Change Network location from Public to Private in Windows 8.

1
by shelzmike
Steps
I made the leap to Windows 8 a couple of weeks ago and for the most part I love it (even
without a touch screen and in fact probably because I don't have a touch screen). Anyhow,
everything works great except for a few minor things here and there and one of those
problems was I could no longer get my shared printers on our corporate LAN to work any
longer. Come to find out with some searching it is because the network location for my LAN
was set to PUBLIC and not PRIVATE.
I was confused because this was an upgrade install and I thought it carried over all of my
settings. Apparently not all Windows 7 settings play well with Windows 8.
Easy, I thought. Just need to go into Network and sharing center, click the link that says
"Public" under the network name and be on my way. But wait a minute, there was no link
embedded in the word Public. After quite a long time searching for an answer, it sort of fell in
my lap and was a simple solution. Simple in actually implementing it, not so much when it
comes to figuring out what the solution was.
So, if you are faced with this issue, here is the need-to-know on the subject.
Basically in Windows 8 you do not get a prompt for Public, Work, or Home when you
connect to a new network (at least not that I have seen and this is what tripped me up).
Instead, you get the question of "Do you want to turn on sharing" or something to that effect.
Not thinking, I chose no, which caused this issue.
So here goes....
1 This is what you are faced with when you look at Network & Sharing
Center
.

2 Left-Click on your Network Icon in the Active Icons

.

3 On the new Windows 8 Fly-out Shortcut menu, Right-Click Your

Network, Then Left-Click 'Turn Sharing on or off'
. This can be done for both Ethernet and Wireless connections by the way.
4 ThenIf Select your desired option.
you want a Public Network, select "No, don't turn on..." and if you want a Private
. Network, select "Yes, turn on sharing...
5 Now all is well in the Network and sharing center.
.

Conclusion
As I went back and looked, I realized that it was very "user friendly" in terms of explaining exactly
what each setting meant; however, I am an IT guy...I don't read that stuff! (well, maybe sometimes, but
still). While it may seem like an easy fix, we all know that we tend to overlook the easiest solutions. So
before you start reinstalling drivers and OS's, try this first.