The ability to change users (log off from one and log on to another) directly from the Start menu, without going through the Windows shutdown procedure.

Easier connection to Novell networks, thanks to an improved NetWare client.

The ability for your network administrator to remotely administer, monitor, and view the configuration of your PC.

Understanding Networks

A network is nothing more than a group of computers connected together. When your computer is connected to a network, you can share data and devices with other network users. That means you can put a single resource-a specific data file, or a printer, or a fax modem-in one location, and it can be shared by multiple users across the network. In addition, networks enable users to communicate with each other through services like electronic mail.

You need several things for a network to work. The simplest networks require that each computer on the network have a network adapter card and a physical connection between the machines. You then have to make sure all computers on the network are configured with the proper network software and protocols.

Windows 98 provides support for all major network configurations, as well as handy utilities to make networking easy. This section provides basic information for configuring and connecting your computer for network use.

Connecting to an Existing Network

Windows 98 enables you to connect easily to an already existing network. Windows 98 is capable of working with a variety of network clients, adapters, and protocols.

The general steps for connecting your computer to an existing network are as follows; more specific instructions are detailed throughout the balance of this section.

• 1.Physically install your network adapter card according to its directions. Physically connect your computer to the network, as directed by your network administrator.
• 2.Make sure that you have the logon information you need, such as user name and password. If not, talk to your network administrator.
• 3.Install the network client(s) you need for your network.
• 4.Install the network protocols you need for your network. Install any Peer-to-Peer services you need for your network. 5.Restart your computer when prompted.

Installing a Network Client

A Network Client enables your computer to connect to other computers on a network, or over multiple networks. You may use one network across the company for electronic mail and applications, and another small workgroup network in your department for file and printer sharing. You need to have a Network Client installed on your system for each different type of network you need to use.

To install a new network client on your system:

• 1.Click the Start button, select Settings, and then select Control Panel.
• 2.Click the Network icon.
• 3.When the Network dialog box appears, select the Configuration tab and click the Add button.
• 4.When the Select Network Component Type dialog box appears, choose Client from the list of network components and click the Add button again.
• 5.When the Select Network Client dialog box appears, choose your client manufacturer from the Manufacturers list, and then choose your individual client from the list of Network Clients. If the client isn't listed or you have a newer version of the client, insert the vendor-supplied disk and click the Have Disk button. 6.Click OK until you return to the Control Panel. Restart the computer if prompted.

Installing a Network Protocol

In networking, as in real life, successful communication requires that both parties use the same language. In the computer network world, the language that two computers use to communicate is called a protocol. You need to install a protocol for each type of "language" needed by your computer to "speak" with other computers on your network.

• 1.Click the Start button, select Settings, and then select Control Panel.
• 2.Click the Network icon.
• 3.When the Network dialog box appears, select the Configuration tab and click the Add button.
• 4.When the Select Network Component Type dialog box appears, choose Protocol from the list of network components and click the Add button again.
• 5.When the Select Network Protocol dialog box appears, choose your network protocol manufacturer from the Manufacturers list, and then choose your individual protocol from the list of network protocols. If the protocol isn't listed or you have a newer version of the protocol, insert the vendor-supplied disk and click the Have Disk button. 6.Click OK until you are returned to the Control Panel. Restart the computer if you are prompted.

Installing a Peer-to-Peer Network

Peer-to-Peer networks don't have computers that are dedicated servers, which everyone uses for storing files, running applications, or routing print jobs. Instead, every computer is accessible to every other computer on the network as a peer; members within the group share their resources as they choose. If you want to share the files or printer on your machine with other network members, you need to install the appropriate service.

To install peer-to-peer network services on your computer:

• 1.Click the Start button, select Settings, and then select Control Panel.
• 2.Click the Network icon.
• 3.When the Network dialog box appears, select the Configuration tab and click the Add button.
• 4.When the Select Network Component Type dialog box appears, choose Service from the list of network components and click the Add button again.
• 5.Choose your network service manufacturer from the Manufacturers list, and then choose your individual service from the list of network services. If the service isn't listed or you have a newer version of the service, insert the vendor-supplied disk and click the Have Disk button.
• 6.Click the OK button until you return to the Control Panel. Restart the computer if prompted.

Logging On to a Network

After you have configured your network settings, you will be prompted to log on to the network each time you start your computer. Logging on enables you to access all your network resources.

