Get details about a computer

This is the computer's friendly name.

For information about adding or changing this name, see Give a computer a better name.

An easy-to-remember name for a computer, device, or folder of shared files used in Network Magic. Friendly names make things in your network easier to identify (for example, Photo Printer or a folder named Vacation Photos). It can indicate where a computer is in your home (for example, Kitchen Computer)--or, it can simply be a fun name (for example, Groucho). When you give a computer a friendly name, the computer keeps its computer name. For example, the same computer can have both the computer name "CDE-12345admin" and the friendly name "John's Computer."

For example, Workstation or Laptop.

With Net2Go, the information that Network Magic displays here can identify the Net2Go host.

This is another name for a computer connected to a network. This term is used to help distinguish between a computer and a server.

This Network Magic feature allows you to access selected shared folders when away from home through the Web, using a popular Web browser. Examples of what you can do include showing relatives photos of your family and transferring files between the network and a computer outside the home.

This is the computer that has the simple Web site you use with Net2Go. When you connect to the network to access shared folders, this is the computer to which you connect.

This indicates whether the computer has Network Magic installed and running (active).

Active includes the Network Magic version number.

This is the computer name, which is different from the Network Magic friendly name.

For information about why giving your computer a friendly name is a good idea, see Give a computer a better name.

A name that uniquely identifies a computer on a network. With Network Magic, a computer has two names: a computer name and a friendly name.

An easy-to-remember name for a computer, device, or shared folder in Network Magic.

This indicates whether the computer is connected to your network (online or offline).

Network Magic shows the status for other computers, and not for the computer you are using to check details.

An online computer or device is turned on and connected to the network. For the Net2Go Web site, online means it is accessible on the Web.

An offline computer or device can be turned off or disconnected from the network. For the Net2Go Web site, offline means it is not accessible on the Web.

This appears if the computer is using a wireless (Wi-Fi) connection to the network. This includes the following:

The wireless signal strength (Excellent, Very Good, Good, or Poor)

A bar graph that illustrates this signal strength

If you are experiencing a poor quality wireless signal, there are several possible sources of the problem. For information, see these recommendations.

You can see this detail for the computer you are currently using, and but not for another computer in your network that is wirelessly connected. This detail does not appear for computers using Windows Me.

A popular term for 802.11 wireless networks. Wi-Fi is short for wireless fidelity.

This shows the name and model of the network adapter the computer is using to connect to your network.

This detail does not appear for computers using Windows 98 SE or Windows Me.

A board, card, or other device that connects your computer to a network. Also known as an adapter card or a network interface card (NIC).

This shows the speed of the computer's connection to your network, in Mbps.

A measurement of data transfer speed, equal to one million bits. Mbps is an abbreviation for megabits per second.

This wireless network name (SSID) appears if the computer is using a wireless (Wi-Fi) connection to the network.

This detail does not appear for computers using Windows 98 SE or Windows Me.

A name that identifies a wireless network. SSID is an abbreviation for Service Set IDentifier.

A popular term for 802.11 wireless networks. Wi-Fi is short for wireless fidelity.

This is the computer's IP address and subnet mask.

In a typical home network, your computer's IP address is in the range 192.168.X.X (where X is a number from 1 through 254). Typically, your router assigns a computer this IP address, using DHCP.

This is a private IP address, compared to the public IP address that Network Magic displays for your Internet connection. For more information, see Get details about your Internet connection.

A number that identifies a computer or device connected to a network or to the Internet (for example, 192.168.0.1). IP is an abbreviation for Internet Protocol.

A type of IP address that splits networks into smaller groups (for example, 255.255.0.0).

A protocol that dynamically assigns IP addresses in a network. DHCP is an abbreviation for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.

This is the MAC address for the computer's network adapter.

A unique number assigned by a manufacturer to a device (for example, a network adapter) to identify it. MAC is an abbreviation for media access control.

A board, card, or other device that connects your computer to a network. Also known as an adapter card or a network interface card (NIC).

This is the computer's operating system (for example, Microsoft Windows XP Home or Microsoft Windows XP Professional).

With Windows, SP means "service pack." A service pack contains a variety of updates to the Windows operating system. Service packs are identified by number. For example, if Network Magic shows SP2 after the Windows version, it means the computer has service pack 2.

The processor information includes the manufacture and model (for example, Intel Pentium 4), and the processor's speed, in gigahertz (GHz).

The brains of a computer. Also known as a central processing unit (CPU) or central processor.

This is the amount of memory that the computer has, with the amount shown in megabytes (MB).

This is also known as random access memory (RAM).

This is the number of Network Magic shared folders that the computer has.

To learn about sharing, see Share music, photos, and files.