Windows XP Networking

Windows XP Networking

Introduction....................................................................................................................... 1
Connecting to a Wired Network ...................................................................................... 2
Physical Connection........................................................................................................ 2
Checking Hardware Status.............................................................................................. 3
Internet Protocol Settings................................................................................................ 9
Ipconfig /release and /renew ......................................................................................... 11
Negotiating Speed and Duplex ..................................................................................... 13
Connecting to a Wireless Network ................................................................................ 15
Wireless and Windows Service Pack 2......................................................................... 16
Viewing Available Wireless Networks......................................................................... 16
Manually Connecting to a Wireless Network............................................................... 17
General Troubleshooting................................................................................................ 20
Hotel Login Screens...................................................................................................... 20
Wireless Coverage ........................................................................................................ 21
Using a VPN ................................................................................................................. 21
Windows Firewall......................................................................................................... 23
Internet Explorer Settings ............................................................................................. 27


Introduction

A laptop is without a doubt one of the most useful tools for business travelers, but staying
connected can be a challenge. While networking technologies have improved greatly over
the past few years, problems can still occur that require some basic knowledge of how
Windows Networking works.

This document is intended to familiarize the reader with the basic components of
Windows Networking, and offer some general troubleshooting steps for common
problems. These instructions are intended for Windows XP computers. Windows XP
Service Pack 2 is highly recommended, in particular for wireless users, as it offers many
ease-of-use benefits.

Further, it is assumed that the network you will be connecting to will allow you to
connect to the Internet and your primary goal is to either gain Internet access, or use your
VPN client to connect to KUMC-Wichita resources via the Internet. Typically this will
involve connecting at home using your broadband cable modem or DSL, to a hotels
broadband internet service, a wireless hotspot in a café or airport, or perhaps publicly
available connections provided by training centers or conferences. If you find yourself in
a situation where you are connecting to a network for other purposes, likely there will be
additional steps you must take to successfully connect. In this case it is best to seek help
from the networks administrative staff.



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Connecting to a Wired Network

Wireless access continues to grow in popularity, but there will probably still be a time
when connecting to a network via a wired connection is your only option. Knowing how
to connect your laptop to a wired network, as well as how to configure your laptop to
recognize the network, can save a lot of time and effort

Physical Connection
First locate the Ethernet port on your laptop. On most modern laptops, the Ethernet port
should be built into the laptop itself. It will look like the modem phone cord port, but be a
bit wider. It will be located either on the back of the laptop or on one of the sides. If you
are having trouble identifying your Ethernet port, consult the user manual that came with
your laptop.



If your laptop is an older one it may not have a built-in Ethernet port, and you may have
an add-on card that provides Ethernet connectivity. Generally these plug into your
laptops PCMCIA expansion ports, and often come with a “dongle” cable that connects
the card to the Ethernet cable.



Once you have located the Ethernet port, plug the Ethernet cable into the port.



If you are attempting to connect to a network at a hotel or convention Ethernet cables
should be provided for you, but if you often connect to wired networks on the road you
may want to carry a spare Ethernet cable around in your laptop bag. Ethernet cables can
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be purchased from any electronics retailer for around $20; make sure you get one that is
rated for Cat-5 or higher.

In most cases simply connecting the Ethernet cable to your laptop should be enough to
gain network access. However in some cases you may need to check the configuration on
your laptop, and perhaps make changes to properly communicate with the network to
which you are connecting. Below are some common troubleshooting steps you can
perform if you encounter connection problems.

Checking Hardware Status

Before a connection to the network can be made, we must check and make sure that the
networking components are enabled and configured correctly. The first step is to check
on the status of the Local Area Connection.

Open up the Control Panels on your laptop. This will either be done by clicking on Start-
Settings-Control Panels, or simply Start-Control Panels, depending on how your
Windows XP desktop is configured. Find and click the icon that says “Network and
Internet Connections”, then click on the “Network Connections” icon. If your desktop is
configured for Classic Windows view, there will simply be a “Network Connections”
icon in the first Control Panel window.

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You will see a screen pop up with several “Connection” icons listed. We need to identify
the one associated with the laptops Ethernet port, but depending on the default view of
this window, doing so might be difficult. To make identifying the correct Connection
easier, first click on the View menu, then select Tile. You should see a screen that looks
similar to the following:

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Notice the descriptions now associated with each Connection, which gives you an idea of
the connections function. There is a Wireless Connection, which is currently activated,
and two Local Area Connections; one for the Ethernet port and one installed to support a
VPN client. This is a pretty typical configuration for a laptop with both an internal and
wireless network card, with a VPN client installed.

The Local Area Connection for the Cisco Systems VPN can be ignored, as it is strictly
used by the operating system. What we are interested in is the Local Area Connection
associated with the 3Com 3C920 Ethernet card. The description associated with this
connection will vary depending on the brand and model of Ethernet your laptop was built
with; popular brands include Broadcom, Linksys, and Intel.

Note also that in this example, the Local Area Connection is reporting itself as
“Disabled”, while the wireless connection is enabled but reporting a status of “Not
Connected”. This is a fairly common situation if your laptop was recently connected to a
wireless network but now out of range; say at a previous hotel or at home. Before we can
connect to the wired network we will need to enable the Local Area Connection.

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Right-click on the Local Area Connection (3Com) icon, and choose the Enable option.
Windows XP will take a few moments to enable the network adapter, and then report the
status of the connection. If your Ethernet cable is already plugged into the Ethernet port
on the laptop, Windows XP will attempt to register itself with the network automatically.
If you receive a “Connected” message, test your connection by opening up Internet
Explorer and attempting to view a web page. If the Local Area Connection reports
“Connected” but you still cannot view web pages, or if the status appears stuck at
“Acquiring Network Address”, refer to the Internet Protocol Settings section below for
further troubleshooting.

If the Local Area Connection status remains as “Not Connected” or “Network Cable
Unplugged”, check that your Ethernet cable is firmly seated into the Ethernet port on
your laptop, and if possible ensure that the other end of the cable is securely seated as
well. In most cases the cable will make a slightly audible “Click” sound when it is
properly connected into the port.

If your Wireless Connection is enabled, you may want to disable it. Sometimes a location
will offer wired network connections for guest or public use, but also maintain a wireless
connection for non-public usage. Although you may not have permission to use the
wireless in this area, your laptop may still be trying to connect if the Wireless Connection
is enabled, which may interfere with your wired connection. To disable the Wireless
Connection, right-click on the Wireless Network Connection icon and select “Disable”.

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Internet Protocol Settings

The Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP, settings can vary depending on the network you are
connecting to. Normally a computer will be configured to retrieve an Internet address
automatically, but some networks require manual configuration of the address. If your
laptop has ever been configured manually, it may not connect properly to networks that
support automatic Internet address assignment.

To check the Internet Protocol settings, right-click on the Local Area Connection icon,
and then choose Properties. Highlight the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) selection and click
on the Properties button.

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The Internet Protocol properties screen is where you can choose to obtain an Internet
address automatically (known as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, or DHCP), or
assign an address manually. Unless instructed otherwise by an administrator of the
network you are attempting to connect to, you will want to make sure that both “Obtain
an IP address automatically” and “Obtain DNS server address automatically” are set on
this screen.
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