Home Net Hassles

Home networks are hot and can be extremely useful--once everything is up and running. But getting there is often a bumpy ride.

Yardena Arar

Got net? Not Internet, but a network of your own--one that connects two or more PCs so they can share files, printers, and a single Internet account? If you have a home network or are contemplating getting one, you're not alone: Research firm Parks Associates estimates that 7.2 million households will have a network by year's end--up from 5.7 million in 2001--and that 21 million will by 2006.

However, you've also got company if you've tried to set up a network and either failed or only partially succeeded.

Don't get us wrong: Home networks can really help you get the most out of your PCs and peripherals. But no matter what networking-gear Web sites or computer-sales reps may tell you, the technology is neither simple nor foolproof. When we asked PCWorld.com visitors to tell us their networking woes, dozens of them detailed problems ranging from system crashes to PCs that couldn't see each other on the network to ISPs that made network setups problematic.

Some users finally managed to make things work, often with the help of a network-savvy friend or a good networking site (see "Resources"). A few gave up on do-it-yourself and hired an expert to handle their installation--an increasingly common service (see "Keep It Simple: Call In a Professional"). Our take: Where there's a will to network, there's generally a way. But you may have to spend more time or money than you planned. For tips on solving typical problems, see "Cures for Common Networking Headaches."

Telltale Tape

The number of households with two or more PCs is rising along with those that have broadband Net access. That in turn has driven up demand for home networks, as users see the benefit of sharing files, broadband access, and peripherals such as printers (these are the likeliest motives for installing a home network, according to Parks Associates).

But while the need may be reaching mass-market status, the products seem to be trailing behind. Newcomers to networking may be somewhat tech savvy, but they're not the IT pros who used to be networking gear's primary consumers.

"So many of the products are IT-based, and people don't want an IT experience," says Giga Information Group research fellow Rob Enderle. "They want a consumer experience--something that just works."

"It's not nearly as plug-and-play as it should be," agrees Chris Kaminski, a former systems administrator with software and Web development experience who now runs a networking self-help Web site called HomeNetHelp.com.

Additional evidence backs the perception that networking is not yet mass-market friendly. Most vendors and retailers won't comment publicly on networking-equipment return rates (CompUSA says that returns are about average compared with those for other products), but privately a few acknowledge they are high.

"If you go to any of the retailers and look on shelves, you'll see that a lot of stuff has been opened and resealed and put back," Giga's Enderle says, adding that the problem usually isn't due to faulty equipment but to buyer frustration.

The vendors are attempting to respond. Linksys, a major home-networking gear maker, received so many tech support calls from customers last year that it has since increased its tech support staff from about 280 reps to almost 500. Other vendors hope to boost sales and head off support calls by further simplifying installation. Actiontec, for example, has introduced new products it touts as the "easiest home networking kits on the market," with color coding and pictorial guides. Even Microsoft is entering the fray, promising to make home networking a snap with a line of Wi-Fi products due by the holidays.

Myriad Problems

Despite the vendors' efforts, however, numerous hapless home networkers report finding a multiplicity of problems. HomeNetHelp.com's Kaminski says that the most common queries posted on his site's user forums deal with five main issues: networking PCs that run different Windows versions; enabling networked PCs to see each other; making sense of confusing ISP instructions; running apps such as videoconferencing and games through a firewall; and setting up network security.

Users often turn to computer-savvy friends or to professionals for help. Because trouble can arise from so many sources--the networking gear, the operating system, the ISP, other system software--people don't know who to call for technical support. And some users who do call report that tech support reps try to pass the blame elsewhere.

That situation may persist while networking painfully transitions from IT product to consumer product. Standards for networking, cable or DSL access, and the like exist, but these can take you only so far. Faced with so many pieces that need to work together, the industry is unlikely to establish a single interoperability standard anytime soon.

Solutions?

Figuring out how to troubleshoot a home networking problem isn't easy. On her own, JoAnn Kovach, a medical assistant from Zion, Illinois, put in a router and an ethernet network to connect an older PC with a newer one so her visiting children and grandchildren could share her AT&T Broadband Net access. File and printer sharing were no problem, but the broadband connection went down every two days and wouldn't return until she rebooted.

Her router maker told her to consult her ISP. An AT&T rep came to her home but failed to fix the problem, blaming it on an unspecified configuration issue. A friend thought the trouble might be that one system was running Windows 98 and the other Windows XP, but "I thought the whole purpose was to be able to network an older with a newer computer," Kovach says.

Since her router seemed to have difficulty resuming her Internet connection, we tried walking her through configuring its firmware; this helped, but it did not fix the problem. She's still working on it.

Mark Tracy of North Sioux City, Iowa, a telephone sales representative for Gateway Computers, had to enlist a colleague's aid to get file sharing and encryption working on the wireless network he set up between a Gateway laptop and a Gateway desktop using a Linksys router. They finally solved the problems by changing the settings for Windows networking and for the Wired Equivalent Protocol (WEP, Wi-Fi's built-in security). Still, Tracy complains, none of his equipment vendors responded to his request for assistance.

"Gateway [which sold him the router] said it was a Linksys installation technical support question," Tracy recalls. "Linksys said that since I was successfully connecting to the Internet through the AP [access point], it was a Microsoft operating system configuration issue--and of course, Microsoft would be more than happy to help, for a fee."

Call-center coordinator Anthony Gabriel of St. Joseph, Michigan, can't set up his network to share Net access; he thinks his broadband ISP (his cable company) may be the problem. His IP address is one reserved for Network Address Translation, the technology that lets several PCs on a network access the Internet via one external IP address (assigned by the ISP). Some smaller ISPs that have too few external IP addresses use NAT themselves, which can create conflicts for any users who want to set up NAT for their businesses or homes.

