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):