If you have been following along this week I am sure you are sick of seeing me show you how to get to the Network & Sharing Center console, but remember some people just get to this one article first

1. Click on your start menu and right click on Networking and choose Properties
   
2. Right above your graphical mini map you will see the words “View Full Map”, go ahead and click on that
   

   View Full Map

3. Once you click it another Window will pop up and you will see a message “Windows is creating a network map”
   

   Creating Network Map

4. Next you will see a topology layout of your network
   

   Network Topology

How the Network map works is by using Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD) and for computers or devices to respond properly they need to have the LLTD responder loaded.

As you can see the Xbox 360 got a update that gave it LLTD functionality. Unfortunately Windows XP machines do not have the LLTD responder by default and that is why you see the two computers at the bottom. This was fixed in Microsoft KB 922120, you can download the responder from there and install it on your XP machines.

Now if you move your pointer over one of the devices on the map you will see its IP address and also its MAC address. Very helpful if you are troubleshooting or trying to isolate a machine quick and easy.

Isolate Machine On The Network

If you need greater information on the device you can right click on them in the network map and you will have several options including enabling or disabling and getting the properties

Device Context Menu

The properties can give you access to the devices manufacturer website and model numbers

Network Device Properties

You can also connect to the machines right from the Map by clicking on them, though if they require authentication you will still have to provide those credentials.

Also if you are connected to multiple networks through different NICs then you can use the dropdown menu to see your other network maps.

NIC Dropdown Menu

One limitation that must be noted is that the LLTD protocol is not routable so for this to work all the devices have to be on the same subnet.

Though the Network Map looks a little bit like fluff on the surface, as you closer at the functionality you can see that it adds real value when working on a home network for users that might not be as tech savvy as some.

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Lets walk through the different features and options of the public folder.

The public folder is shared by everyone with a user account on the same PC by default. Also by default access to the Public folder from the network is turned off and needs to be enabled. Luckily it is a very easy process and it starts by going to the Network & Sharing Console. There are many ways to get to the console as you can read in that article I am just going to use one randomly so lets go.

1. Click on the Start Menu and right-click on Network and choose Properties
2. In the center pane of the console look for Public folder sharing, and click the arrow to the right to bring up the different options you have.
   
   
3. Choose the option you want the choices are:
   • Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open files
   • Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open, change, and create files
   • Turn off sharing (people logged on to this computer can still access this folder)

   Once you make your change click Apply
   

   Note: Depending on UAC and security settings you may be asked for Administrator credentials.

4. An additional level of control on this share is exercised by the setting “password protected sharing” just below the Public Folder Share setting in the Network & Sharing console. This setting only allows access to shares by using local account credentials. If you attempt to connect to any share remotely it will ask for a username/password from the computer the share resides on. This is an additional layer of security and it is really up to you if you need it or not. The only options are on or off. Choose which you want and click Apply
   

After that is done you should be good to go for setup. Now lets get into the different parts of the public folder. As always there are many ways to get to things in Vista I am going to pick one that I feel is easier.

1. Click on Start Menu and then click on Computer
2. You will see it in the upper left pane under Favorites, there is a Public Folder, go ahead and click it
   
   
3. Now in the right pane you will see all the various sub folders for the Public folder. This can help you keep things organized easier.
   

Most of these are self explanatory, but there are two I want to touch on specifically so you are clear on what they do.

• Favorites – If you place Internet Explorer shortcuts in this folder they will be accessible to everyone on the PC.
• Public Desktop – Placing a document or shortcut into this folder will make it appear on everyones desktop on that PC that logs in.

All in all a very useful tool for Vista and home network users. I would recommend that you only put documents and files into the Public File Share that you are comfortable with almost anyone having access to in case of a misconfiguration. If you have need to share something with someone in particular, it would be better to make a private share and place it there with security.

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• Home
• Work
• Public Location

Not many people realize the ramifications of your choices when you make that first click. The biggest one being whether Network Discovery is turned on our not. Now the cry from the masses of “So?” is deafening

And really it isn’t a big deal unless you want to connect to someone else’s computer quick and easy or have them connect to you. The security behind this is simple, when you are at home for example you don’t mind the fact that your computer broadcasts its existence to the other devices on your network. Now on the other hand if you are at your local Starbucks enjoying your favorite caffeinated beverage while surfing your favorite sites you do not want your computer announcing your presence to everyone who is also on a computer there.

Now every setting has its default and here it is:

• Home – Network Discovery On
• Work – Network Discovery On
• Public Location – Network Discovery Off

I am connected to my home network so we can go in and see the discovery of all the devices on my network.

1. Go to the Start Menu and then go to Network
2. After clicking on Network you will see there is quite a bit of information available for most devices:
   

Now just because there are default behaviors it doesn’t mean that you can not override them when you want to. To override them for specific networks heres what you do:

1. Go to Network & Sharing Center in the control panel
   
   
2. Look in the Sharing and discovery section, click the arrow to expand the section Network Discovery
   
   
3. Choose the radio button you want the setting to be and then click Apply

Thats it you have now overridden the defaults. What’s that? You only want to change it for a specific network and not for your whole computer? Ok, we can do that too… sometimes you people are a little pushy

Ok so we are still in the Network and Sharing Center… if not just type it into your Start Menu search bar and it should jump up and bite you.

