Home Computers DIY

This is the second installment in our series on securing your home WiFi network. As we discussed in part 1, securing your home WiFi network can help protect your privacy, while preventing your neighbors and others in the vicinity from siphoning off wireless bandwidth that rightfully belongs to you.

As discussed previously, the two main methods used for securing a home WiFi network are encryption and using an address filter. To get started, let’s discuss encryption.

Encrypting Your WiFi Connection

Encrypting your WiFi connection involves the use of one of two common protocols. These are Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wired Protected Access (WPA). While WEP is supported by all wireless devices, only newer model devices are capable of supporting WPA. So while WPA is stronger, you may not be able to use it if you will be running older devices on your network.

Whichever of the two protocols you choose to run, you must begin the process of securing your network by configuring all of your devices with the same pass phrase. Encryption essentially scrambles data that goes out over the network. When one device on the network receives data from another device, it uses an encryption key to unscramble the data that has been sent and received.

In our next installment we will discuss in detail how you can use an address filter to help secure your home wireless network.

Cyber-security is big news today with hacker groups like Anonymous and LulzSec regularly breaking into computer networks operated by banks, governments, media conglomerates and corporate entities. However cyber-security threats exist on every level and one threat that many individual users are commonly susceptible to is having their WiFi network hacked into.

Hackers who break into unsecured WiFi networks are like parasites who feed off bandwidth paid for by users like you. If you’ve noticed things taking longer to download or online videos not streaming smoothly, it’s just possible that a hacker has breached your WiFi network and is siphoning off wireless bandwidth that you have essentially bought and paid for. If that sounds like stealing, that’s because it is.

Thankfully shoring up the security on your home wireless network is a relatively simple procedure that will bring you added security and the peace of mind to know that if your wireless signal is choppy, it’s not because some teenaged hacker next door has infiltrated your network in order to download pirated movies from some dodgy server in China.

There are two common methods used to secure a home wireless network. They are; encryption and using an address filter.

Encrypting your WiFi network is a good first step towards protecting it. To encrypt your network you will need to use an encryption protocol such as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wired Protected Access (WPA).

In our next entry we will explore these two protocols in more detail and determine which one you should implement.

This is the fourth and final installment in our series on converting one of your old PCs into a network server device you can link all of the various computers in your household to. Using an old PC as a NAS device can enable you to storehouse multimedia files and records while accessing them from any device you have in the house.

In part three we left off talking about mapping your network drive. Once that part of the process is complete you’ll be ready to access your DIY network storage device from other computers you have in the house. To do so, you’ll need to make sure your network storage PC is powered up and running.

• To access the device from a configured computer, click the “Start” button and then select “My Computer.”
• Double click on the shared folder.
• To copy files from your configured computers C drive just drag and drop them into the shared folder.
• Documents and other files can be saved directly to your NAS device by selecting the shared folder as the save destination.
• To access files stored on your NAS device simply click on the shared folder and select the files you wish to open.

This concludes our four part series on converting an old PC into a network server/storage device. As always, we welcome your comments and hope that these entries have been helpful.

This is the third installment in our series on how to convert one of the old PCs you have lying around into a fully-functional NAS device for a fraction of what it would cost you to go out and purchase one. In part two we explained how to work your way through the Network Setup Wizard installation process.

Creating a Shared Folder

Now we will create a shared folder on your old PC that can be utilized as a universal storage area for pictures, music, movies, records and backup files.

• Begin by right clicking on your old PC’s desktop. Select “New” and create a new folder by selecting “folder.”
• Give the shared folder a name, usually something along the lines of “Shared Network Files” or “Household Network Files.”
• Right click on your new folder and select “Sharing and Security.”
• Check “Share this folder on the network,” as well as “Allow network users to change my files.”
• Now click “Okay” to save your changes.

Mapping the Network Drive

This part of the process must be administered to all of the different computers that you’ll be patching into your home network.

• Begin by clicking the “Start” button on your PC.
• Right click “My Computer” and then select “Map Network Drive.”
• Select a drive letter in the drive box and click “Browse.”
• Select the shared network file you created earlier in this step of the process.
• Click “Okay” and then click “Finish” to complete the process.

This concludes the third installment in converting your old PC into a household network server. Stay tuned for the closing steps in the process in our next and final installment in the series.

Using your old PC as a network attached storage (NAS) device is a cheaper, more effective alternative to backing things up on a disk burner or external hard drive. It’s obviously less expensive than having to go out and buy a new device and old PCs are more suitable for backing up files for a whole network than a single external hard drive is.

Whatever computer you do choose to press into this duty, you’ll want to make sure that it has a large hard disk with ample space on it, at least 100 gigabytes. You’ll also need a good connection to your home network, preferably wired rather than wireless. Often it’s best to plug your NAS device directly into your home networking router.

Once you have plugged your computer in you’ll want to run the “Network Setup Wizard.” To do this select “Control Panel,” which can be found under “Settings” on your start button.

When the control panel comes up double click the “Network Setup Wizard” icon and click “Next” on the first two screens that come up. Then select the middle option that begins with, “This computer connects to the Internet through a residential gateway,” and click “Next.”

