Home Network

I wanted to create a home network, primarily for sharing printing facilities but also giving the possilbility of file sharing.

The main computer runs Windows 7 and the Laptop runs Windows Vista. The instructions for Windows 7 says that a homegroup is for computers which run the Windows 7 operating system. However, I decided to see what would happen if I attempted to use it to network the laptop with the PC.

I went to control panel

Chose network and internet

Then HomeGroup

Then Home network

You get a visual display of your home network

The network settings are now set to home.

I then clicked on choose Homegroup and sharing options.

Selected all the sharing options I wanted and then started up the laptop. I went to network

Then a list of the network is displayed and it is only a question of logging onto the system and sharing files or devices

Changing the BIOS

The BIOS was changed on Computer R37182 to reorder boot orderon start up.

The computer was connected to mouse, monitor and keyboard and started up. Before the operating system was loaded F2 was pressed to enter the BIOS.

Advanced BIOS features was selected

The first Boot device was already set to CDROM

So it was changed to Floppy

F10 was pressed to save and Exit Setup

Save to CMOS and Exit Y/N entered yes

Settings are now changed

PC R37182 reassembly

The PC was now ready for reassembly.

Firstly the processor was clipped into positon.

The heatsink was cleaned and cliped into place, the fan was dusted and the reattached above the heatsink.

The Powersupply was replaced and screwed into position.


The DIMM Ram memory cards were clipped back into position.


The optical drive, floppy drive and hard drive were reinserted into position.




The soundcard, graphics card, network card and fiddly USB sockets were then fitted into place.


All wires were conected to the hardware.


The anti static connection was removed from the PC case and the PC was connected to its mouse, keyboard and monitor. The mains supply was reconnected.


The computer was turned on to test. There was a series of long beeps. The computer was shut down.


It was determined that long beeps indicated a problem with the ram. So after making the computer safe for working on, the ram cards were removed from the clips and reinserted.


The computer was then powered up again and this time was fully funcitonal;


the disk drives both worked and the system had sound.

PC Assembly Practical

I chose PC R37182 and checked that the PC was operational by connecting; mouse, keyboard and monitor then connecting to the mains. I booted the computer up, checked its operation and then shut down.

The powercables were then disconnected and the side panel removed. The monitor, keyboard and mouse were disconnected and put to one side.

I furneshed myself with an anti static wristband and mat and connected the mat to earth.

The network card, sound card and graphics card were removed.

The internal cables were disconnected.

The USB ports were removed.

The procedssor was uncliped and removed

The Optical drive, Floppy drive and hard drive were removed.

The ram was removed and the powersupply disconnected and removed;

The fan and heat sink were removed,

The processor was uncliped and removed.

The computer was now stripped down ready for assmebly

The Fitsui Computer Saga

After researching I took the computer apart again.

Unfortunately I discovered that some of the pins had got bent.

Firstly I gently baked the processor and heatsink in the oven on minium temperature for about 20 minutes to warm up the thermal paste to alow me seperate it from the heatsink.

Then I attempted to straighten the pins. I went through all the credit type cars I had until I found one which was the right size to go between the pins.

The Fitsui Computer

This computer was overheating very soon after start up. The graphics would become distorted and the computer would nolonger send images to the monitor and have to have a forced shut down.

So it was decided to open the computer up and have a look inside. The computer was quite dusty, however it had been sprayed out with compressed air regually and so there was not as much dust as might otherwise have been the case.

I decided to take the heatsink off the processor, as this had never been removed and I thought that there might be a lot of dust in there.

There was.

But .....

I forgot to try and twist the heatsink off the processor before pulling it out and the whole asembly came away in one.

I then compounded my errors by trying to replace the processor into its correct position while still attached to the heat sink. This made it impossible to reach the locking leaver system for the processor.

I then put the computer back together and tested it.... it nolonger worked.

Operating Systems Basics - VISTA - continued;

The next requirement is to change to 32 bit colour and the screen resolution to 1024 x 768 pixels.

This can be achieved by right clicking on desktop, choosing personalise settings and changing the settings as required, remembering to apply settings.

The same utility as above the colour scheme and backgrounds can be changed.

Sounds can be edited by right clicking on the desktop too. The following devices can be conrolled from the volume mixer;

1. Speakers


2. Headphones


3. Windows sounds

The firewall can be accessed by going to start, control panel and then choosing the security settings.

