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I am looking to set up a home network to host files that I want to transfer between different machines. I don't know anything about this topic so need a lot of help. If this is how it does work, I would like a network hard drive to store my files, with both my computers, both running Windows 7, being able to connect and access the files. I also want these to be available if I connect with an iOS device. I may also purchase a Mac shortly so want to be able to connect an OSX system aswell. Would someone please be able to tell me how to do this from buying the products to having a running network. I have a wireless router, well a BT Hub that is connected to the wall then my laptop is connected to it wirelessly while my main machine is connected via ethernet cable. As I said I know virtually nothing about this topic so all help would be greatly appreciated, thank you. |
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If all the machines are using Windows 7, networking is relatively painless. Use the "homegroup" feature in Windows 7 on each of the machines, it's actually pretty well done. A lot easier than in Windows XP. Don't forget to use file sharing. |
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@Duodave has the right idea, especially if you want to access them locally between two Windows 7 machines. However, if you're going to be using HomeGroup then it won't work between OS X and Windows. An alternative would be to purchase a NAS drive and plug into your BT Home Hub via USB. You can then toggle settings either through included software or through a webpage. Once everything is configured you can access the files from any OS. Initial setup should be simple and will likely come with instructions on how to set everything up. One thing I would take into consideration is when you're going to transfer files to the NAS drive, I recommend you transfer all your files when it's connected directly to your PC since file transfers are considerably slower over the network, especially WiFi. |
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NAS sounds like what you're looking for... If you have any interest into linux, FreeNAS is a cool alternative. Instead of spending $400+ on a 4bay NAS. You can grab an old computer lying around the house and install FreeNAS. It's build off of FreeBSD I think and this software is gear for common users. It works will all OS. It wouldn't hurt. Link here |
