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Windows 7: HomeGroup Overview

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So far, in our Windows 7 Overview series, we have published the following:

Over the next few weeks we will be adding many more focus items on Windows 7 including Touch, Windows 7 networking and media enhancements. Stay tuned for the ultimate Windows 7 focus from Neowin.net. Here is an overview of HomeGroup in Windows 7.

HomeGroup
Ever wanted to share your music, pictures and documents within your home computers and found the task to be difficult? HomeGroup in Windows 7 will simplify the tasks associated with sharing music, pictures and documents within your home network and Windows 7 PCs. HomeGroup also allows you to share your USB connected printers, if you have a printer in the living room that's shared by HomeGroup it will be automatically installed onto your other HomeGroup enabled PCs. Domain-joined computers can be part of a HomeGroup too.

Creating your HomeGroup
As soon as you setup your network, Windows 7 will prompt you to select the type of location. Once you select Home Network, Windows 7 will start applying the necessary settings for your new network.

The HomeGroup wizard will then prompt you to create your HomeGroup and choose what to share in your HomeGroup.

The wizard then generates a password which can be used to add other computers to your HomeGroup.

Your new HomeGroup is now created and your Pictures, Music, Videos, Printers folders are ready to be shared with other computers when they join this HomeGroup. These folders - Music, Videos, Printers, Pictures - are called as your Libraries in Windows 7. Remember, we haven't yet shared any files as such. Only the network shares have been created so far.

Joining HomeGroup
When your other computer is connected to the same network where you created the HomeGroup (above), Windows 7 will prompt you that there is a HomeGroup available to join.

Once you choose to join, Windows 7 will provide you with information about the HomeGroup on your network

Click Join Now to join to your HomeGroup. You will be prompted to enter the HomeGroup password which was generated during the creation of that HomeGroup

Entering the correct password will let you join the HomeGroup and choose what you want to share

Welcome to your HomeGroup!

Viewing your HomeGroup
You can find your HomeGroup in the Explorer's Navigation Pane (left hand side of the Explorer). You can just click the Windows Explorer icon in the superbar and it will open your Libraries.

You can put any files into the Libraries and share with your HomeGroup. Its that easy!

Media Player will automatically search your HomeGroup for music and will add the files to the Media Player library. You can also search through the libraries of your HomeGroup using explorer's search functionality.

What If I forget my HomeGroup password created?
Yes, the password generated by the wizard is hard to remember (being complex and secure) and you would love to see your password whenever you forget. Windows 7 lets you view or print your password even after creating the HomeGroup in the HomeGroup options.

You can find your HomeGroup options in the Network and Sharing Center or just type 'homegroup' (without the quotes) in your start menu.

HomeGroup was certainly designed for ease and it does stay true to its promise - An easy end-to-end approach to sharing in your Home!

Remember that HomeGroup works only with Windows 7 machines and it does not support Vista or XP.

Comments (39)

billyea - 13 January 2009 - 10:41

What puzzles me is why they can't make this XP or Vista compatible. It sounds like an extension to the Workgroup/Sharing idea, just made much much more intuitive.
Tom W - 13 January 2009 - 10:52

I think it's a little more complicated than that. Also why would they want to back port it, they do want to sell copies of the OS too.
billyea - 13 January 2009 - 10:57

I'm aware of that, but some networks don't all run the same version of 1 OS. It would be easier on the home networking if the family could connect up Vista using the same method, just without Libraries.
Electric Jolt - 13 January 2009 - 11:36

I can understand Windows Vista, but Windows XP isn't a thought really. Windows Vista SP2 should pick up some Windows 7 functionality, and also speed up Windows Vista to somewhere near Windows 7 speed and reliability. But Windows XP will never get anymore features because Microsoft is too busy thinking about planning to cut support for it instead of finishing support for it. I think a lot of features were ported to Windows XP from Windows Vista simply because Microsoft knew the media ruined a chance for Windows Vista, we all know now that the majority actually likes Windows Vista now and those XP Lovers kind of died down. So you won't see Windows Media Player 12 for Windows XP, but for the first time ever, we will see upgrades for Windows Vista, it will be the first Windows Media Player thats the latest that isn't integrated into Windows Vista.

