Networking Introduction
I still have a PC, an old DELL Optiplex 486 DX2 50 MHz machine, running Windows for Workgroups 3.11. It is connected to my Local Area Network (LAN) at home.
This section is about how to connect a PC running the 16-bit Windows Operating System Windows for Workgroups 3.11 to a network.
Sections
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Brief guide
These pages are meant to be a brief guide. Please note, I am not an expert in networking, but a keen amateur who has done it successfully often enough and been asked by countless people how to do it that I have expanded and updated this section.
You will note as you progress through this section that I focus a little more on the WfWg side of the set-up.
This is intentional: there are plenty of other, good guides on the internet on how to setup a network on other versions of Windows; Windows XP makes it particularly easy to set up a network.
How easy is it?
Configuring a PC running Windows for Workgroups 3.11 to run on a network is surprisingly easy. In preparation for writing this section I reformated my 486 and reinstalled WfWg 3.11. It took me less than 60 minutes to install Windows for Workgroups, TCP/IP support and have the machine connected to both our LAN and to the internet, via a Netgear Router/Switch.
Providing that you have the time, patience, your WfWg installation disks and a WfWg-compatible Network Interface Card with the correct drivers, then setting up your network shouldn't be too muchof a bother.
What if I encounter a problem?
You very well may experience a problem when setting up your network. (I can almost guarantee that you will!) Do not panic, or start throwing expensive PC equipment across the room. I've tried both of these responses and they don't, in the long-run, help.
In my experience some of the most immediate problems with adding network capabilities to Windows for Workgroups are to do with a badly configured network card (NIC), either at the IRQ level in the BIOS, or with bad hardware drivers.
There is a very active, online community who may be able to help with your problem at
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microsoft.public.win3x_wfw_dos (Newsreader)
- microsoft.public.win3x_wfw_dos (Google Groups)
Internet Resources
These are some helpful sites for Windows networking:
General
Security / Firewalls
Newsgroups
- comp.os.ms-windows.networking.misc
- comp.os.ms-windows.networking.tcp-ip
- microsoft.public.win95.networking
- microsoft.public.win98.networking
- microsoft.public.win3x_wfw_dos
- microsoft.public.win98.setup.win31
Sources of information
Various postings on windows newsgroups, and personal emails from Paul Ferguson, et al.
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