Now in the Network & Sharing center we are going to focus on the part at the top that shows you what network you are connected to.

1. Click on Customize and you will be able to change several things about this network
   
   
2. Go ahead and set your network type (remember Private means everything is open, and Public means everything is closed) and change the name or network icon and click Next. This will bring you to a summary of what you just changed.
   

Note: If your computer is a member of a domain you will not be able to change these network settings, the network administrator will set them up by default.

Well thats about it for Network Discovery, as always you can leave questions and comments below!

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• Home Basic
• Home Premium
• Ultimate

If you want to go in and take a look there are a few ways to get there.

• Double click the Network and Sharing Center icon in the Control Panel
• Right-click the Network item on the Start Menu and choose Properties
• Choose Network in the Start menu, and then click the Network and Sharing button from the context menu.

Ok so whats it actually look like? Here you go:

This console on the left has a list of tasks that can be done from here, and also in the center pane has a lot of information on the current networking settings.

From the left menu you can do the following:

• View Computers and Devices
• Connect to a network
• Manage wireless networks
• setup a connection or network
• Manage network connections
• Diagnose and repair

I will be going over most of these in upcoming articles.

In the center pane you will find the following information:

• Mini-map of your current network connection (with a option to see the full network map)
• Information on your current network (Access type and if wireless signal strength)
• Network Discovery On/Off
• File Sharing On/Off
• Public Folder Sharing On/Off
• Printer Sharing On/Off
• Password protected sharing On/Off
• Media Sharing On/Off

Again this is just an overview and future articles will go more in depth.

For now this has been a quick overview of what to expect and where to start when trying to share a file or share a printer in Vista or when diagnosing a Vista Networking Problem.

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Ok lets get into making the changes already!

Note: This change requires making modifications to the registry. If you are wary of doing this then I suggest you hold off. I and this website will not be held accountable for any damage done while modifying your registry.

1. Go to the start menu and type regedit, and launch the Registry Editor, if you have UAC enabled click “Allow”
2. Navigate to the following Registry Key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USERS\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM
3. Create a new DWORD (32-bit) entry and name it Max3DWindows
   
   
4. Set the Dword value to the max number of windows you want open. For low end machines 3-5 windows should be good while higher end machines can have 10 without issues.
   
5. Click Ok and then exit the Registry Editor.

After rebooting you can test the change by having multiple windows open and using Windows key+TAB.

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This article will put those administrative tools in Vista at your fingertips through the Start Menu.

1. Right-Click on the Start Button, choose Properties
   
2. From the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window click on the Smart Menu tab, then click on Customize.
   
   
3. Scroll down in the menu and you will see a entry for System administrative tools. Change the radio button to Display on the All Programs menu and the Start menu. Click Ok twice to complete the action.
   

Now all the administrative tools are at your fingertips with a few mouse clicks.

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To restore the scirpt and icon do the following:

1. Open Wordpad and copy in the following text:[Shell]
   Command=2
   IconFile=explorer.exe,3
   [Taskbar]
   Command=ToggleDesktop
2. Now save the file in the following location:%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\InternetExplorer\Quick Launchand with the name Show Destop.scfNote: The %UserProfile% is a variable that designates where the users profile resides. For most this will be C:\Users\username but if you want to know for sure go to a command prompt and use the set userprofile command which will return the correct path.

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NOTE : This post discusses changing your registry directly. This can cause your computer to become a very expensive paper weight if done incorrectly. Use the instructions cautiously as I take no responsibility for any inability someone might have to not follow simple instructions. You have been warned.

With our warning out of the way lets get started. As we can see I have a very crowded System Tray:

Ok here we go:

1. Open registry by typing regedit at the start menu:
   

   NOTE: You may have to verify through UAC if you have it enabled.

2. Navigate to the key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
   
   
3. Add a new DWORD value called NoTrayItemsDisplay by right clicking on Explorer, selecting New, DWORD (32-bit) Value
   
   
4. Double click on the DWORD NoTrayItemsDisplay and set the value to 1.
   
   
5. Exit the Registry Editor and Reboot your computer.

There you have it after reboot you will have a much less cluttered system tray:

If there are programs that are ACTIVE in the system tray then this will not hide them. This will only set all items in the system tray to hide when inactive.

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Very simple to do this just follow along:

1. Go to Control Panel, then choose the User Account applet.
2. Click on Change your picture link
   
   
3. You will see the preinstalled pictures and the ability to browse for your own
   
4. Choose the picture you want, hit Ok a few times and your done!

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I think this is a great move by Microsoft as the three rings error has garnered quite a bit of negative press from bloggers and console owners. This new policy should help some of the fears. As a 360 owner myself, I always read the stories about powering up one day and getting the red light error with a tinge of loathing that one day I will face the same consequence and the rather hefty amount I invested in my gaming time will be a waste.

You can read the full press release

Comments from Peter Moore

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