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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Ipconfig /release and /renew

If your Internet Protocol settings are both set to “Obtain Automatically”, you may want to
force your computer to obtain an IP address. This can be done using the IPConfig
command from a Windows Command Prompt.

First click on Start, then choose the Run option. In the Run dialog box that appears type
“cmd”, then click OK.

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A black screen will appear. This is the Windows Command Prompt, which can be used
for manually executing commands. We will be using Windows Command Prompt to
execute the IPConfig command, as IPConfig will be reporting information we want to
view after it has run.

Type the following command into the Windows Command Prompt: ipconfig /release.
Note the space between “ipconfig” and “/release”.

Depending on what kind of connection problems you may be having, “ipconfig /release”
may also report messages such as “IP Address for the adapter has already been released”,
or “No operation can be performed while media is disconnected”. If you receive the latter
error message, you may want to double-check that the Ethernet cable is securely fastened
into the Ethernet port on your laptop.

Next, run the command “ipconfig /renew” on the Windows Command Prompt.

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If your laptop is successful in obtaining an Internet Protocol address, the screen will look
something like the above picture. Note that the actual numbers for IP Address, Subnet
Mask, and Default Gateway will vary with every network, so don’t worry if it is not an
exact match. At this point you should try to open up Internet Explorer and browse a web
page. If you still cannot browse any web pages, you may want to consult the technical
support or administrators of the network you are connecting to, or see the General
Troubleshooting section for further information.

Negotiating Speed and Duplex

Ethernet cards are capable of communicating with a network at a variety of speeds, and
while in most cases these speed settings are automatically detected and set, on occasion a
network will require manual configuration of these settings. This can be done by
adjusting the Speed and Duplex settings of the Ethernet card.

From the Network Connections screen you accessed in the Checking Hardware Status
section, right-click on Local Area Connection icon and choose Properties.

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You will see a properties window for the Ethernet card. This window offers advanced
configuration options for your Ethernet card. To check the Speed and Duplex, click on
the Advanced tab. There will be many different Properties listed on this screen, and the
Speed and Duplex settings will vary depending on the make of your Ethernet card. Look
for a Property that is named “Media Type”, “Link Speed and Duplex” or “Speed and
Duplex”. If you have trouble identifying the Speed and Duplex settings, contact the ITS
Help Desk (293-2605 #1) for assistance, or consult your laptops documentation.

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Normally the Speed and Duplex should be set to Auto Select (sometimes referred to as
Auto Negotiate). If you are having trouble connecting and your Speed and Duplex
settings are set to something different, change to Auto Select, save the settings and try to
connect again. Only change the Speed and Duplex to something other than Auto Select if
you are specifically told to do so by instructions or administrators of the network you are
trying to connect to. Be aware that if you are instructed to change the Speed and Duplex,
you will likely need to change the setting back to Auto Select before you can successfully
connect to any other network.

If you do make changes to the Speed and Duplex settings, it may be necessary to either
reboot your laptop, or perform an “ipconfig /release” and “ipconfig /renew” to force your
laptop to obtain an IP address.

Connecting to a Wireless Network

Wireless networking offers greater flexibility and east of use to laptop users than wired
networking in most situations. Configuring your laptop for wireless, however, still
requires knowledge of how to navigate and configure Windows Wireless Networking.

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Wireless and Windows Service Pack 2

Operating systems previous to Windows XP typically relied on software provided by the

wireless network card manufacturer to detect and connect to wireless networks. With the
release of Windows XP Service Pack 2, however, Microsoft has included software that
allows the operating system to take control of wireless, simplifying setup greatly. If you
have Windows XP on your laptop and want to utilize wireless, it is recommended that
you upgrade your laptop to Service Pack 2. Run Windows Update on your laptop while it
is connected to the Internet to install Service Pack 2 and other updates, or contact ITS
(293-2605 #1) for assistance.

Viewing Available Wireless Networks

Windows XP with Service Pack 2 has the ability to automatically detect and connect you
to any available wireless networks within range of your Wireless Ethernet card. If you are
in range of a wireless network you may see an informational prompt in the lower right
corner of your desktop.

If you know you are in range of a wireless network but your laptop does not
automatically connect, it may help to view the Available Wireless Networks. Open the
Network Connections Control Panel as described in the Checking Hardware Status
section, right-click on the Wireless Network Connection icon, and choose View
Available Wireless Networks.

