Description of Microsoft HomeClick Network Software (243675)

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Microsoft HomeClick Network software is a simple home network Setup and configuration program included with 3Com HomeConnect home networking products. The HomeClick Network software Setup wizard walks you through the steps required to connect your at-home network, commonly called a local area network (LAN), and then the HomeClick Network Center provides you with easy access to all of the resources on your home network.

HomeClick Network Center

After you install the HomeClick Network software, you can perform most of your network administration using HomeClick Network Center. You can browse other computers on the network, share resources such as printers or files, and set up Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on the network. To start HomeClick Network Center, click Start, point to Programs, and then click HomeClick Network Center.

Network Status

To display the names of the computers on your network, click Network Center in the HomeClick Network Center dialog box. When you click a computer name, the Network Computer dialog box is displayed. To gain access to shared resources on a computer, click one of the following options:

• Network Neighborhood
  Click Access computername using Network Neighborhood. After the Network Neighborhood dialog box is displayed, click the computer name you want to view, and a list of shared resources on that computer is displayed.

• Shortcut
  Click Create a shortcut to computername on the desktop of computername, and then click Yes. Double-click the shortcut on your desktop to connect to the remote computer resource.NOTE: In the above steps computername is the name of your computer.

File Sharing

You can use the File Sharing feature of HomeClick Network Center to share drives or folders on your hard disk. When you click File Sharing in the HomeClick Network Center dialog box, a list of available drives on the local computer is displayed, as well as the current sharing status of each drive. After you click File Sharing, there are two methods you can use to share resources: Method One

Click More Options, double-click the drive letter where the resource you want to share is located, click the folder you want to share, and then click Share.

NOTE: You cannot share individual files. If you have a file that you want to share, create a new folder and move the file to the new folder.

Method Two

1. Click the icon of the drive. The Share Properties dialog box is displayed.
2. Type the name as you want others to see the resource, and then click to select one of the following sharing options:
   • Not Available to other computers
   • Read only password (optional)
   • Read & write password (optional)
   NOTE: If you use Method Two to share a resource, you can only share entire drives, not individual folders within the drive.

Printers

After you click Printers in the HomeClick Network Center dialog box, you can install a shared network printer or troubleshoot a missing printer. To add a printer:

1. Click the name of the printer.
2. When the Enable Printer dialog box is displayed, click Next, and the Add Printer wizard starts. Follow the steps on the screen to install the printer.

To troubleshoot a missing printer:

Click Click here if a printer is missing, and then follow the prompts on the screen. HomeClick Network also has an automatic network printer notification. Whenever a new computer with a shared network printer starts, the HomeClick Network software automatically detects that a new network printer is online and notifies each computer on the network that a new printer is available for use. The Add printer dialog box is displayed. If you click Yes, enable the printer on this computer, the Add Printer wizard is started. This feature is possible because the Hcdetect.exe tool runs in the background and monitors new activity on the network.

Internet Connection Sharing

You can use ICS to share a single Internet connection with up to five other computers. ICS provides basic shared Internet functionality, including the ability to gain access to Web pages and e-mail messages. For ICS to function properly, use the following guidelines:

• Windows 98 Second Edition must be running on the host computer.
• In most cases, one network adapter and one Internet connection on the host computer is sufficient. However, if you use an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) connection to gain access to your Internet service provider (ISP), you may need more than one network adapter and one phone line. Unidirectional adapters (adapters that can only send, or only receive data) may not function with ICS. For example, DirectPC (which uses a satellite to receive data from the Internet) and Surfboard modems require an initial connection through a phone-line modem to connect to the ISP. For a two-way cable modem, you must install two network adapters on the host computer (one for the cable modem and one for the LAN).
• The client computer must have a network adapter and be connected to the LAN.
• The HomeClick Network software must be installed on all computers on the LAN.

To set up ICS, click Click here to set up Internet Connection Sharing on this computer from the Internet Connection dialog box. This starts the ICS wizard. The wizard guides you through the installation process.

NOTE: When you use the HomeClick Network software to install ICS, you are not prompted to create a client configuration disk as you are if you install ICS using the ICS program that is included with Windows 98 Second Edition.

You also have the ability to enable and disable the ICS service by choosing Not available to other computers or Available to other computers in the Sharing options area of the Internet Connection dialog box.

If you are an advanced user, you can manually configure the service by using the Windows 98 user interface:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Internet Options.
2. On the Connections tab, click Sharing, click to select the Enable Internet Connection Sharing check box, and then click OK.

For additional information about ICS, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.