Network setup for Windows 2K/XP

This document tries to explain how to configure a network interface on a machine running Microsoft Windows 2000 professional or Windows XP professional to be usable on our Laptop Network. If things arn't clear please let us know.

Network tcp/ip settings

Log into the machine as an Administrator and go to the Control panel. Select the network setting and open up the tcp/ip properties.

Select the Obtain an IP address automatically and the Obtain DNS server address automatically radio buttons.

Then click on the Advanced button.

tcpip properties

Switch to the DNS pane and select the Append primary and connection specific DNS suffixes radio button.

Unselect the Append parent suffixes of the primary DNS suffix radio button and the Register this connection's address in DNS box.

Click on the OK button.

advanced settings

On some machines the new setting won't take effect until the machine is re-started.

Setting up IE

Internet Explorer and some other Windows programs use a shared set of web proxy settings. Configuring them from Internet Explorer will affect the settings for all such programs.

Start up IE and select Internet options from the Tools menu.

tools/internet options

In the Internet Options window select the Connections pane and click on the LAN Setting button.

In the LAN settings window:
Unselect the Automatically detect settings box.
Select the Use automatic configuration script box.
Type the following into the Address text area:

http://laps.maths.cam.ac.uk/proxyconfig.pac

Finally hit the OK button in this window (and in the Internet Options window) to save the state.

lan settings

You may need to quit from and re-start IE for the new settings to take effect.

Other configs

This setup has been tested on Windows 2000 professional and Windows XP professional. Configuration should be very similar for NT or other versions of 2K or XP. For details on how to configure network interfaces on other versions of Windows please refer to the documentation provided with the system or contact your local computer support staff.

Start up IE and select Internet options from the Tools menu.

In the Internet Options window select the Connections pane and click on the LAN Setting button.

In the LAN settings window: Unselect the Automatically detect settings box. Select the Use automatic configuration script box. Type the following into the Address text area: http://laps.maths.cam.ac.uk/proxyconfig.pac Finally hit the OK button in this window (and in the Internet Options window) to save the state.