This is a brief guide in troubleshooting calls related to TCP/IP Networking in Windows NT. As a rule we generally don't support NT, but we have been having some calls come in (especially from CISAT) from people who are running NT. These are some basic guides that will allow you to check basic network settings and configurations.

NOTE: To view/change any network configurations, the user must be logged into the workstation as the Administrator.

Using the ipconfig utility
TCP/IP Settings
Setting up RAS for a dial-up networking connection
Remote Access Server (RAS) Error Code Listing

On systems running Windows NT, use the utility ipconfig to obtain network information, simular to the winipcfg utility in Windows 9x. This utility is also avaliable in Windows 98, and is run from a command prompt. Click on Start->Run and type command to open a new shell windows. At the dos prompt type ipconfig to see basic adapter information (this includes the assigned IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway). There are also several switches that may be used with ipconfig:

ipconfig /all	Shows all information about the adapters. The most relevant information from this is the description of the adapter, the physical address, IP address, and if they have dhcp enabled for the adapter.
ipconfig /release	Release an IP address leased from a DHCP server
ipconfig /renew	If the client has DHCP enabled then it will renew an IP address from a DHCP server

 

**To view network settings, the user must be logged in as Administrator**

To check TCP/IP properties, first open the control panel by clicking Start->Settings->Control Panel. Then double-click on the Network icon to open the Network properties window.

In the network properties window, there will be 5 tabs: Identification, Services, Protocols, Adapters, and Bindings.

• Identification: This is where you set the computer name and workgroup information.
• Services: Lists the different services and clients which are installed on the computer. This is where you will view/change the Novell Client32 properties.
• Protocols: Shows all the protocols installed on the computer. This is where you will view/change the TCP/IP properties. Highlight TCP/IP from the list and click properties. This will open the TCP/IP Properties window. You will see several differnt tabs: IP Addresses, DNS, WINS Addresses, Routing, Adapters, and Bindings.
  
  • IP Addresses: This should be set to Obtain an IP Address from a DHCP server.
  • DNS: The Host Name and Domain fields may or may not be filled in. They are not critical. The only important thing is that the DNS Service Search Order and the DNS Suffix Search Order areas are blank. This information is provided through DHCP is should not be set here.
  • WINS Address: The Primary and Secondary WINS servers should be blank. The two checkboxes labeled Enable DNS for Windows Resolution and Enable LMHOSTS Lookup can be either checked or not checked. They really don't matter. The default configuration is to have Enable DNS for Windows Resolution unchecked and Enable LMHOSTS Lookup checked.
  • Routing: Enable IP Forwarding should be unchecked
• Adapters: This lists the network adapters currently installed in the system. By highlighting an adapter and clicking the Properties button, you will see information about the adapter. This includes the I/O Address, IRQ, and Tranciever Type. This information can be useful for troubleshooting device conflicts.
• Bindings: Shows the bindings for all installed services, protocols, and adapters.

Setting up RAS is very simple. Open My Computer and double-click on Dial-Up Networking. If Dial-Up networking is not already installed on the computer, then a window will pop up asking if the user wants to install it. Click 'Install' to begin installation. Follow the instructions, and when the installation is completed a wizard will start to add a new phone book entry.

If dial-up networking is already installed then clicking on the dial-up networking will open the dial-up networking window. At the top of the window the current phonebook entry will be listed. This is a drop-down list, and you can use it to select any defined entries. Below the entry are two buttons: New and More. Clicking on new will start the New Phonebook Wizard and let you create a new phonebook entry. If you click on More then another menu will popup. Several options will be avaliable, but the most important one is Edit Entry. Clicking on Edit Entry will cause the Edit Phonebook Entry window to open. There are five tabs in this window: Basic, Server, Script, Security, and X.25.

• Basic: Set the Entry name, phone number to dial, and select the modem device to be used. Next to where the modem is listed is a button Configure. Clicking on configure will allow you to confugure the currently selected modem device.
• Server: Here is where the server settings are set. At the top of the window is a drop down box which lists different server types. What should be selected is "PPP: Windows 95, Windows NT, Internet". Below that is a list of three network protocols: TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, and NetBEUI. Any of these may be checked off, but if a protocol is checked there must be a corresponding protocol installed in the network properties. Beside the TCP/IP Protocol is a button labeled "TCP/IP Settings". Click this to set the TCP/IP options. The following options should be set:
  • Server assigned IP address
  • Server assigned nameserver addresses
  • Use IP header compression
  • Use default gateway on remote network
  Below the network protocols are two checkboxes: Enable software compression and Enable PPP LCP extensions. Only Enable software compression should be checked.
• Script: Leave settings set to default
• Security: Leave settings set to default
• X.25: Leave settings set to default

1. Open the network control panel from the control panel window, and select the Services tab.
2. Highlight Remote Access Services and click Properties. This will show which devices are configured as RAS devices. Hopefully the COM port that your modem is on will show up.
3. Highlight the device and click Configure. This will allow you to configure the port usage.
4. Three options will be avaliable: Dial out only, Recieve calls only, and Dial out and Recieve calls. Dial out only should be selected.
5. Click OK to return to the Remote Access Setup. With the device highlighted, click the Network button.
6. This will open the Network Configuration for RAS. At the top of the window are the Dial out protocols. Only the protocols which are installed and were selected in the dial-up networking settings should be checked off. Below under Server Settings, nothing should be checked.