Windows 7 / Networking

Viewing Network Computers and Devices

If the Network icon is showing that you have a good connection to the network, you can go right ahead and see what's out there. One way to do this is to view Windows 7's network map (see "Displaying a Network Map," later in this tutorial). However, Windows 7 offers a more straightforward method: the Network window.

To open the Network window, open Windows Explorer and click Network in the navigation pane. The Network window for a typical small network, where you see the network's main resources, such as the computers and media devices. Details view (select Views, Details) shows you the resource name, category, workgroup name, and the name of the network profile.

NOTE To change the columns shown in Details view, right-click any column header, and then click a column name to toggle that column on and off. You probably noticed that some of the network resource names appear multiple times (for example, once in the Computer category and again in the Media Devices category). Multiple Network icons mean that the computer or device has other networking features, and these appear as "devices" in the Network window. The most common secondary icon is the Windows Media Connect device, which appears when the computer has configured Windows Media Player (in the case of a Windows 7 computer) to stream media to the network.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Setting a Small Network
  2. Setting Up a Peer-to-Peer Network
  3. Changing the Computer and Workgroup Name
  4. Connecting to a Wireless Network
  5. Working with Windows 7's Basic Network Tools and Tasks
  6. Accessing the Network and Sharing Center
  7. Setting Up a Homegroup
  8. Activating Homegroup Connections
  9. Creating a Homegroup
  10. Joining a Homegroup
  11. Accessing the Homegroup
  12. Changing Homegroup Settings
  13. Turning Off Homegroup Connections
  14. Viewing Network Computers and Devices
  15. Displaying a Network Map
  16. Viewing Network Status Details
  17. Customizing Your Network
  18. Managing Network Connections
  19. Opening the Network Connections Window
  20. Renaming a Network Connection
  21. Enabling Automatic IP Addressing
  22. Confirming That Windows 7 Is Configured for Dynamic IP Addressing
  23. Displaying the Computer's Current IP Address
  24. Setting Up a Static IP Address
  25. Displaying the Current DNS Addresses
  26. Specifying the Static IP Address
  27. Using a Network Connection to Wake Up a Sleeping Computer
  28. Disabling a Network Connection
  29. Managing Wireless Network Connections
  30. Opening the Manage Wireless Networks Window
  31. Creating an Ad Hoc Wireless Network
  32. Working with Wireless Connection Properties
  33. Modifying Connection Properties
  34. Modifying Security Properties
  35. Renaming Wireless Connections
  36. Reordering Wireless Connections
  37. Creating User-Specific Wireless Connections
  38. Removing Wireless Connections