Gateway E-2300 Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Networking Your Computer

■Introducing networking

■Creating an Ethernet network

■Testing your network

■Sharing your resources

■Troubleshooting your Ethernet network

Contents

Main Page i Contents 1G e t t i n g H e l p 2 Checking Out Your Gateway Computer 3G e t t i n g S t a r t e d 4 Using Drives and Ports 5 Maintaining Your Computer 6 Troubleshooting iii 7 Networking Your Computer Page Chapter 1 Getting Help 2 Help and Support To start Help and Support: Searching for a topic Using Y our C omputer guide To access the Using Your Computer guide: Page Chapter 2 Checking Out Your Gateway Computer 6 Front Your computer includes the following components. Page 8 Back Your computer includes the following components: Using Your Computer 10 Page Page 13 Accessories Memory Printers Storage Devices Page Chapter 3 Getting Started 16 Working safely Reducing eye strain Setting up your computer desk and chair Setting up your computer and computer accessories Sitting at your computer 18 Avoiding discomfort and injury from repetitive strain Protecting from power source problems Checking the voltage selection To set the voltage selection switch: Starting your computer To start your computer: 1 2 3 4 20 Turning off your computer To turn off your computer: 1 2 Restarting (rebooting) your computer 22 Using the keyboard Standard keyboard This keyboard is the basic model of keyboard available with your computer. Press these keys... To... F(Search utility), R(Run utility), and E(Explorer utility). Multifunction keyboard 24 Special-function buttons Adjusting the volume To adjust the overall volume level using hardware controls: Connecting the modem Connecting to a wired Ethernet network Installing a printer, scanner, or other peripheral device Page Chapter 4 Using Drives and Ports 30 Using the diskette drive To use a diskette: 1 2 3 Using the Zip drive To use a Zip disk: 1 2 3 32 Using the memory card reader Memory card types Inserting a memory card To use a memory card: 1 2 To remove a memory card: 34 Using the CD or DVD drive Identifying drive types Inserting a CD or DVD 36 Playing a CD Playing a DVD Creating CDs and DVDs Chapter 5 Maintaining Your Computer 38 Caring for your computer Updating Windows To run Windows Update: 1 2 3 Protecting your computer from viruses To scan for viruses: 1 Page To update Norton AntiVirus: 1 2 3 4 Cleaning your computer Cleaning the exterior 42 Cleaning the keyboard Cleaning the monitor Cleaning the mouse To clean your optical mouse: Page 44 Cleaning CDs or DVDs Restoring your system Preventing static electricity discharge Opening the case Page Page Closing the case Page Page 52 4 5 Page Replacing the system battery Page Page 58 Safety guidelines First steps 59 Troubleshooting Add-in cards The computer does not recognize an add-in card Audio Battery 60 Audio CD does not produce sound A DVD movie will not play 61 Computer The computer will not start Diskette drive The diskette drive is not recognized You cannot save a file to diskette or you see the message disk is full or write-protected DVD drives File management A file was accidentally deleted To restore deleted files: 1 2 Hard drive You see an Insufficient disk space err or messa ge You see a Data error mess age You see a Non-system disk o r disk error error message 64 Internet You cannot connect to the Internet You see an Unable to loca te ho st message and ar e unab le to br ow se the I ntern et Connecting to a Web site takes too long People are sending you e-mail messages, but you have not received any mail Keyboard The keyboard does not work A keyboard character keeps repeating or you see a keyboard stuck or key failure error message Liquid spilled in the keyboard Memory Memory card reader Drive letters for the memory card slots do not appea r in the My C omputer windo w Modem (dial-up) Your modem does not dial or does not connect To check the dialing properties: 67 You cannot connect to the Internet Your 56K modem does not connect at 56K The modem is not recognized by your computer 68 1 2 3 4 5 2 The modem is noisy when it dials and connects To turn down the modem volume: Monitor The screen resolution is not corre ct The computer is running but there is no picture The color is not uniform 70 Mouse The mouse does not work The mouse works erratically 71 Networks You cannot connect to your company network Passwords Your computer does not accept your password Power 1 2 3 You see a Printer queue is full error message To make sure that the printer is not set to work offline: 1 2 3 73 You see a Printer i s out of paper error message Sound You are not getting sound from the speakers Page Chapter 7 Networking Your Computer 76 Introduction to networking Using a network Sharing a single Internet connection Sharing drives Sharing peripheral devices Selecting a network connection Wireless Ethernet network Using a wireless Ethernet network 78 Wireless Ethernet speed and frequency Network Type Speed Frequency Advantages Disadvantages 79 Example access point router wireless Ethernet network 80 Equipment you need for an access point wireless Ethernet network 1 2 3 82 Wired Ethernet network Using a wired Ethernet network Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, or Gigabit Ethernet 83 Example router-based wired Ethernet network Equipment you need for a router-based wired Ethernet network 84 1 Creating an Ethernet network Installing Ethernet cards and drivers Making sure your broadband connection works Naming the computers and the workgroup To identify this computer on the network: 1 2 3 4 5 Configuring the TCP/IP protocol Terms you should know Using a DHCP server To use a DHCP server 3 4 5 Page Setting up a wireless Ethernet network Mounting the access point Configuring the access point To configure the Linksys wireless access point router with 4-port switch: 1 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Connecting to an access point network 1 3 4 92 Configuring computer settings for an a ccess poi nt 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 94 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Setting up a wired Ethernet network Setting up a network using a router Page 98 5 Configuring your router To configure the Linksys EtherFast Cable/DSL router: 1 2 3 Testing your netw ork 100 Sharing your resources Sharing an Internet connection To set up Internet Explorer on each computer on your Ethernet network: 1 2 Page Page Accessing the Internet To access the Internet from your computer: 1 2 Sharing drives and printers Sharing drives or folders To share drives or folders: 1 2 3 4 5 Un-sharing drives, folders, and files To un-share drives or folders: 1 Using the network 106 Viewing shared drives and folders To view shared drives and folders: 1 2 3 4 5 Mapping a network drive To map a network drive: Page 108 Printing files across the network To print files across the network: 1 2 3 4 Connecting to hotspots 109 Troubleshooting Your Ethernet network Wired Ethernet network You cannot see the other computer s on your n etwork The computer does not recognize an add-in Ethernet card Your wired Ethernet network is r unning slow er than y ou expect Wireless Ethernet network You turned the wireless on, bu t it tak es a while to c onnect. Your connection on the network seems int ermitte nt. Your wireless Ethernet network is running slower than you expect To check the signal strength of your wireless Ethernet network: 3 Page Appendix A 114 Important safety information Setting up your system Care during use Replacement parts and accessories Regulatory compliance statements United States of America Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Unintentional emitter per FCC Part15 FCC declaration of conformity 116 Canada Industry Canada (IC) Unintentional emitter per ICES-003 Telecommunications per Industry Canada CS-03 (for products fitted with an IC-compliant modem) Laser safety statement 118 Notices All Rights Reserved Trademark Acknowledgments Index