• 1.Configure your computer to work with the network, as described in the previous sections.
• 2.Choose your primary network, as described in the next section, "Identifying the Primary Network Logon."
• 3.Enter your user name, password, and other requested information when prompted as your machine starts up. 4.If you want to log off and log back on under a different user name, click the Start button and select Log Off. When the Log Off Windows dialog box appears, click Yes. Windows will close, start back up, and display the New User Password dialog box. Enter the new user name and password, and click OK.

Selecting the Primary Network Logon

The Primary Network Logon determines which network will validate your logon and enable you to use the network. When Windows 98 starts, it will prompt you for a name, password, and possibly a domain name or other information.

To select your Primary Network Logon:

• 1.Click the Start button, select Settings, and then select Control Panel.
• 2.Click the Network icon.
• 3.When the Network dialog box appears, select the Configuration tab, and then select the network you want to have as your primary network from the Primary Network Logon list.
• 4.Click OK.
  

Using Network Neighborhood is a convenient way to explore the other computers on your network. You also can use Network Neighborhood to view files, folders, printers, and other network resources.

Use Network Neighborhood to access your network as follows:

• 1.Click the Network Neighborhood icon on your desktop to open the Network Neighborhood window
• 2.You can now see everything that is on your network-computers, printers, you name it-by clicking the Entire Network icon.
• 3.Click an object to open a workgroup, file server, computer, or folder. You may be prompted for a password; if you are, simply enter it and click OK. If you do not know the password, you need to contact the party responsible for maintaining that connection.
• 4.After you locate the files you want, you can copy, move, or open the files as you would in My Computer. If you have permission, you can also delete files, create new directories, copy files into the directory, plus edit the files that are in the directory.

Tip

If you do not have permission to edit files-called write access-and you want to edit a file, you can always copy the file to your local machine and do the editing there. If you must be able to save the file into its network location, you need to speak to the owner of that directory to obtain write access.

Finding Other Computers on the Network

Computers on a network can be identified by their name, but even if you know the name, you may still have difficulty locating that computer on the network. The Windows 98 Find utility can help you locate different computers on a network.

• 1.Click the Start button, select Find, and then select Computer.
• 2.When the Find: Computer dialog box appears, type the name of the computer you're searching for into the Named box, and then click the Find Now button.
• 3.All computers with a matching name will appear in a list below the Named box. Click the computer you want to access.

Tip

You can use wildcard characters in the computer name if you are not exactly sure of the computer's name. For example, to search
for any combination of multiple characters, use an *; searching for BOB* will return BOBS, BOBBIE, or BOBBY.

Going Directly to a Folder on Another Computer

If you regularly grab files from your co-worker's computer or continually need files from a folder that is buried under several other folders on the file server, you may want to map a drive letter to the location. When a drive is mapped, you no longer have to navigate through all the layers of Network Neighborhood to access commonly visited folders. It's now a simple matter of clicking the appropriate drive in My Computer or Windows Explorer.

To map a frequently used drive:

• 1.Click the Network Neighborhood icon on the desktop and browse until you find the machine you want.
• 2.Click the icon for the selected computer and choose a default folder that will be opened when you open the drive. Right-click the folder and choose Map Network Drive from the pop-up menu.
• 3.The Map Network Drive dialog box will appear with the first available drive letter already selected. If you want to use a drive letter other than the first available, click the drop-down arrow and select the appropriate drive letter. Any drive that has a description to the right of the letter has already been mapped.
• 4.Check the path to make sure it is correct. If you want the mapping to be permanent, make sure the Reconnect at Logon box is checked. Click the OK button.
• 5.This folder/drive will now be visible in both My Computer and Windows Explorer. Click the drive icon to go directly to the selected computer and folder.

Limiting Access to Files on Your Computer

One nice feature of networks is the capability to let other users on the network access files on your computer (and vice versa). However, you probably don't want to give everyone on the network complete access to every file on your computer. To limit access to your computer resources, configure Windows 98 to share your computer only with those users to whom you grant permission.

There are two ways to grant permission to other network users-by user or by password. With user-level access, you choose specific users who can access your system. With password-level access, any user can access your system-as long as they know the password.

