MCTS 70-680: Windows 7 HomeGorup
Uploaded by itfreetraining on 24.10.2011
Transcript:
Welcome back to your completely free training course for Windows 7. In this video I will
look at a new feature in Windows 7 called HomeGroup.
In previous versions of Windows, if you want to share files on a home network you would
use what is called a workgroup. A work group is when to have a number of the same computers
on the same network grouped together under the same workgroup name.
If you are familiar with domains this may sound the same as a domain environment. The
big difference between a domain and a work group is that with a work group there is no
central management. This means that each computer mangers its own usernames and password.
To illustrate this, imagine you log onto to one computer with the user name John Doe.
You then try to connect to anther computer on the network to access a file share. The
computer would check its local user accounts database for the username and password for
John Doe. If the user name did not exist then the user on the first computer would be prompted
for a username and password. If the user connected to a number of different
computers on the same network, then they would need to know a username and password for each
computer. If you did not want to get prompted for a username and password for each computer
you would create a username and password with the name of each user that will connected
to that computer. With a workgroup, the more users in the workgroup
means the more user names and password you would have to create on each computer. The
problem then occurs when you can the password on one computer. When this occurs you will
also need to change the password on the other computers.
With no centralize administration you can quickly see that managing a work group starts
to become a lot more complex as soon as you start adding more computers. Any more than
a few computers can quickly become an administration night mare trying to keep all the usernames
and passwords up to date. This is where HomeGroup comes into play. On
a network like this you can configure a HomeGroup. Once the HomeGroup is setup, all each computer
needs to do is enter in a password. The password is entered in once and that’s it. The computer
is now in the HomeGroup and can access any files or printer shared in the HomeGroup.
No need to worry about keeping user names and passwords up to date.
HomeGroup is a new feature in Windows 7. To create a HomeGroup you need be running Windows
7 Home premium, professional, enterprise or the ultimate edition of Windows 7. If you
are running a different edition of Windows 7 you can join a HomeGroup that has already
been created. HomeGroup is designed for home users to share
resources between each other easily. For this reason if your computer is joined to a domain
then you will not be able to create a HomeGroup. However a computer joined to a domain can
access resources in an existing HomeGroup. This allows a domain computer to access files
in a HomeGroup or printers but the domain based computer will not be able to share any
of it’s resources in the HomeGroup. Unfortunately, if you are running any earlier
version of Windows like Windows Vista or Windows XP you will not be able to use it to join
a HomeGroup. Let’s have look at how to configure Windows 7 to use a HomeGroup.
To set up a HomeGroup, first I need to logon to a computer on my home network. From here
open the control panel and select network and internet. Once inside network and internet
I have the option to select HomeGroup. Notice at the top I have a message saying
this computer can’t connect to a HomeGroup. If your computer is in a domain or the network
location is set incorrectly it will not be able to create or join a HomeGroup.
In this case the network profile is set incorrectly for HomeGroup to operate. To correct this,
I will open network and sharing center. My network profile is currently set to work network.
If I select this I can change the network profile to home network.
Notice that when I change the profile the HomeGroup wizard will automatically start.
When you first setup your computer you may have got this wizard. If I cancel the wizard
and go back to HomeGroup, I can now select the option create a HomeGroup.
The same wizard as before will appear so it does not matter if I manually run the wizard
or completed it when it was automatically run. From here I can select which items on
my computer I want to share in the HomeGroup. In this case I will accept the defaults of
pictures, music, videos and printers. You could also share documents if you wanted to.
Once the HomeGroup is created you will be given a password to access the HomeGroup.
The default password is very difficult to remember so Microsoft gives you the option
to print it out. If I complete the wizard I also have the option to change the password
to something that is a little easier to remember. In this case I will just enter in password
but on your network you should choose a more complex password. Now That my HomeGroup is
complete, I will now switch to another computer on my network running Windows 7.
The procedure to join a HomeGroup starts the same way. Open the control panel, select network
and internet and then select HomeGroup. At the top you can see a message stating that
a HomeGroup has already been created on the network.
To join this HomeGroup, press the button at the button “join now”. Since I am joining
a HomeGroup I can decide what I want to share in the HomeGroup. I will accept the defaults
but not all computers in the HomeGroup have to share the same things or share anything
in the HomeGroup for that matter. It is completely up to them what they make available to others
in the HomeGroup. Next I will need to enter in the password
for the HomeGroup. Once done, the computer will join the HomeGroup. If I now close HomeGroup
and then open Windows explorer, I can now open the section HomeGroup. In here I will
be able to see all the other files that are being shared across the network.
If I open devices and printers from the start menu, you will see that one of the printers
that is installed on the other computer is now available on this computer. If the printer
does not appear, check the computer that the printer is installed on and make sure that
the printer has been shared on the network. If the printer is shared on the network, go
into HomeGroup and check to see if you get a message asking you to install the printer
drivers on the computer. Once done, you will be able to print any document on this computer
to the printer connected to the other computer. That’s it for HomeGroup. In the next video
I will look at how to share folders in Windows 7. Whether you use a domain, work group or
HomeGroup sharing is an important feature to understand. To see the rest of this free
training course on Windows 7, see are web site or are you tube channel. Thanks for watching.
look at a new feature in Windows 7 called HomeGroup.
