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WINDOWS NETWORK SETTINGS

Note: Although the screens you see have drastically changed under Windows NT, 2K, XP and Vista, the concept is the same with one huge advantage under XP and Vista; there is no need to reboot each time you make a simple network change.

Once the NIC is installed and working properly you need to tell Windows how to use it. There are quite a few possible settings but the more common ones are detailed here.  If you are running a router you can mostly plug in and everything will work.  If you are not running a router, you will have to set some IP addresses.

NETWORK PROPERTIES

Note:  Under Windows XP and Vista there is generally no need to change or add anything!  It is almost all automatic.  The only exception may be the IP address.  But be sure all computers are on the same "workgroup."

Right click the Network Neighborhood (or Control Panel > Network).  

Note: Windows XP is similar but some verbiage and appearance of these individual windows are slightly different.

Identification tab

First and extremely important is the "workgroup name".  All the computers must be in the exact same workgroup! 

When naming the workgroup, it is highly recommend keeping the name short, do not use any spaces or any special characters such as the $, &, /, ?, etc. Also, we suggest all lower case or at least be consistent with case.

Apply these same naming rules to the computer's name also. While it may be temping to use "Steve's Computer", don't! Instead, use a name like; "steve" or better yet use the computer's model and speed. This way, if you change machines, desks or people, the computer name still makes sense.

XP's Work group information is found under the Properties of the My Computer (or Control Panel > System icon) Identification tab.

Adding Network Items

Adapters

During the installation and setup up of your NIC, the Network adaptor should already exist. If not, try running the Add New Hardware Wizard in the Control Panel and/or the NIC setup program.

XP by default automatically loads the needed adapter and TCP/IP protocols.

A few notes when adding items to your network properties:

  • If the Window "cab" files are not loaded on your hard drive (the default is in C:\Windows\Options\Cabs), you will need your Windows CD before proceeding. 
  • When adding protocols, clients or services, click [Add] then select what you want to add and if after adding an item, Windows prompts you to reboot, do it immediately! Do not add another item until after the requested reboot.
  • Do not load more protocols, clients or services than you really need for your network. Each one will consume memory and resources and too many may cause network communication errors.
  • There is certainly no one setting that works! Each computer is slightly different and on top of that, there may be problems due to the variations of the different NICs and other hardware such as scanners and cameras that may cause conflicts (typically conflict with the IRQ). 

 

Clients

Depending on your network you will need to load the "Client for Microsoft…" and/or the "Microsoft Family…". (The Netware client is used exclusively for Novel networks).

XP by default automatically loads the needed client.

 

Protocols

There are a lot of possible protocols but you should be interested in only TCP/IP and NetBeui  but only if needed (see sharing printers later on.)

NetBeui (NWLink/NetBIOS under Windows NT and XP) does not load by default and may be required.  If you cannot see other network computers, load NetBIOS.

If you will be playing games across the network, you may need one other protocol called IPX/SPX but this is not required otherwise.
When everything is loaded, the list should look something like this ->

(Again, even though shown here, the IPX/SPX protocol is not needed).

NOTES: 

  • NetBeui is a security risk and should be installed only if needed!
  • Loading (any) protocol will default to bind (work with) all adapters. So even though you may want NetBeui to bind with the NIC (for the local network), it will automatically bind to the modem as well. If it does, remove it!

IP settings

Just to clarify, a TCP/IP protocol is used for dialup as well as local networks but the settings we are about to discuss are for the NIC binding (LAN) only, not the dialup adapter.

Go to the original network configuration screen and double click the TCP/IP > NIC (or select it then click [Properties]).

Note: It may not be necessary to specify an IP address if your computer is connected to a Router, server or some other device that offers DHCP.  See router below...

Otherwise assign each computer a unique IP address, generally something like 192.168.0.1, 192.168.0.2, etc with a subnet of 255.255.255.0

You may also have to assign the "gateway."  If connected to a router or server, the gateway is that devices IP address.

Under the NIC's TCP/IP properties, the only tab of interest in is "IP Address" where you will click the "Specify an IP Address" button and enter an address for that specific computer.

 

Firewall router settings

You may have to program your firewall for the WAN (Internet.)  Review the documentation that came with the firewall along with the ISP's requirements for specifics but generally the setup is something like this:

  • Access the firewall by using the Internet Browser and typing the firewalls address in the browser's address bar, e.g., 192.168.0.1  which opens set up.
  • If necessary for your ISP, enter the static WAN IP address and/or DNS.
  • Decide if you want to assign each computer their own specific IP address as discussed above or if you want them to "automatically obtain" an address from the firewall and setup the firewall accordingly.  
  • If you chose not to automatically assign IP addresses, you must assign a unique IP address on each computer.
  • Note: If this is a wireless router, we highly recommend setting up a static IP address range and only enough addresses for the number of computers you have.  Allowing for automatic addresses opens the door for someone outside the intended network to connect.
  • You may have to change the NIC's TCP/IP "Gateway" to match your router's address.

 

Services

The only service you really need is the "File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft…" but along with adding this service, you must click [File and Print…] and choose what you want to share.  This process does not automatically share anything; it just sets the operating system so you can share something (if desired).

Before the computers will properly connect, you must Logon to the Network. Make sure you set the Primary Network Logon is "Client for Microsoft Networks". The first time you logon, you are prompted for a user name and password. 

The username must be exactly what was setup in the Network Neighborhood properties and the Windows logon password must match the Network logon password so do not press escape to by pass this first logon! If you want an automatic logon, load and configure TweakUI.

Your network should be ready. The next thing you need to do is actually share your drives, folders and/or printers.

More > Sharing Drives