Getting Started with Microsoft Personal Web Server

Personal Web Server transmits information in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) pages by using the Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP). It provides most of the functionality of Microsoft Internet Information Server, including the ability to:

• Publish Web pages on the Internet or over a LAN on an intranet.
• Support Microsoft ActiveX programs.
• Transmit or receive files by using the FTP service.

Creating a Web site on your own computer

After you install Personal Web Server, you need to complete several steps.

1. By default, your home directory is C:\Webshare\Wwwroot. Copy any HTML files you want on your site to this folder.
2. Test your Personal Web Server installation.

After you have logged in, if Personal Web Server does not start, you can start it as follows.

To start Personal Web Server

1. In Control Panel, double-click the Personal Web Server icon.
2. On the Startup tab, click Start.

Tip

• To have Personal Web Server start automatically when you restart your computer, select the check box labeled Run The Web Server Automatically At Startup.

After you have started your server, it is a good idea to test it by using Internet Explorer to view the files in your home directory.

To test a server connected to the Internet

1. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer on a computer that has an active connection to the Internet.
   Note
   • If the computer does not have a direct Internet connection, you must connect to your Internet service provider (ISP) by using Dial-Up Networking. For more information, see Windows Help.
     It is recommended that you use a different computer, if one is available, from the server you are testing.
2. Type the address for the home directory of your new server.
   The address will be http:// followed by the name of your serverand the path of the file you want to view. (Note the forward slashes.) For example, if your server is registered in the Domain Name System (DNS) as www.company.com and you want to view the file Homepage.htm in the root of the home directory, you would type:

   http://www.company.com/homepage.htm

   Then press ENTER. The page should appear on the screen.
   

Note

• If you do not know the name of your computer, double-click the Network icon in Control Panel, and click the Identification tab.

To test a server on your intranet

1. Make sure your computer has an active network connection. To do this, double-click the Network Neighborhood icon, and then make sure you can see other computers in the same workgroup.
2. Make sure that the WINS server service (or other name-resolution method) is functioning. To do this, at a different computer on the network, click Start, point to Find, and click Computer. Type the name of the computer running Personal Web Server, and then click Find. The computer should appear in the list.
3. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer.
4. Type the address for the home directory of your new server.
   The address will be http:// followed by the Windows Networking name of your server and the path of the file you want to view. For example, if your server is registered with the WINS server as Admin1 and you want to view the file Homepage.htm in the root of the home directory, you would type:

   http://admin1/homepage.htm

   Then press ENTER. The page should appear on the screen.

Tip

• If the page does not appear on the screen, go back to the server. On the server, click Start, click Run, and then type:

  Winipcfg

  Write down the Internet Protocol (IP) address that Winipcfg.exe reports, and then test the connection by using the IP address instead of the computer name. For example, if the IP address for Admin1 in the previous example is 123.45.6.78, you would type:

  http://123.45.6.78/homepage.htm

  Then press ENTER. The page should appear on the screen.