Connecting Your Computer to a Workgroup

If you have several computers in your household and have set up a home network so that you can share resources such as printers, the computers are probably part of a workgroup. If there are fewer than 20 networked computers in your office, they might be part of a workgroup or they might be part of a domain. (If you have more than 20 networked computers, they are almost certainly part of a domain.) The main difference between the two is in how the network resources are managed. In a workgroup:

• No computer has control over any other.

• User accounts for each computer are administered individually; you need a user account on a specific computer to log on to that computer.

• All computers must be on the same local network (wired or wireless).

All the computers in a workgroup must be on the same network, but a network can include multiple workgroups. Windows Vista automatically joins your computer to a workgroup during installation. During a new installation, Windows Vista uses the default workgroup; during an upgrade, it retains the existing workgroup setting. You can change the workgroup you're joined to at any time, and you can create a new workgroup for specific resource-sharing purposes.

In this exercise, you will join your computer to a new workgroup that you will create for the purpose of sharing resources. There are no practice files for this exercise.

1.	In Control Panel, click System and Maintenance, and then click System. The System window opens, displaying information about your computer.
2.	Under Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings, click Change settings. In the User Account Control dialog box, if you're logged on as an administrator, click Continue. Otherwise, enter an administrator password, and click OK. The System Properties dialog box opens, displaying the Computer Name tab.
3.	To the right of To use a wizard to join a domain or workgroup, click Network ID. The Join A Domain Or Workgroup wizard starts.
4.	With the This computer is part of a business network option selected, click Next. Troubleshooting It might seem logical to select the This Is A Home Computer option, but that option does not allow you to create a new workgroup. [View full size image]
5.	Select the My company uses a network without a domain option, and then click Next.
6.	In the Workgroup box, type a descriptive name for the new workgroup. (No matter how you type it, the name appears in all capital letters.) Then click Next. [View full size image]
7.	On the wizard's final page, click Finish.
8.	In the System Properties dialog box, click OK. You must restart your computer for the change to take effect.
9.	Close any open files, and quit any running programs. Then in the message box, click Restart Now.
10.	After restarting, display the System window, and verify that your computer is now joined to the new workgroup.