Customize Windows 7 HomeGroup with a new name and a new icon

In a recent blog post, “Remove HomeGroup from Windows Explorer in Windows 7,” I showed you how to remove HomeGroup from the navigation pane in Windows Explorer by disabling the HomeGroup services. Before I did so, I provided you with links to several articles that I wrote extolling the HomeGroup feature in the hopes that after reading them you might begin to see that the HomeGroup feature is a valuable asset to the operating system from both a security and efficiency standpoint. For those of you who decided to keep or to reactivate the Windows 7 HomeGroup as well as for those of you who have always appreciated this new feature, I’ve discovered a few ways that you can customize the HomeGroup networking tool with a couple of registry edits — you can rename it and you can change its icon. Read more.

Remove HomeGroup from Windows Explorer in Windows 7

After last week’s blog post, “Remove Libraries from Windows Explorer in Windows 7,” several readers asked if there was a way to remove HomeGroup from Windows Explorer in Windows 7. Read more.

How do I make Windows 7 HomeGroup content accessible to Vista and XP?

As I explained in “How Do I Create and Configure a Network with Windows 7 HomeGroup?” the HomeGroup feature in Microsoft Windows 7 is an enhanced version of a peer-to-peer workgroup designed to make sharing files and folder easier on a home or small business network. I then showed you how to create and join a HomeGroup with Windows 7.

In “Extend Default Folder Sharing Capabilities in Windows 7 HomeGroup,” I explained how Libraries are used to share folders and files and also described other built-in features that you can use to extend folder sharing capabilities in a Windows 7 HomeGroup. Read more.

Extend default folder sharing capabilities in Windows 7 HomeGroup

In the last edition on the Windows Vista and Windows 7 report, How do I create and configure a network with Windows 7 HomeGroup?, I showed you how to create, configure, and take advantage of a HomeGroup. As I did so, I explained that after you have two or more Windows 7 systems joined to a HomeGroup, you can launch Computer, and expand the HomeGroup section in the Navigation pane in order to see other systems in the HomeGroup. When you do, you can access the shared libraries on any system in the HomeGroup. Read more.

How do I create and configure a network with Windows 7 HomeGroup?

The HomeGroup feature in Windows 7 is essentially a peer-to-peer workgroup/network that has been redesigned to make it simpler for home users to set up a home network. While this is essentially true, there is more to a Windows 7’s HomeGroup feature than meets the eye.

Even though a HomeGroup works like a standard peer-to-peer workgroup, behind the scenes it does in fact share some of the networking functionality of a domain. For example, the computers in a HomeGroup have an inherent machine trust and there are consistent user identities throughout the network. As such, the Windows 7 HomeGroup feature is ideal for a small- to medium-sized business network — despite the name. Read more.