Network name

How does XP pro know the name of my network? During installation I always had to type over the default "workgroup" now it already knows the name of my network. Where does it get it from? Thank you in advance.

The network name comes from the SSID (or Service Set Identifier) which is set on your LAN router. Once your computer connects to the network, the router usually broadcasts the SSID, which lets you know which network you are connected to. A workgroup is slightly different and does not directly relate to the network you are connected to. A workgroup on an existing LAN network allows all those users part of the workgroup to share files/printers etc. Once you've set your workgroup name it stays the same regardless of which network you are connected to.

Nahumi, thank you for your knowledgeable and quick response. Ok, I guess I should be asking, how does XP pro know what is the name of the "workgroup" that all the other computers are using? It does not default to "workgroup", but already has the real name in it during initial install and I do not have to type over default "workgroup" any more. Where did it get it from, if I did not tell it? I know this must sound like a very trivial question, but it is key to my understanding what is happening to my computers. Thank you in advance.

Hmm, I see what you mean. I'm not quite sure how to answer that. From what I know, when Windows XP does a clean install it will normally set a default Workgroup name. Usually that's either Workgroup or MSHOME. If you're doing a clean install, (as in formatting the drive and installing Windows XP from scratch), then theoretically it should not have the files available to automatically set the Workgroup name. Also, I am fairly sure that connected computers on the network do not broadcast the Workgroup name, because that would create a security risk. So unless you're doing a Repair Installation, or anything other than a clean install, I'm really not sure why XP would already know what the Workgroup name was. Did you happen to have any USB devices attached when you installed XP Pro?

Nahumi, again thanks for your knowledgeable feedback. Yes, it is a mystery to me also. I always had to type over "workgroups" to connect to the other computers, but now I was surprised that XP Pro had the name of the other computers workgroup already in it after clean install from the original disk. By clean install, I mean I restriped, low format and verified, then mounted the partition and formatted it. I then reinstalled XP PRO from original installation disk. After this, I was surprised that XP pro already had the name of the other computers workgroup in it. On all other reinstalls like this, I had to type over the XP pro default "workgroup". How can this be happening? No usb devices were attached during reinstall of XP PRO. Also, how do you stop XP PRO from turning off its firewall? On original install described above, the first thing I did was turn on its firewall manually, since it comes configured with the firewall off. I then rechecked it to make sure it was on. Then during the hour it was taking to activate this new install I rechecked the firewall and XP PRO had turned it off all by itself. I know other programs turn off XP PRO firewall, but at this time XP PRO was the only software loaded in the computer. I ran a CHKDSK at that time and it reported errors. This is on a computer with all hardware intact including hard drives and memory. It is software not hardware that is doing this. How and how do I fix it? If anyone has any insight into this, please speak freely. This has been happening basically on all my computers since Christmas and I really need to fix them.Thank you in advance.