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Any wireless networks that are in range and recognized by Windows XP will be listed.
You will have the option of Connecting or Disconnecting from the various wireless
networks. If multiple wireless networks are listed and you are unsure which you need to
connect to, consult the networks technical support documentation or administrators.

If the Wireless Network you are attempting to connect to is not automatically recognized
or listed in the View Available Wireless Networks listing, you may need to enter the
details for it manually.

Manually Connecting to a Wireless Network

On the View Available Wireless Networks screen, click on the Change Advanced
Settings link. You will be taken to the Wireless Network properties screen.

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This screen may look familiar, as it is very similar to the Properties window for the Local
Area Connection. However, note the Wireless Networks tab; click on it to manually
configure a wireless network.

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Ensure the “Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings” is checked. Any
wireless networks your laptop has connected to may be listed under the Preferred
Networks window. If the network you are currently trying to connect to is not listed, you
will need add it manually. Click on the Add button.

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The settings you need to configure will vary with every wireless network, check with the
networks documentation or administrators for details.

General Troubleshooting

In addition to the troubleshooting steps specific to configuring wired and wireless

network settings, there are situations where a more general knowledge of how certain
software or features of Windows XP work that may be useful in helping to solve
connection issues. Below is advice for some common problems you might encounter.

Hotel Login Screens

When using hotel-provided broadband internet connections, often the hotel will use an
initial login screen to authenticate you or charge your room for service. Typically you
receive this login screen when you first try to open Internet Explorer, assuming you have
not already authenticated.

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Wireless Coverage

Wireless networks utilize radio waves as their communications medium, most often in
the 2.4 gigahertz range. Wireless networks work very much like cordless phones,
radiating the wireless signal outwards from a base station, or in the case of wireless
networks, an access point. The closer you are to an access point, the higher the wireless
signal will be, and the faster and more reliable your access will be. Sites that offer
wireless service will typically use multiple access points working together to gain the
widest coverage area possible, but so called “dead” areas of low or non-existent signal
are still possible, particularly in older buildings or areas with high levels of electrical
interference.

When you can’t get signal, the best thing to do is to simply try moving to another
location. You might want to inquire with site staff about the “best” locations for wireless
access coverage, or perhaps the locations of the wireless access points themselves.

Using a VPN

Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, are becoming invaluable tools for business travelers.
VPNs work by creating a private “tunnel” between the VPN user and home network
resources, using public internet access. Communications are kept secure by encrypting
the communications between the client and servers, allowing confidential or proprietary
information and services to be accessed securely by remote users.

KUMC-Wichita offers VPN service for faculty, staff and student use. Most sites that
offer internet access will allow you to utilize a VPN to connect back to the KUMC
network, but if accessing documents or services from a remote site will be critical, you
may want to check ahead of time with the site to make sure VPN access is supported.

Keep in mind that a VPN connection should only be used for connecting to KUMC
applications, such as the S drive, full Groupwise Client, and Farha Library resources.
Groupwise webmail and general internet surfing should be done using the Internet access
provided by the network through which you are connecting.

If you are trying to use your VPN account from home, and your computer plugs directly
into your cable modem or DSL modem, you may need to make a change to the Cisco
VPN client provided to you by ITS. Click on the VPN icon on your computer desktop to
open the VPN client program.

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Next, right click on the KUMC-W VPN entry, and choose Modify. A VPN Client
Properties screen will appear, click on the Transport tab.

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Click on the “IPSEC over TCP” option, and ensure the TCP Port is set to 10000. Click on
the Save button to save the settings and try to connect again.

Doing this is only necessary if your computer connects directly to your cable or DSL
modem. It is recommended that in the long term, you do not connect your computer to
your home broadband internet, however, as your computer is essentially connecting to the
Internet without the protection of a router. Even if your computer has virus protection, all
the latest patches, and Windows Firewall enabled, it may still be possible for a hacker to
compromise or infect your machine using security holes not yet patched or discovered.
For home broadband internet use, you need to purchase a router.

A router is a hardware device that connects directly to your cable or DSL modem, and
allows your computer to connect to the internet indirectly. The router obtains an Internet
Protocol (IP) address from the cable or DSL modem, and assigns a separate, special IP
address to your computer, then “routes” communications between your computer and the
internet. This practice is known as Network Address Translation, or NAT. Using NAT,
your computers are not visible or directly accessible to others on the internet, yet the
router allows you to still access and communicate with web sites and other internet
applications.

