Check your current network configuration

Before opening your PC and installing the network card, you should check your current
network configuration, because if you have a modem and connect to the Internet, then you
will have Dial-Up networking installed, which is part of the network configuration.

To display the Network configuration:

	Via the Control-Panel : double-click on the "Network" icon
	Via your Desktop: Right-click on your desktop on "Network Neighborhood" and select from the displayed menu: "Properties". Note: this icon "Network Neighborhood" is only displayed on your desktop, once some network components are installed.

If you have no modem / connection to the
Internet, then your Network configuration
should be empty.

if you connect via a modem to the Internet,
you should have these installed components:

a Client
Although not absolutely required for an
Internet connection, you should have the
"Client for Microsoft Networks" installed,
because it takes are of memorizing password,
including the password to connect via
dial-up networking to the Internet.

an adapter
The Dial-Up adapter allows to treat a
modem like a network card, and
dial-up networking will only work, once
the Dial-Up adapter is defined as part of
the Network configuration.

a protocol
for an Internet connection, you need to have
TCP/IP protocol installed.

This is from a notebook using
AOL as Internet provider,
using a special "AOL Adapter".

Please take note of the installed components, because once you install a network card,
Windows will add additional lines to this configuration and you will have to do some
work to adjust/fine-tune it.

	Check in the Control-Panel in "Network and Dial-up Connections"
	Windows 2000 / XP will have a seperate icon for Dial-up connections (like a connection via modem to the Internet) and for Local Networking via Ethernet (once installed):

Next Step:

Installation of the Network Card