There the Firewall settings can be changed. To ensure that the firewall does not block incoming File and Printer Sharing or Remote assistance the correct box needs to be checked on the exception tab.

Update manager can also be accessed from control panel

Operating Systems Basics Practical on VISTA Machine

During the Practical I was required to find the following information;

• Network adapter
• Display adapter
• Sound device
• CD/DVD device
• Processor speed
• Size of RAM
  
  To determine these I went to start then control panel then Systems and Maintance.

Then View computer details and I then clicked on device manager and found the following details.

This computer had 4;

1. Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network) - manufacturer Microsoft
2. Bluetooth Device (RFCOMM Protocol TDI) - manufactuer Microsoft
3. Boradcom 44 x 10/100 Integrated Controller - Broadcom
4. Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection - Intel corporation
   
   

The display adapter - Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express chipset Family - manufacuter Intel Corporation

In the same way I determined that the sound device is Sigma Tel High Definition Audio Codex manufactured by Sigma Tel and that the CD/DVD device is RQX HMZWPMNGPU SCSI Cdrom Device manufacturer was listed as (Standard CD-ROM drives)

The processor speed turned out to be 2GHz and the RAM capacity was obtained from the screen below and is 2GB

Laptop connects to the college network

After spending the evening downloading and updating the computer, finally, the laptop was ready to connect to the wirless network.

I had problems accessing the network and did understand why until I refered back to the college intranet instructions which states in small print at the end that you must enter a different user name than when using the colleges own computers.

Vola access, finally

Laptop fails the securtiy test

The college system downloads a file to the computer which checks the computers updates and has an anti-virus approved by the college.

The updates on the laptop were out of date and the college did not like the antivirus software I had installed. I had to take the laptop home and install a free version of AVG and make sure that all the windows updates were installed.

Logging the laptop onto the college network

The college has a new wireless network system which allows students to access the college network from their own computers while on site.

I bought my laptop into college set agout configuring a connection to HRC-Wireless network.

First step Start - Control Panel - Network and Sharing Centre.

Manage wirless networks.

Create a new network profile.

I typed in the college network name and changed the security type to WPA-Enterprise. Encryption to TKIP then Start this network connection automatifcally.

It was neccessary to uncheck connect to a more preferred network and selected connect automatically when this network is in range. On the security tab WPA-Enterprise, encryption type TKIP and network authentication metnod = Protected EAP (PEAP). Cache user information for subsequent connection to this network.

I clicked the settings button, Enable Fast Reconnect and ensure that settings are as shown. The Validate server Certificate was unchecked and clicked on Configure.

The EAP MSCHAPv2 Properties box was displayed and the Automatically use my Windows logon name and password (and domain if any)

A pop up appears in the bottom right of the screen asking for additional information to connect to the network, this is the college username and password. The internet Exploter settings had to be set to automatically detect settings, browser closed and the laptop was ready to connect to the network.

Crossover Cable construction.

Today I made a category 5 unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Ethernet crossover cable. This was then tested for continuity and correct pin-outs, and correct wire on the right pin.

I cut the cable to the required length and cut back the plastic jacket from the wire and pulled the plastic cover back down the length of the wire.

The internal wires were laid in the following order from left to right;

· White/orange

· Orange

· White/Green

· Blue

· White/Blue

· Green

· White/Brown

· Brown

Then they were straightened out, flattened the internal wires and the wires were trimmed to be level.

I held the RJ-45 plug with the copper connections facing me and gently slipped the wires into the plug and towards the connectors.

I then crimped the wires firmly in place.

I then fitted a plug to the other end of the cable.

It is important to test the cable on completion. I plugged both ends of the cable into the unit and switched it on to proceed with the test.

There were two separate bars of indicators on the test unit, each with 8 lights. The indicator lights switch on as the test sequence is completed, wire-by-wire. If both the “input” and “output” indicators for each wire are brightly lit this indicates optimum connection. A dim light indicates poor connection and no light no connection. The lights should light in pairs indicating correct wiring.

http://cableorganizer.com/learning-center/how-to/how-to-test-RJ45-connection.htm

Unfortunately, as the test preceded lights 4 and 5 showed out of order meaning that the plugs failed the test. Two of the wires in one of the plugs were in the incorrect sequence and one plug failed the test.

Wires in the wrong order inside plug

I had to remake the wire. This time I took a lot more care when inserting into the plastic plug to ensure that the wires remained in correct order.

The cable was tested and found satisfactory