Vista’s Network and Sharing Center brings networking, file sharing and discovery options together, making it far easier to diagnose problems.
Unlike Windows XP, which scattered network and file-sharing settings around in various places, Vista provides a one-stop shop: the Network and Sharing Center. It lets you configure all your network options and file-sharing preferences quickly, and see at a glance which features are enabled or disabled.
You can also link directly to other network-related parts of Vista including Network – where you can view computers and files on your network – and the Firewall settings.
When you connect to a network for the first time, Vista will ask you what type of network you’re connecting to – home, work or a public place – and configure Windows Firewall and other permissions appropriately. The public place type, which covers situations like coffee-shop hotspots, enables the firewall on the connection, turns off network discovery and disables all forms of file and printer sharing for that connection. The home and work types assume you’re behind a router, and not directly connected to the wider internet, and so will enable network discovery. However, File and printer sharing are still turned off, and you’ll need to explicitly enable them. Once you’ve changed these settings, they’re always applied when you subsequently select that network type for a new connection.
Vista’ll fix it
Vista is by far Microsoft’s best operating system at dealing with network problems. The Diagnose and Repair option on the left of the Network and Sharing Center finds out why the PC isn’t connected to the network – or the internet – and then repairs it automatically. For example, if your network hardware is disabled, the tool can detect the problem and re-enable it, and it’s far more effective than XP’s equivalent function. Another highlight is the visual representation of your network, which shows clearly whether connections are working. If your computer connects to the internet via a router, the “map” will show a connection between your PC and the router (which could appear as a general Network icon), and then a connection between the router and the internet. If either connection isn’t working, a red cross shows where the problem lies.
Sharing and Discovery
The Sharing and Discovery section of the Network and Sharing Center is where you can configure whether the computer can be seen by other computers on the network, as well as which files are shared over the network. It couldn’t be easier to share pictures, music and videos – simply enable the Media Sharing option and choose which of the three types you want to share. Just make sure you’re organised and store media files in the right places in your user account: the Music, Pictures and Videos folders.