Gabriel's ISP, Greene County Cable TV, confirms that it does use NAT to serve its residential clients, but the situation may change soon. The company doesn't support home networks for users on its low-end plan. In fact, many ISPs support third-party products like networking gear only for users who buy the equipment or multiple IP addresses from them. (But that doesn't mean users can't get home networks to work.) As of this writing, Gabriel was considering an ISP switch.

Blake Hansen, an insurance agent from Idaho Falls, Idaho, spent 8 hours trying to set up a simple peer-to-peer network between two systems at his home. "I had the wrong cable, and then it just went from bad to worse," Hansen says. Frustrated by the experience, he chose not to contact his retailer's customer support before calling in a pro.

Net Benefits

Still, even the readers who e-mailed us about their networking problems had generally positive views about home networking.

If you're thinking of installing a home network, don't let the prospect of running into installation hassles dissuade you. But don't count on having a completely trouble-free experience, either. Try to do as much research as possible, invest in newer equipment (which generally is more user-friendly than early home networking products), and give yourself a few hours to read manuals and troubleshoot any problems that may arise. And don't feel embarrassed about asking for help--from the Web, from a friend, or from a paid consultant. Once your network is up and running, you'll be glad you did.

Resources

Check these links, including our how-to guides, for help in setting up home networks.

• How to Set Up Your Home Network
• The No-Hassle Networking Guide
• HomeNetHelp.com
• PracticallyNetworked
• Microsoft Community Newsgroups: Windows XP, Networking and the Web

Cures for Common Networking Headaches

A home network that won't work can be very frustrating, but don't give up. Here, courtesy of HomeNetHelp.com's Chris Kaminski and Linksys product support manager Shannon Lehmann, are some basic troubleshooting steps to try when you're faced with three common problems.

I can't see other PCs on the network. Make sure the workgroup name is the same for all networked PCs. For Windows 98, right-click Network Neighborhood (My Network Places in Windows Me), click the Identification tab, and enter the workgroup name. In Windows 2000, right-click My Computer and select Properties, Network, Identification, Properties. Click the Workgroup radio button, and then enter the name. In Windows XP, right-click My Computer, select Properties, Computer Name, and--if the workgroup name needs to be changed--click Change and then select the Workgroup radio button.

My network adapter doesn't work. Make sure you've properly installed the driver. Windows 98 and Me users must have their Windows installation CD-ROMs handy, or know where the installation files (.cab files) reside on the hard drive (Win XP and 2000 users, don't worry about this). All users must know where the driver files are located on the hardware's installation CD-ROM.

I can't get online. This may be a problem with a gateway/router setting. If so, you should be able to fix it via the device's Web-based firmware. Check your manual for the device's default IP address (it will be in the format 192.168.x.x). Launch a browser and then point it to that address.

Setup routines vary from vendor to vendor, but at some point you should be asked whether you have a dynamic IP address (as most residential users do) or a static IP address. If your broadband ISP uses PPPOE software to log you in automatically via a user ID and password, you should be asked to enter those as well.

Some ISPs check to see whether a connection is coming from the device you first used for access; they do this by checking its MAC identifier (a string of numbers and letters unique to a device). If you buy a router after getting broadband, the router will have a different MAC identifier than the ethernet card you probably used to connect from one PC. To bypass this problem, newer routers include a MAC cloning feature that copies the MAC address from the adapter to the router; otherwise, you may have to call your ISP and inform it of your router's MAC identifier (check with the vendor to determine what it is).

You can also try releasing and renewing your PC's IP address. In Windows 98 and Me, click Start, Run, type winipcfg, and click OK. You'll see a window with IP addressing information and a drop-down list of available adapters. Select your adapter, click Release, and then click Renew. At this point, your PC will seek a new IP number from your ISP. In Windows XP, open Network Connections, right-click the adapter that you're using, and then select Status, Support, Repair. In Windows 2000, select Start, Run, type cmd, select OK, type ipconfig /release_all, press Enter, type ipconfig /renew_all, and press Enter.

For more network troubleshooting, see "Upgrades: Right on the Money."

Keep It Simple: Call In a Professional

If you're too nervous or too busy to take on setting up a home network, you'll be glad to know that it's now easier to find someone who'll do the job for you.

For example, if you buy your networking gear at one of its stores, CompUSA will send a rep to your home (for $99 to $199) to set up either a wireless network or a network with wires that have already been installed. The $99 service will network two PCs for file and printer sharing; the $149 option adds shared broadband access, and the $199 plan lets you connect another PC.

Last fall, Gateway began offering to include wireless-network installation with the necessary hardware for two PCs to share broadband Net access: a base station and a wireless client adapter (the second PC uses a wired connection to the base station's ethernet port). Prices range from $249 for users who also buy broadband access and a laptop with a Wi-Fi adapter to $499 for those who buy just the base station, the adapter, and installation. Since you can get a base station for under $150 and a Wi-Fi adapter for $70 to $80, the $499 package is costly. But if you're buying a Wi-Fi laptop anyway, the $249 package is a good deal.

If your networking needs are more complex--if you want to add devices such as a networkable ReplayTV or an MP3 server, for example--you might want to hire a consultant. HomeNetHelp.com's Chris Kaminski recently founded the FutureHome Guild, a national organization of networking professionals who for $60 to $120 an hour will discuss your home networking plans with you and install the equipment. For basic networking, this service is probably too costly; but it could make sense for upscale users who want to prepare for the coming wave of IP-addressable appliances.