I'm not positive but if they do release Windows Media Player 12 for Windows XP, I will be mad at Microsoft, Windows XP is so old, and if they plan to release a new Windows Media Player for something old, it will look like Windows Media Player 11, ugly. The ports need to stop.
duneworld - 13 January 2009 - 12:11

What about those ppl who are waiting for their XP machine to die before upgrading to the next OS, be it Vista or 7? Should they be punished by being left with old software because they are being conscientious or don't have the money to upgrade their computer(s) every year?
x3lumin8x - 13 January 2009 - 13:51

duneworld said,
What about those ppl who are waiting for their XP machine to die before upgrading to the next OS, be it Vista or 7? Should they be punished by being left with old software because they are being conscientious or don't have the money to upgrade their computer(s) every year?

Than they're SOL. Either keep up with technology or GTFO.
MioTheGreat - 13 January 2009 - 18:23

duneworld said,
What about those ppl who are waiting for their XP machine to die before upgrading to the next OS, be it Vista or 7? Should they be punished by being left with old software because they are being conscientious or don't have the money to upgrade their computer(s) every year?
XP isn't even running the same file sharing protocol or network stack as Vista or 7. I could see this making it to Vista (maybe, but probably not), but absolutely not XP.
duneworld - 13 January 2009 - 19:18

x3lumin8x said,
Than they're SOL. Either keep up with technology or GTFO.

Fair enough.
piercy - 01 September 2009 - 12:58

Electric Bolt said,
Windows Vista SP2 should pick up some Windows 7 functionality, and also speed up Windows Vista to somewhere near Windows 7 speed and reliability.
Speed will not happen. If you see the link below it explains to you the changes they have made in w7 to make it faster. As you will see these are quite in depth OS changes. I am fairly confident they will not be brought to vista.
http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/04/2...erformance.aspx
Bruzeb - 13 January 2009 - 11:07

The important question here is, how many computers can join a homegroup?
Magallanes - 13 January 2009 - 16:05

Good question. In xp is around 10 "concurrent users" (20 on IIS), so if you need more account then you must update to windows server or you must choose to use a third party software. In my case, i switched over Apache web/ftp, so i can connect thousand of concurrent users using a cheap xp license.
+DrCheese - 13 January 2009 - 11:17

This will really come into it's own when Windows Home Server supports it. I'm guessing it's not going to be added to that until the next major version tho.
zeke009 - 13 January 2009 - 13:50

DrCheese said,
This will really come into it's own when Windows Home Server supports it. I'm guessing it's not going to be added to that until the next major version tho.
I was thinking the same thing about Home Server while I was reading this. I might get one within a year and just how well it will tie in to the HomeGroup is something I'll be very interested in.
Electric Jolt - 13 January 2009 - 11:42

They can't make this a feature of Windows Home Server, AFAIK Windows Home Server runs Windows Server 2003. Windows Home Server will need a new release, and it will need to be based on Windows Server 2008 R2. If it just has Windows Server 2008, it will prove this was ported to Windows Vista. Remember that Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 go together, and now all future releases do this too, in fact, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be the first to be released at the same time. So Windows Home Server will have to jump up 2 releases of Windows Server to get this feature and to take advantage of it in Windows Home Server.
Ci7 - 13 January 2009 - 15:05

Windows 7 Home server Edition FTW !
LOL
este - 13 January 2009 - 13:57

So when you select what you want to be shared (music, photos, documents etc.) your computer will be scanned once joining the Homegroup ? and all those compatable files for the types you have listed will become viewable on the other connected machines ? or is it only what you select to be added there ?
JonathanMarston - 13 January 2009 - 14:09

It doesn't scan for files to share, it shares whatever you've added to the selected libraries.
este - 13 January 2009 - 15:54

Thanks, just wanted to make sure.
aarste - 13 January 2009 - 18:45

Not had a chance to try 7 yet, but how exactly are files shared? Dragged to the homegroup (thus making a copy?) if so, ugh when it comes to large files. Or can links be made in the homegroup to the files in question without moving/copying them?
Memnochxx - 13 January 2009 - 20:44

When you join or create a homegroup you select which Libraries you want to share. All files you add to those Libraries will be shared on the Homegroup. You can customize any file/folder to be shared or not shared by simply clicking the Share To button in the toolbar. Why would any files be copied? This has never been the case before, and it isn't now.