On the following screen enter a computer description in the blank field at the top of the page and click “Next.”

For the field marked “Workgroup Name” you should leave it as “MSHOME” unless the other computers on your network are running on a different workgroup name. If they are then just enter that. Click “Next.”

Select the option to “Turn on file and print sharing” and click “Next.”

Click “Next” again and wait for the Setup Wizard to complete its task. Then select “Just finished the Wizard,” and click “Next.” Now click “Finish.”

You’ll need to repeat this process for all the computers you wish to patch into your network.

This concludes the second phase of converting an old PC into a NAS device. We’ll pick things up again Part 3.

CNET has a video of the entire process available to watch here.

There are many good reasons to convert an old PC into a network server. For starters, it’s a great way to make use of any old computers you may have sitting around, taking up space in your garage or office closet. And while your vintage holdover from the Bush/Cheney era may not be up to downloading and viewing the latest films and TV shows in hi-def, it can still be employed as a central storage repository for all of your files.

No matter how new your current computer may be, the fact is that hard drives do crash sometimes and if yours does, you’ll be glad you have your files backed up. Having all of your files on a centralized server also makes it easier for you to share multimedia files with other members of your household. Converting your old PC into an network server device is a cheap alternative to having to go out and buy one at the computer store.

The good news is that you don’t need to install a faster processor, a new motherboard or increased RAM into your old PC to convert it into a network server.

However what you likely will need is a bigger hard drive. CNET recommends the Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200JB, shown in picture on the left.

In our next installment we will begin the process of converting an old PC into a network server.

So you’ve finally scrapped together the money you need to get yourself that brand, spanking new PC you’ve been wanting. But before you unbox it and set it up, there’s the question of your old PC. You know, the one that dates back to 2005 (or earlier) that’s taking up space in your home office where your shiny, new computer should be.

So just what should you do with your old computer?

If you live in California you can’t very well go throwing it in the garbage as that’s illegal. Even if you don’t live in California, don’t just toss it in the garbage as improperly disposing of a computer can be potentially harmful to the environment.

Recycling your computer is one option, although in many states, California included, you’ll be charged a fee for recycling an old computer.

As an alternative, many manufacturers offer a credit if you send your old hardware back to them.  They in turn will benefit from this by collecting a reimbursement fee from the state.

You may also want to make inquiries as to which of your friends of family members might be in need of a computer. If you’re tech savvy enough to be reading a blog like this, the odds are that even your castoffs are better than the late ’90s Compaq your Aunt Reba may be currently using. The average users merely needs a computer to access the Web and send email. Even a computer that’s five, six or seven years old can be tooled up with Linux and a modern browser to be at least adequate for sending email and surfing the Web.

For more ideas on what you might do with your old, unwanted hardware, you can check out this helpful piece on How-To Geek.

This is the eighth and final installment in our series on upgrading your motherboard as an alternative to having to go out and buy a new computer. In part seven we left off having just installed all the various cards and adapters. Now we will go over how to connect the drives and other internal components to your new motherboard.

Most ATA ports are color coded nowadays. This should make it pretty easy to reattach all the various components you undid when you removed your old motherboard. More detailed information regarding connecting different components can be found on previous entries of this blog.

Once you have reattached all the cables and connections from your components to your motherboard itself, you’ll want to tie your cables together and push them off to the side. The more empty space you leave inside your computer, the better air will circulate and the less likely it will be to overheat.

With your new motherboard upgrade installed your computer should function almost like a new computer. If you are experiencing problems or systems errors, don’t panic. There is a great chart on troubleshooting your motherboard installation available at foner books.

If you’d like to find out more about replacing various components in your computer stay tuned for future installments of this blog or visit our archive of past entries. Thanks for reading!

This is the seventh installment in our series on upgrading your motherboard and CPU as an alternative to having to go out and buy a new computer. In part six we had just inserted our new motherboard into our case unit and fastened it down using the appropriate number of screws.

In this installment, we’ll pick up where we left off and go over connecting your motherboard to your power supply and reinstalling our adapters.

Start by connecting your power switch to the motherboard. The power switch lead will be labeled “PW SW,” “Power SW,” or “P-ON.” The connection on the motherboard itself should be labeled in a similar manner. After you connect the power switch lead it’s your choice as to whether you want to hook up the other front panel leads to things like the reset switch, the keyboard lock or LED lights. Many people find these features unnecessary and choose to ignore them. It’s really up to you.

Moving forward you’ll want to next load the various cards and adapters back in. Start with the most important components like the PCI adapters, the modem and the sound card. Depending on the degree you are upgrading, you may or may not need a new video card for your new motherboard.

Once you have installed all of your adapters and they are set in place, go ahead and fasten them down with the screws. Generally it’s best to wait until all your adapters are in place before fastening any of them down in case they interfere with one another and you have to shift them slightly to make room for each other.

In our next and probably final installment in this series we will provide instruction on connecting all of the other various drives and components to our new motherboard. Once we have done that we will be ready to start putting our new motherboard into action.