To limit access to your computer:

• 1.Click the Start button, select Settings, and then select Control Panel.
• 2.Click the Network icon to display the Network dialog box. Click the Access Control tab
• 3.To enable access by user, check User-Level Access Control. Type the name of the server that contains the user list and click OK. Restart the system when prompted.
• 4.To enable access by password, check Share Level Access Control. Click OK and restart the system when prompted.
• 5.After your system has restarted, enable sharing for specific folders, as described in the next task.

Tip

If you are concerned about your password being compromised, you may want to consider using user-level access for your resources. Although this method is more difficult to configure and maintain, you have complete control over who can access your resources and what individual privileges each user has.

Letting Others on the Network Share Your Files

If you have some files on your system that other users need to read or edit, you can put those files into shared folders and specify who has what access to those folders.

• 1.Open My Computer by clicking the My Computer icon.
• 2.If you haven't already, create a folder to hold the files you want to share, and then move the files you want to share into that folder.
• 3.Right-click the folder you want to share; when the pop-up menu appears, select Sharing.
• 4.When the Properties dialog box appears, select the Sharing tab, and then select the Shared As option. Click the Add button to display the Add Users dialog box
• 5.The names of users who can access this directory will be listed in the Name list. Select a user or group of users from this list.
• 6.If you want the user or group to have read-only access, click the Read Only button. If you want the user or group to have full access, click the Full Access button. If you want to customize the type of access for a user or group, click the Custom button. (If you click the Custom button, when you click OK the Change Access Rights dialog box will be displayed. Check the rights you want the user or group to have, and click OK. See the bulleted list below for explanations of these different types of access.)
• 7.Continue adding users until everyone who needs access is listed and then click OK.

Tip

If you use long file names but users across your network do not have systems that support long file names (or your network
doesn't support long file names), you may want to rename your files with the "8 + 3" file name convention. Otherwise, your file names will contain ~ symbols when others try to access them.

The Add Users function lets you choose from three different types of access:

Read Only. Users can only look at your files, not edit them.

Full Access. Users can edit the files on your computer. Custom. Turn on or off a variety of custom access options, including the capability to read, write, create, delete, or list files.

Caution

Think twice before allowing other users full access to your files; do you really want strangers changing or deleting files on your computer?

Installing a Network Printer

The simplest way to allow multiple users to use a single printer is to make it available through the network. Before you can print to a network printer, however, you have to install that printer on your machine.

• 1.Click the Start button, select Settings, and then select Printers to open the Printers folder. Click the Add Printer icon.
• 2.The Add Printer Wizard will guide you through installing the network printer. Make sure you choose Network Printer and not Local Printer when prompted.
• 3.When you have finished answering the Wizard's questions, click the Finish button.

Printing to a Network Printer

If you have a printer installed on your network, you can use it as if it is a local printer and print to it whenever you choose. To print to a network printer:

• 1.Make sure the network printer is installed on your system (see previous section).
• 2.If you are in an application and you want to print to a network printer, pull down the File menu and select Print. This opens the Print dialog box. Choose the network printer from the Name list.
• 3.When you've chosen the printer, click OK to initiate printing.

Note

If you frequently print to a specific network printer, you can make that printer the default used by all applications.

Viewing Pending Print Jobs on the Network

If you have a selection of network printers, you may want to check their respective queues before printing so that you can choose the printer that is the least busy. Conversely, if you have only one network printer and it's on the other side of the building, you may want to check the queue after you send your print job so that you don't have to go over and waste time waiting.

To view all pending print jobs:

• 1.Click the Start button, select Settings, and then select Printers to open the Printers folder.
• 2.Click the icon for the printer you want to check.
• 3.You can then view the status of all the print jobs within the queue. If you want to delete your print job, simply select it and press the Delete key.

Note

Remember that you can delete only your own print jobs-not the print jobs of others.

Letting Other Network Users Share Your Printer

The previous sections involved printing from your computer to a common network printer. You can also configure your printer so that it can be used by other users on your network.

• 1.Click the Start button, select Settings, and then select Printers to open the Printers folder.
• 2.Click the printer that you want to share and choose Sharing from the pop-up menu.
• 3.When the Properties dialog box appears, select the Sharing tab, and then select the Shared As option. Enter a name for this printer in the Share Name field, and then click the Add button to display the Add Users dialog box.
• 4.Select a user or group of users from the Name list, and then click the Full Access button to enable access.
• 5.Continue adding users until everyone who needs access is listed, and then click OK.

Caution

Allowing others to use your printer can slow down your own print jobs.