Home Networking: The Missing Manual

Using Dialing Direct

To set up your home PC to make it ready for access from the road, you first must prepare it to answer calls. Then you need to set up the laptop to dial out.

Setting Up the Home PC

If your PC at home has its own private phone line—the lucky thing—here's how to prepare it for remote access.

1. Choose Start → Control Panel. In the Control Panel window, double-click Network Connections.

   You see the icons for the various network connections you've created.

2. In the task pane at the left side of the window, click "Create a new connection."

   As you might have predicted, something called the New Connection Wizard appears (Figure 9-1, top).

3. Click Next. On the next screen, click "Set up an advanced connection," and then click Next.

   Now the Advanced Connections Options screen appears.

4. Ensure that the "Accept incoming connections" option is selected (Figure 9-1, middle). Then click Next.

   Now you're shown a list of the communication equipment your PC has— including its modem.

   

   Figure 9-1. The New Connection Wizard is the key to setting up direct dialing. To set it up, you answer its questions once on the home-base computer, and again on the laptop (or whatever machine you'll use to dial in). Top:The welcome screen. Middle: The all-important "Accept incoming connections" option on the Advanced Connection Options screen (which is what makes your PC answer the phone) Bottom: The User Permissions ...