How to install a Network Card

This is an article on hardware installation, in this case it's a Network Card.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer, Network Card, printed instructions

1. Most computers running Windows XP will already have an Ethernet card installed. To check that yours is installed properly:
   • go to the Start menu
   • click the right mouse button on My Computer. A drop down menu will appear
   • choose Properties from the menu.
   This will open the System Properties window.
   • click on the Hardware tab
   • then click the Device Manager button, this will show the list in figure 1:
   • Click on the plus sign '+' next to Network adapters.
   You should see the name of your Ethernet card with a little icon on the left. If the icon is not a yellow exclamation mark or red cross, then the card should be installed properly.
2. In Figure 2, you can see 4 different network adapters of which one is disabled (red cross).
   
   NOTE: if you don't have a Network Adapters entry this means that there is no network card on your laptop, and you have to buy an external PCMCIA card first.
   If your laptop does not have an Ethernet card installed, or if it is installed incorrectly, please contact the Student Support Team ([e-mail]) for advice about solving the problem.
   If your network card is installed properly you have to check that the necessary network protocols are also installed. To do this
   • go to the Start menu
   • click the right mouse button on My Network Places, a drop down menu will appear,
   • choose Properties from the menu
   • This will open the Network Connections window (Figure 3).
3. Double-click the network connection for your network adapter. At this stage, it should be the one with a red cross because the cable is not connected to a network yet (Figure 3). This will open the Properties window for that connection (Figure 4).
4. If you scroll the content of the middle section you should be able to find Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
   If this is not the case, you need to install the protocol by:
   • click on the Install... button
   • double-click on Protocol
   • double-click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
   After a short while, you will be returned to the Properties window. It is also recommended that you install the Microsoft TCP/IP version 6 protocol, which is an upgraded version of the TCP/IP using the same procedure enlisted above.