Routers can be purchased from any electronics retail store for around $50. Routers that
also offer home wireless capabilities are also available as well; if you have a laptop with
wireless capabilities a wireless router would allow you to access the internet from almost
anywhere in your home. Contact ITS (293-2605 #1) for more information on purchasing
and configuring a router for home internet use.

Windows Firewall

One of the other major security features included with Windows XP Service Pack 2 is the
Windows Firewall. In an attempt to further improve computer security, Windows has
built a software-based firewall into the XP operating system. While Windows Firewall
does make your computer safer from attack, it can also interfere with the operation of
some software or services, particularly those that rely on Internet communications for
their function.

If you are experiencing difficulty getting your laptop to communicate with a network
properly, or have an application that appears to not be working properly, you may want to
try and disable the Windows Firewall, to see if it might be the cause of the problem. To
disable Windows Firewall, browse to the Security Center icon in the Control Panels.

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The Security Center allows you to monitor and manage several important aspects of your
computers security, including the Windows Firewall, Automatic Updates, and virus
protection software. To disable the Windows Firewall, browse to the bottom of the screen
and click on the link “Manage Security Settings For: Windows Firewall”.

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The Windows Firewall configuration screen allows you to turn the Windows Firewall on
or off, as well as allow advanced configuration of the firewall. For now, simply set the
Windows Firewall to “Off” and click on OK to save changes.

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Even though Windows does not recommend the Firewall be turned off, doing to so over
the short term the security risk is minimal compared to your need to troubleshoot your
connection problems. If your connection problems persist after the Windows Firewall is
disabled, you now know that Windows Firewall is not the cause of the problem, and it
can be safely re-enabled while you continue to troubleshoot the issue.

If, however, disabling the Windows Firewall solves your connection problem, advanced
configuration of the Windows Firewall may be necessary. Exceptions can be
programmed into the Windows Firewall that will allow certain types of communications
through the firewall. Configuring the Windows Firewall in this manner is a complex
process; an incorrectly configured Firewall can cause further connection problems. If you
encounter a situation where disabling the Windows Firewall solves a connection issue
you have, record as many details about the problem as you can, including type of
problem you had, what applications were involved, and where you were trying to connect
from. Contact the ITS Help Desk (293-2605 #1), and ITS technicians can assist you in
configuring your Windows Firewall with an exception that will prevent this problem
from happening in the future.

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Internet Explorer Settings

An inability to browse the Internet when connected to a wired or wireless network can
sometimes be traced to problems within Internet Explorer itself. Below are a few basic
things you can check to try and solve general browsing issues.

In Internet Explorer, click on the Tools menu, then Options. This will bring up the
Internet Explorer Options window.

Clearing out your Internet Explorer web cache is one of the first things to try. Whenever
you visit a web page, Internet Explorer makes a copy of the webpage on your local hard
drive, which it uses to more quickly load the page if you ever visit again in the future.
Sometimes, however, this information can become corrupt, causing web pages to load
incorrectly when IE attempts to load web page information from the cache. Clearing the
cache will force Internet Explorer to reload the information from the live web site.

To clear the cache, click on the Delete Files button. You will receive a second window
asking you to confirm deletion. You should also check the “Delete All Offline Content”
box and click OK to continue.

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Depending on how large your Internet Explorer cache is, as well as the speed of your
machine, this process will take anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes.

You may also want to delete Cookies from your computer. Cookies are small text files
given to your computer by nearly every web site you visit. Cookies are typically used by
web sites to store information about your any preferences you may have on the web site,
as well as information about any logins with the web site you may have (though Cookies
do not store passwords). If you are having trouble logging into a web site, it may be due
to a corrupt Cookie. Click on the Delete Cookies button on the Internet Explorer Options
window to clear all Cookies from your computer.

Internet Explorer also offers security settings of its own, separate from general Windows
security. These security settings are located on the Security tab.

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If you click on the Custom Level button, you will be given many different options for
Internet Explorer security that can be set. Choosing the wrong options here, however, can
sometimes cause certain web sites to function incorrectly, particularly if the web site
contains video or animations, or if the web site needs to download third-party software to
your computer before it can function correctly.

If you are having issues with a web site not functioning as it should, try changing your
Internet Explorer security level to “Medium” by clicking on the Default Level button.
Medium security is acceptable for most legitimate web sites to perform whatever
functions they require.

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It is recommended that you do not set your Internet Explorer security to below
“Medium”, even if the web site you are attempting to use still does not work. A setting
below Medium may allow malicious web sites to automatically install spyware or even
viruses.

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