Windows XP Professional Network Settings for:Advanced Cable Communications

1.) To access network settings in Windows XP Pro:
    Click "Start", on the right of the START panel pick "Control Panel".
    In CONTROL PANEL - on the left click "Switch to Classic view".
    Double-click "Network Connections".

2.) Click (under LAN or High-Speed Internet?) once to highlight "Local Area
Connection", Right mouse button click that icon, click properties. LOCAL AREA
CONNECTION PROPERTIES window opens. Click to highlight "Internet Protocol 
(TCP/IP), and click the "Properties" button just below right of it. Make sure
that "Obtain an IP address automatically" selection button has a "." in it.
(Other option is to "Use the following IP address:" for static IP settings.

    In the second half of that window make sure that "Obtain DNS server address
automatically" selection button has a "." so that it is selected.

* You shouldn't need to click on the bottom right "Advanced" button, but for
advanced use be aware that it has: IP addresses (Add, Edit, Remove), Default
gateways (Add, Edit, Remove), and a check box for Automatic Metric or if not
checked a box for Interface metric.

Other tabs are: DNS, WINS, OPTIONS. In the "Optional Settings" is TCP/IP
filtering. It is highlighted by default. Clicking the "Properties" button just
below/right of it opens a TCP/IP Filtering window. This window has an
"Enable TCP/IP Filtering (All adaptors) check box, which if checked enables
three tables for "TCP Ports", "UDP Ports", and "IP Protocols". Each of the
three tables has a "." selection button for "Permit All" or "Permit Only".

If Permit Only is selected then "Add" and "Remove" buttons become active.
Clicking add opens an "Add Filter" window box allowing you to add a numbered
port of that type, or in the case of IP protocols, an IP protocol number. * This
is definately *ADVANCE* firewall stuff that affects all adaptors and shouldn't
be supported in an Advanced Cable Communications support telephone call.

You can now close Advanced TCP/IP Settings window with the "OK" button. Also
close the TCP/IP Properties button with its "OK" button.

3.) You are still in the "Local Area Connection Properties" window. From here
you could click the "Advanced" tab, and from there select one of the following
ADVANCED FEATURES:

The first section is "Internet Connection Firewall" (There is a "Learn more
about Internet Connection Firewall" link in that section for Windows Help.

The second section is "Internet Connection Sharing", where a user could select
"Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet
connection". There is also a "Learn more..." Windows help link for this. Note
that this definately requires having an additional Ethernet 10/100 adaptor
installed, knowing which one it is, and a bit about Cat 5 ethernet networking.
This will cause the internal LAN network adaptor to get set to a fixed IP
address of 192.168.0.1 and DHCP to be enabled for all other computers inside
connected to that LAN segment. This will break any "Fixed" or "Static" IP
addressing scheme that was already in place.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Advanced Cable Communications doesn't provide technical
support for networks, connection sharing, firewalls, including their setup,
configuration, or maintenance. The subscriber/user should feel 100% comfortable
in their ability to configure and maintain any such advanced settings. If you
break your computer's Internet access, or your local network, YOU will be
responsible to fix it or to hire someone to fix it.

Office2go.com can assist (for a fee) with the installation and configuration
of Networks and connection sharing for subscriber/users.

(these settings on this connection profile apply only to Advanced Cable
Communications, where a Cable-Modem is connected via a single Ethernet or
10/100 network adaptor card. In other environments these settings could be
totally wrong, or parts will be "greyed out" and disabled by Windows. The
disclaimer is: that you are pretty much on your own in these advanced settings
areas of Windows Networking! Some of these settings may exist only in the
Windows XP Professional version. They may not exist in Windows XP home version.)

4.) Testing your connection - You can test your connection, or do diagnostics
from an MSDOS command prompt window. Click on "Start", "Command Prompt"; or
optionally, click on "Start", "Run", and type "command" (or "cmd") and press
Enter or click "OK". These commands are only recommended for technical users.
They can be of help when you are having Internet connection troubles.

You can check your connection with "ping" as follows (an example):

ping -t www.yahoo.com (you should see some "Reply from..." output in response
to this command. If you see "Timed out" replies then something could be wrong.
You can press the keyboard keys "Ctrl" and "c" at the same time to break out
of the ping command.

You can use "ipconfig" to check your ip settings or to release and renew your
Internet IP Address that is assigned automatically (DHCP) by our dhcp server:

ipconfig /help [Enter]	(get help on the usage of ipconfig command)
ipconfig [Enter]	(check short version of your settings)
ipconfig /all [Enter]   (check the long version of your settings)
ipconfig /release [Enter] (release all DCHP assigned TCP/IP addresses)
ipconfig /renew [Enter] (request a new DHCP assigned TCP/IP addresses)

Special Note: If the release and renew commands don't get your system back
on the Internet, you might have to unplug the cable modem for 10-seconds and
plug it back in. If it still doesn't work ... do a Shutdown/Restart of your
Windows system. (in Windows 98 and Me this was in "winipcfg" which brought
up a graphical box with "Release_all" and "Renew_all" buttons to click on.)

You can use "netstat" to check active ip routing table on your system (among
other things):

netstat /help [Enter]   (get help on the usage of netstat command)
netstat -r [Enter]	(display the routing table of your machine)
netstat -e [Enter]	(display ethernet statistics)