eeyore944,

How to Network with HomeGroup in Windows 7

Rick

This should be pretty straight-forward:

You may want to print this post in case you need to reboot.

In order to make the computers "see" each other, first they have to know where to look.  This "place," if you will, is called a WORKGROUP.

To find out the WORKGROUP name of your tower, right click on the my computer icon (computer on Win7), which should be on the desktop.  If this icon is not on your desktop, post back and we can start from there.  If it is on your desktop already, right click it and select properties.  Your workgroup should be listed here (along with computer name and others).  Write this down, exactly as you see it on the screen, or change it by clicking the change settings and naming it something unique (which should really really really really be done anyway.)  If you decide to change the workgroup, then you will be forced to reboot.  Once you know your workgroup name, simply repeat the steps on your laptop and basic connectivity should then exist.

Both in Vista and Win7, you can share folders by right clicking on them and assigning sharing rights to individual users, administrators, everyone (not recommended), and various other security groups.

Post back and let me know if you need further information.

BW

Thanks, bwallace78. I have the names of both the tower and the laptop, and they both appear in the tower's Network and Sharing Center, but not in the laptop's N&S Center.

When I double-click the tower's icon, it opens the system folder for the tower. When I do the same on the laptop's icon, it asks for a username and password. I don't have one when I startup the laptop. I'm the administrator, and it doesn't require me to enter a username and password.

As I said, I don't have even an icon of the tower when I open the N&S Center on the laptop.

One problem may be that I have computers using different OSs, Vista and Win7. Eric Geier's Que article on networking with a Homegroup in Win7 says, "only Windows 7 machines can participate in a HomeGroup." You use the Vista term Workgroup, so maybe that's why I can see, but can't connect to, my laptop when I open the N&S Center on my tower.

So will I have to upgrade the tower to Win7 to make the home network happen?

News update: I found a video that demonstrated how to create a Workgroup network for computers running on different OSs. I now have the network set up, and the network map shows both computers networked with the wireless router.

However, I am facing one crippling problem: Accessing the other computer requires a username and password. I have never created a password. Any idea how to get past that?

Make sure your firewall on each pc is configured to to allow file and printer sharing, then make sure that you have shared resources, EG right clicked a file and selected sharing.  This should take care of the issue.

BW

BW--It took a lot of searching around for the way to change settings, but I did finally succeed today in completing my network. Many thanks for your help.