You may have installed the TCP/IP protocol when you installed Windows XP. To check, open the Start Menu and choose “Control Panel”. Select “Network and Internet Connections” and then “Network Connections” You should now see a window similar to the one below.

IMPORTANT: If a “Network Bridge” is present, right click on it and select “Delete”. This option may prevent the network from working properly.

Right-click on “Local Area Connection”. Choose “Properties” from the menu.

If TCP/IP is already installed (it is by default), it will appear in the list of installed protocols. If this is the case, you should skip to the “Configuring TCP/IP” section of this document below. If it is not in the list, you will need to install it.

To install the TCP/IP protocol,

1. Click on the “Install” button.
2. Double-click “Protocol.”
3. Double-click “TCP/IP.”
4. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM if prompted to do so.

To configure the TCP/IP protocol, go to the Network Connections window (open the Start Menu and choose “Network Connections”) and right-click on “Local Area Connection”. Choose the “Properties” from the menu. Highlight the TCP/IP entry and press the “Properties” button.

Check both the Obtain an IP address automatically and the Obtain DNS server address automatically radio buttons. Click on the Advanced… button at bottom.

Click on the DNS tab at the top of the screen.

Locate the check box next to Register this connection's addresses in DNS towards the bottom of the screen. If the box is checked, uncheck it. If it is already unchecked, leave it alone.

Click OK to close this dialog box, and close the Network Connections window. You may need to reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.