• Choose  START / MY COMPUTER / right click on the My Computer icon and choose PROPERTIES from the menu.

• Select the COMPUTER NAME tab

• Select the CHANGE button

• In the Workgroup text box, type a workgroup name of your choice and click OK.  The name must be 15 characters or less [Homenet, Johnsonfamily, MyNet01, etc......]  This will be the name of the Local Workgroup that you will be creating........ this name will appear as the Workgroup Name on all computers that will be on this local network.

• In the Computer Name text box, type a user name [ John, Mary, Homeboy, User223, etc .....]  This name must be unique in the Network!  No Duplications of a Computer Name is allowed!

• Now Click OK. 

• Click OK at the bottom of this window.  It will take a few seconds for the effects to be changed.  A message box will appear, these changes will not take effect until the computer is restarted, Click OK.  [you must restart the computer this message box will not start the restart process]

• Click OK again to close out all open windows, this also remembers the changes that you have just made.

After completing the above steps, restart the computer, come back to this location to verify that you have changed to this Workgroup.

These same steps must be done to each computer that you wish to join your Network.   Remember you must use the IDENTICAL WORKGROUP NAME on each computer that will be in the Network.

If you have 2 computers on the Workgroup Network you should be able to see each computer by clicking on My Network Places from your desktop, or by clicking on START /  MY NETWORK PLACES then on the right-hand frame click on VIEW WORKGROUP COMPUTERS.  If the network is set up you should see your computer and all others that have joined the Network.  If you click on the other computer in the Network it may only show you the SHARED FOLDERS that Windows sets up by default.  To view other computers Folders and Files you must now share those items.

Windows XP lets you share a computer's disks and folders with other computers on the network, using a method called Simple File Sharing. And it really is simple. If a disk or folder is shared, everyone on the network can access it. There are no user permissions and no passwords. Because sharing in this way is so wide open, Windows XP tries to protect you from some potential security risks.

You can only activate sharing from the computer that you are currently working from.

From My Computer, click on your C: drive.  Proceed to the Folder that you wish to share.

Right click the disk or folder that you want to share and select Sharing and Security.

The disk or folder that you share, along with all of the folders that it contains, will be accessible by other network users. If you're sharing an entire disk, Windows XP gives a warning. The implication of the warning is that it's better to share a specific folder, since only that folder (and its subfolders) will be accessible by others, and the rest of the disk will be inaccessible. Click where indicated if you want to go ahead and share the entire disk. This screen doesn't appear if you're sharing a folder.

The first time that you set up sharing, Windows XP displays a warning, urging you to use the Network Setup Wizard for safety. Click where indicated to either run the Wizard or to do it yourself.

What great secret does the Wizard know that XP thinks you don't? The Wizard automatically enables the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) to prevent other Internet users from accessing your shared disks and folders. Enabling ICF is a good idea if you connect directly to the Internet through a dial-up, DSL, or cable modem.

XP displays another warning.

If you want ICF enabled, select Use the wizard to enable file sharing.

Otherwise, select Just enable file sharing.

Having successfully run the Wizard's obstacle course, you may now specify a Share name, which users on other networked computers will use to access this disk or folder. For maximum compatibility with all versions of Windows, use 1-12 characters.

By default, users on other computers have full access: they can read, write, and delete shared files. If you only want them to be able to read files, un-check Allow network users to change my files.

Warning: If a user has full access, deleting a file doesn't put it in the Recycle Bin. Once it's deleted, it's gone for good.

To map a network drive, open My Computer, click Tools, and select Map Network Drive.

Specify an unused drive letter and enter the network path for the hidden share, being sure to include the dollar sign. If you check Reconnect at logon, the mapping will happen automatically every time you start your computer. Otherwise, you'll have to map it manually every time.

Click Finish. The mapped drive is connected and appears in a new window. It's also available in My Computer.