How to Make a Home Game Server

A spare computer can help alleviate some big multiplayer game problems.

There's nothing better than a night spent gaming with your friends, and there's nothing worse than when it goes wrong. You can spend hours on your computer, tweaking every setting to try to get your games to run smoothly. But when it comes to multiplayer, it's best to have a dedicated server. A dedicated server is an extra computer that runs multiplayer games, and people can connect to it. Having one can take a lot of stress from your computer, and make the difference between a great night with your friends and a long night of troubleshooting.

Things You'll Need

• Spare computer
• Local area network
• Dedicated server program

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Instructions

Setting Up the Server

• 1
  Find an out-of-the-way place to put your spare computer.
• 2
  Install Windows on the spare computer.
• 3
  Connect the spare computer to your local area network by plugging an ethernet cable from the computer to your router.

Finding the IP Address

• 4
  Open the Start menu on the spare computer. Use the search bar or click the "search" button and look for "Command Prompt." Click the program name to run it.
• 5
  Type "ipconfig" into the Command Prompt. Find the line "IPv4 Address" and write down the number next to it.
• 6
  Keep the number somewhere close to your personal computer. If any game asks you to connect to an "IP Address" in order to join, type in the number you wrote down.

Starting a Dedicated Server

• 7
  Decide on a multiplayer PC game you want to play, and install it on the spare computer.
• 8
  Find the "Dedicated Server" program that comes with the game. If the game doesn't have a "Dedicated Server" program, run the game and start a LAN Multiplayer match.
• 9
  Run the game on your home computer and connect to the multiplayer match through the game's multiplayer menu or by typing in the IP address of the spare computer. Other people can join the game by doing the same.

Tips & Warnings

• On the spare computer, installing any version of Windows will work, but XP or newer is recommended.
• The spare computer's IP Address will be similar to "192.168.100.1."
• To keep games online, you may keep the spare computer running as long as you can. However, it is recommended you shut down the spare computer every so often to prevent overheating.