HomeGroups and Windows 8: How to share everything (or nothing)

Beginners' Tips Series!

The days of having a unmarried family reckoner that everyone shares are long gone. Now information technology isn't uncommon to find multiple computers, tablets, printers, gaming consoles, etc. all in one household. With so many users and devices in a single identify, it may seem like sharing information between them might be a claiming.

Fortunately, you don't accept to be a network engineer to effigy out how to become Microsoft devices all talking to each other and sharing data. With HomeGroups, it'due south piece of cake to set up.

What is a HomeGroup?

A homegroup is 2 or more computers that reside on the aforementioned home network. Members of a homegroup can share pictures, documents, music, videos and printers with each other.

They can be used to share private folders and files with other computers in a fashion that can be easily managed by everyone who is office of the group. A homegroup tin can besides exist used to create a fundamental server of sorts for media, printers, etc. that tin exist accessed by different computers, only managed centrally by one user.

HomeGroups can be secured using passwords, and each fellow member can control exactly what they share with the other members of the grouping.

Whatever figurer running Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.one and Windows ten tin can exist office of a homegroup. However, Windows 7 Starter/Home Basic and Windows viii/viii.1 RT accept limited functionality. The former cannot create homegroups of their ain and the latter cannot create homegroups or share content with other members.

How to gear up upward a HomeGroup from scratch

If you desire to gear up a new homegroup for the first time:

Become to Control Console > Network and Internet > HomeGroup, then click Create
Select which libraries you lot would like to share with future members of the group

How to join an existing HomeGroup

Before joining an existing homegroup, you will demand its countersign. To find information technology, yous need to go to the estimator that the homegroup was created on.

Then, open Control Panel > HomeGroup.
Click View or print the homegroup password.

At present that you have a password, become to the reckoner you want to join to the group.

Get to Command Panel > HomeGroup.
The calculator should automatically detect that a homegroup exists and volition prompt you for the password. Enter the countersign and click Join.
Select the Libraries that you want to share with the balance of the grouping.
Click under Media Devices and select what devices you lot wish to share.

NOTE: This is where you would activate sharing for streaming media to your Xbox 360 or Xbox One.

In Windows 8.one, yous tin can get easy admission to the HomeGroup settings by opening the Charms bar on the correct, then going to Settings > Change PC settings > Network > HomeGroup.

Here yous tin can use the sliders to cull what Libraries you want to share, or toggle printer sharing and media streaming. You tin also view your homegroup password, or leave the grouping all together.

To admission files from your computer

If y'all desire to open up documents, spotter videos or mind to music that has been shared out to your computer via the homegroup, you lot tin can open up File Explorer (known as Windows Explorer in Windows 7) and simply navigate to them under the HomeGroup section on the left.

To remove your computer from the homegroup

If you no longer desire a estimator to be part of the group:

Get to Control Panel > HomeGroup
Click Leave the homegroup
Click Leave the homegroup once more to confirm your decision

As more than and more than devices creep into our homes, it becomes increasingly important to manage them in a elementary way. The development of HomeGroups has taken the one time esoteric world of dwelling house networking to a level that anyone can understand, making information technology like shooting fish in a barrel to share between them all.