How do I set up my network so that all my computers can share files?

I have 3 computers, one wireless router and one external hard drive that I would like all computers to share.

How do I set up my network so that all my computers can share files?network security

In WinXP, there is a simple wizard that can set that up for you. It's in the Control Panel, under Networking.

In other versions of windows, you will have to set this up yourself. First is the hardware step. Make sure all the computers are physically linked together through a hub or router, even a wireless one should work. You can test the connection by going online with all the computers.

Next, decide on a name for a "Workgroup" for all the computers to connect to. A good workgroup name is MSHOME or HOME. One of those is usu. default in windows. Also, decide on individual names for computers in the workgroup. You could name them after minerals or lawn implements, like Onyx, Quartz, Ruby.

Right-click in Network Neighboorhood, make the name assignments, and restart the computers. When using a router, make sure the computers are set to run with DHCP enabled.

After you name and restart all the computers, you should be able to see each computer and the others in the Network Neighboorhood. Icons for each computer should appear after a minute or two, but probably not immediately. If not, use the network troubleshooter in the Help tool in windows.