Dakota Wesleyan University-Information Systems
1200 West University Ave.·Mitchell, SD 57301·www.dwu.edu
605-995-2697
email: helpdesk@dwu.edu

Configuring Your Network Card by Hand

If your Ethernet card is still not working right, or was never detected by the computer, you should follow these steps to install and configure the card by hand.

Add the Network Adapter

  1. From under the Windows XP Start menu, select Control Panel.
  2. From the Control Panels window, click on Printers and Other Hardware. On the left side of the screen, under the title See Also, click on Add Hardware.
  3. The Add New Hardware wizard should come up. Click the Next button on the first screen.
  4. Windows will try to detect new hardware. If it automatically detects your Ethernet card, click Finish to complete the installation and skip down to the section below entitled Next Step.
  5. If your Ethernet card is not found, select Yes, I have already connected the hardware and click the Next button.
  6. From the list choose Add a new hardware device and then click Next.
  7. From the next list choose Search for and install the hardware automatically (Recommended) and then click Next. Windows will looks for your network adapter. If it does not find the adapter, click Next again.
  8. Windows will show you a list of hardware types to choose from. Select Network Adapters and then click Next.
     
  9. In this window, in the left-hand frame, click to select the vendor of your Ethernet card. Next, from the right frame, select the individual card that you installed and click on Next.
    • Some card names have "PCI", "EISA", "ISA" or "MC" in them. These refer to types of expansion buses (that is, the type expansion slots in your computer). Refer to your computer's manual if you don't know what kind of slots you have. Here's a quick list:
      • "PCI" is the most common kind of bus in fast Pentium-based computers.
      • "EISA" is probably the most popular bus for faster 486's, 586's and some early Pentiums
      • "ISA" is an older type of local bus most commonly found on older 486-class machines.
      • "MC" generally refers to the "MicroChannel" bus, a less popular alternative found on some IBM computers.
    • "TP" or "Twisted Pair" is the type of cabling in the dorms. Twisted pair jacks look like overweight telephone jacks. Given the alternative, select a card with this type of designation, rather than "Thinnet" or "Token Ring".
    • "PnP" refers to Windows XP's "Plug 'n Play" auto-configuration scheme. Frankly, if auto-configuration worked for you, you wouldn't be at this screen! Nothing personal...
    • Some "combo" cards have more than one type of connection on them (for example, "Twisted Pair" with "Thinnet". If such a card has a "Twisted Pair" connector, it can be used.
    • If you are asked for a floppy disk with drivers, insert the disk that came with your Ethernet card.
    • If your Ethernet card does not appear on the list, you will need to insert the driver disk or CD that came with your network adapter and click on the Have Disk... button. Then, click Browse to find the location of the driver and click Open once you have selected it. Click OK to confirm your selection.

     

    10. From the list given, select the correct network adapter and click Next.
    click Next again to install driver

    11. Click Finish to complete the installation.

Back to Top