I have a small home network with 3 computers. I was wondering if i should designate one computer as a server. I have a computer that i think is one, its a Micron and it has dual pentium processors 200mhz each. Like i said i think it is one. But would it be neccessary to do it, and if it would be how would I go about doing it? Any comments would be appreciated.

Any computer can be a file server (all it needs is a hard disk and an NIC). To save files on a computer across the network, just leave it on for that purpose. If you can access its files in Windows, it is networked. There is your file server. The only reason to dedicate one PC solely for filesharing is to handle heavy loads by mutiple parties simultaneously. You cannot achieve that need with 3 PCs (unless of course, you are pirating software or running a spam service). Of course, there are people who will tell you they have a file server, but this is really just a PC they use exclusively for storing data across the network. Just like a web server, it is used for one purpose so has earned the title "server".

One other good thing about having a computer disignated as a file server is if you can get everyone to save their files there, it makes for easier backups. Larry