Windows XP in a Nutshell

Name

Network Setup Wizard

Synopsis

Automatically configure your Internet connection and local network settings based on one of several predefined scenarios.

To Open

My Network Places → Network Setup Wizard

Start → Programs → Accessories → Communications → Network Setup Wizard

Control Panel → [Network and Internet Connections] → Network Connections → Network Setup Wizard^[12]

Command Prompt → rundll32 hnetwiz.dll,HomeNetWizardRunDll

Description

The Network Setup Wizard walks you through some basic networking settings and is intended to make it easy to set up Windows to work with your Internet connection or to gain access to other computers on your network (see Figure 4-59).

Figure 4-59. The Network Setup Wizard asks you a few networking questions and configures your network settings accordingly

The first page of the Network Setup Wizard implies that the wizard will set up a network for you, help you set up Internet connection sharing, install a firewall, and share files and printers. In fact, it will do none of these things; rather, it will simply ensure that some of the necessary protocols are installed and properly configured for the type of network to which you plan on attaching your computer. Before you use the Network Setup Wizard, you’ll need to make sure all of your networking hardware is properly installed, as described in Chapter 7.

The “Select a connection method” page asks you ...