update process completed successfully, you'll see the 'Windows has successfully updated your driver software' message.
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