Setting up network - run wizard or not?

Leave the old connections (probably the wired ethernet connections) alone. You can add as many connections as you find useful in XP. W98SE limits you to 4 network connections max. XP includes Wireless Zero Config which will create the connection for you. W98SE requires that you install a driver and client manager to setup the wireless connection.

The instructions for setting up a wired or wireless LAN usually arrive with the router. You didn't specify what maker and model router you've purchased, so I can't point to the specific instructions. In general, there's not much you need to do to install the router. The WAN(internet) port on the router goes to the cable modem. Set the WAN connection type to DHCP.

There's no wizard or magic incantations necessary to get the client computers to work. Start with a wired (CAT5) cabled connection. Make sure the computers are set to get their IP addresses from the network (DHCP). It should just work.

Wireless is considerably more complex and will require that you disclose the maker and model number of your wireless router.

So then I would have two connections using the same ethernet adapter - the Local Area Connection and whatever the new LAN connection is called. Does that work? Do I need to at least disable the old one?

Would I use that wireless wizard even for the XP computer that will always be directly wired to the router? There appears to be another wizard for wired networks. Well, maybe either would work.

I haven't quite pinned that down yet. But I'm looking at something called Buffalo.

Yeah. After many installation misadventures on Windows stuff over the years, I've just become paranoid about any new installation - software or hardware. So I try to understand as much as possible about it before I start.

Thanks for the help.

No. On XP you would have one icon under: Control Panel -> Network for each "interface". One for ethernet and one for wireless. There may be others (IEEE 1394, IRDA, etc). If your XP something or other machine has a wireless device, the manufacturers install script or Wireless Zero Config will supply the necessary drivers and the wireless icon.

Sorry, but I never have used the wizard and do not plan do start doing so now. If you insist on using the wizard, you might want to check with the wireless device vendors instructions as it's probably un-necessary.

You must like wizards. They have their place.

I'm guessing you're looking at: Control Panel -> Wireless Network Setup Wizard This is NOT what you want. It's for seting up a floppy or CF card used for generating a client setup for Windoze Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). Do NOT run it. Here's how it goes.

I've recently been playing with some of their products. Other than some of the usual advertising hype (i.e. MIMO performance without actually supporting MIMO features), I like what I see.

Paranoia is good. Before you attack any installation, create a restore point so that you can put the mess back if it fails. Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore

I guess what's confusing to me is that even though the current direct connection from the desktop XP to the modem will instead go through the router, that connection will still be wired. There's no wireless adapter or second NIC there. So it just seems that I should be making any changes to the existing Local Area Connection rather than creating a new connection. But I guess the router docs will explain all that.

Only if they work.

That's it. My eye went right to it.

Now you see? This is why I'm paranoid. I thought the Wireless Network Setup Wizard should be used to set up a wireless network. Silly me.

Oh I do better than that. I clone the entire partition. Just in case.

Thanks very much, Jeff. Particularly the wizard insight. I really don't know if the ICS thing would ever have dawned on me before it was too late.

On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:50:09 -0600, Peabody wrote in :

That _is_ a network even though there are only two devices on it. Windows XP doesn't have Network Neighborhood -- the closest equivalent is My Network Places (which combines all networks). Check the System Tray (lower right corner of Task Bar) and you should see the wired network adapter (unless it's been hidden).

If the cable modem is configuring your network adapter by DHCP, you probably only need to move the cable from the cable modem to a LAN port of the router, which then connects to the cable modem from its WAN/Internet port with another cable.

Connect by cable to another LAN port on the router, and make sure the wired connection is configured for DHCP (the default).

Microsoft has some very good documents on setting up Microsoft Networking. See wikis below for links, and lots of non-Microsoft resources.

On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 23:04:12 -0600, Peabody wrote in :

No -- you move the cable from the cable modem to the router, so still one connection.

No, only for wireless connections.

Good stuff. Recommended.

See the wikis below.

On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 07:46:52 -0600, Peabody wrote in :

Correct -- just change the wired connection.

They really do help.

That's right. Jeff was confused about your XP machine.

You don't need ICS.

I have the icon in the System Tray, and I see My Network Places in Windows Explorer (nowhere else), but there's nothing in there.

Ok. I just thought that in order to access other computers on the LAN, there would be something that let me choose which computer I wanted to exchange files with. Will the other local computers show up in My Network Places automatically when the physical connections to the router are in place? I don't have to "set up" a network beyond the way it is now (for file sharing, I mean - I can see that internet access would not require any changes)?

Ok, I give up. I'm confused too. I'm probably making this harder than it is. I'll just plug it all in, power up, and see what happens.

On Tue, 28 Nov 2006 16:49:15 -0600, Peabody wrote in :

There won't be unless it finds Microsoft Network shares. The cable modem doesn't have any of those.

You are checking Help and Support _before_ asking questions here -- right?

They will _if_ discovery is turned on (as it is by default), and _if_ no personal firewalls are in the way, and _if_ any shares are available.

That depends on how your machines are configured now.

Use Help and Support to find setup instructions for File and Printer Sharing, which should answer most of the questions you've been asking.

Yes, but I don't have it set to go outside my computer. But I find that to be remarkably unhelpful on many things. For example, yesterday I was looking at something that said to click on the network connection in question and then click on Tasks. Well, I can't find Tasks anywhere. Not from any menu pull-down, not from right-clicking. So, you know, that's not helpful or supportive. I find this a lot. It's as though the H&S was writtten for some version of XP other than the one I'm using (MCE2005).

But the point of your question is well taken. I just need to try it and see what happens. I suspect that most of the things I don't understand will work fine whether I understand them or not.

On Wed, 29 Nov 2006 08:32:32 -0600, Peabody wrote in :

That prevents you from accessing the Knowledge Base and online articles, which can be very helpful.