In previous versions of Windows, if you want to share files on a home network you would
use what is called a workgroup. A work group is when to have a number of the same computers
on the same network grouped together under the same workgroup name.
If you are familiar with domains this may sound the same as a domain environment. The
big difference between a domain and a work group is that with a work group there is no
central management. This means that each computer mangers its own usernames and password.
To illustrate this, imagine you log onto to one computer with the user name John Doe.
You then try to connect to anther computer on the network to access a file share. The
computer would check its local user accounts database for the username and password for
John Doe. If the user name did not exist then the user on the first computer would be prompted
for a username and password. If the user connected to a number of different
computers on the same network, then they would need to know a username and password for each
computer. If you did not want to get prompted for a username and password for each computer
you would create a username and password with the name of each user that will connected
to that computer. With a workgroup, the more users in the workgroup
means the more user names and password you would have to create on each computer. The
problem then occurs when you can the password on one computer. When this occurs you will
also need to change the password on the other computers.
With no centralize administration you can quickly see that managing a work group starts
to become a lot more complex as soon as you start adding more computers. Any more than
a few computers can quickly become an administration night mare trying to keep all the usernames
and passwords up to date. This is where HomeGroup comes into play. On
a network like this you can configure a HomeGroup. Once the HomeGroup is setup, all each computer
needs to do is enter in a password. The password is entered in once and that’s it. The computer
is now in the HomeGroup and can access any files or printer shared in the HomeGroup.
No need to worry about keeping user names and passwords up to date.
HomeGroup is a new feature in Windows 7. To create a HomeGroup you need be running Windows
7 Home premium, professional, enterprise or the ultimate edition of Windows 7. If you
are running a different edition of Windows 7 you can join a HomeGroup that has already
been created. HomeGroup is designed for home users to share
resources between each other easily. For this reason if your computer is joined to a domain
then you will not be able to create a HomeGroup. However a computer joined to a domain can
access resources in an existing HomeGroup. This allows a domain computer to access files
in a HomeGroup or printers but the domain based computer will not be able to share any
of it’s resources in the HomeGroup. Unfortunately, if you are running any earlier
version of Windows like Windows Vista or Windows XP you will not be able to use it to join
a HomeGroup. Let’s have look at how to configure Windows 7 to use a HomeGroup.
To set up a HomeGroup, first I need to logon to a computer on my home network. From here
open the control panel and select network and internet. Once inside network and internet
I have the option to select HomeGroup. Notice at the top I have a message saying
this computer can’t connect to a HomeGroup. If your computer is in a domain or the network
location is set incorrectly it will not be able to create or join a HomeGroup.
In this case the network profile is set incorrectly for HomeGroup to operate. To correct this,
I will open network and sharing center. My network profile is currently set to work network.
If I select this I can change the network profile to home network.
Notice that when I change the profile the HomeGroup wizard will automatically start.
When you first setup your computer you may have got this wizard. If I cancel the wizard
and go back to HomeGroup, I can now select the option create a HomeGroup.
The same wizard as before will appear so it does not matter if I manually run the wizard
or completed it when it was automatically run. From here I can select which items on
my computer I want to share in the HomeGroup. In this case I will accept the defaults of
pictures, music, videos and printers. You could also share documents if you wanted to.
Once the HomeGroup is created you will be given a password to access the HomeGroup.
The default password is very difficult to remember so Microsoft gives you the option
to print it out. If I complete the wizard I also have the option to change the password
to something that is a little easier to remember. In this case I will just enter in password
but on your network you should choose a more complex password. Now That my HomeGroup is
complete, I will now switch to another computer on my network running Windows 7.
The procedure to join a HomeGroup starts the same way. Open the control panel, select network
and internet and then select HomeGroup. At the top you can see a message stating that
a HomeGroup has already been created on the network.
To join this HomeGroup, press the button at the button “join now”. Since I am joining
a HomeGroup I can decide what I want to share in the HomeGroup. I will accept the defaults
but not all computers in the HomeGroup have to share the same things or share anything
in the HomeGroup for that matter. It is completely up to them what they make available to others
in the HomeGroup. Next I will need to enter in the password
for the HomeGroup. Once done, the computer will join the HomeGroup. If I now close HomeGroup
and then open Windows explorer, I can now open the section HomeGroup. In here I will
be able to see all the other files that are being shared across the network.
If I open devices and printers from the start menu, you will see that one of the printers
that is installed on the other computer is now available on this computer. If the printer
does not appear, check the computer that the printer is installed on and make sure that
the printer has been shared on the network. If the printer is shared on the network, go
into HomeGroup and check to see if you get a message asking you to install the printer
drivers on the computer. Once done, you will be able to print any document on this computer
to the printer connected to the other computer. That’s it for HomeGroup. In the next video
I will look at how to share folders in Windows 7. Whether you use a domain, work group or
HomeGroup sharing is an important feature to understand. To see the rest of this free
training course on Windows 7, see are web site or are you tube channel. Thanks for watching.