Windows XP Setup

Make sure your network card is installed in your computer and you have an Ethernet cable (not a phone cable) plugged into the data port in the wall before continuing. If you need assistance with this please contact us at 459-4NET (x9-4638). Cables are available at the Baytree Bookstore.

Now open the Control Panel from the Start menu at the bottom of the screen and click on Network and Internet Connections. Then click on Network Connections.

You should see a window that looks somewhat like the one below, with a dial-up section for your modem, and LAN or High-Speed Internet for your network card.

If the icon representing your network connection is disabled or has a red “X” displayed then it is not properly configured, the cable may not be plugged in properly or you have a bad cable, or you have a bad jack or the wall jack is not working. Please call the ResNet office at 459-4NET (x9-4638) for assistance in this case.

Double-click on the Internet connection icon and you should see a status window similar to the one below.

Next try to click on the Properties button.

However if you do not have the proper permissions you may get an error like this, in which case you will need to log off and log back in as the Administrator. If you don’t know the administrator password you should check with the person who installed XP, as this will be necessary to install additional software, hardware, or modify certain settings in your computer.

After clicking on the Properties button in the status window a new window should appear that looks similar to this one.

Click on the Internet Protocol TCP/IP line and click on the Properties button.

The proper settings for ResNet at UCSC are Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically, as shown here.

Now click on the Advanced button at the bottom of the window and click on the DNS tab. Make sure that the box named Register this connection’s addresses in DNS is NOT checked. This will help make your machine more reliable and keep unneccesary traffic off the network.

Restart your computer if necessary and you should be on the network. Open a web page with your web browser to make sure.

Once you have your connection working you can configure your electronic mail software to connect to the campus email system. Information on how to do that for various email programs is available at the Email Client Configuration pages.

At this point should give your computer a unique name, and join a workgroup. Right-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and then click on the tab named Computer Name and then the button titled Change and you should see a window like this. Enter a name that you think will be unique to the network and in the Workgroup box you can enter ResNet.

If you are having difficulty connecting to the network contact the ResNet office for help at 459-4NET (x9-4638).