Troubleshooting a home network
Troubleshooting a home network is a simple task that can easily over complicated by techincal jargon. This guide will provide a little network support and take you through a few simple steps to help you get your home/office network up and running without any hassle.Cables
Make sure your network cables (Ethernet cable) are plugged in they have large telephone like plugs on the end call RJ45 connetors typically larger than telephone plugs (RJ11) these connect your computer to your broadband router/modem. You may have a USB broadband modem, check to make sure its plugged in securely to USB port in your computer.Router/Modem
Make sure your broadband router/modem is switch on, if its on check the lights on it you should one light for ADSL and one for Internet, make sure the ADSL filter is plugged in to your BT line box correctly.Network Names
Make sure all the computers in your network are trying to connect to the same network. Make sure the network name is the same on all your computers, Windows defaults to WORKGROUP or HOME depending what version you are using.Other issues
Above are the basics to check, there could be any number of other issues causing network problems if you have gone through the above.If you have no internet access check with your service provider (ISP) they may be able to help with your internet connection username and passwords. Most home setups are done automatically by the broadband router and network addresses such IP address and DNS address are handled by the router using DHCP (Dynamic Hosts Configuration Protocol) if you have opted for a manual setup make sure that you have given all your network devices a different IP address and that DNS addresses are correct and that you have specified your routers IP address as the gateway address.
