ok i got 2 cards both are 10/100mbps ethernet PCI cards now firstly when do the leds on the back of the Network cards light up during boot or windows desktop because mine are not going on at all the cards are install properly into the motherboard 2© what is supposed to go into network components in control panels>network i got client for microsoft Networks client for netware networks microsoft Family logon what client stays and what goes? 3© my protocol setup ipx/spx dial up adapter ipx/spx 10/100mbps ethernet adapter tcp/ip dial up adapter tcp/ip 10/100mbps ethernet adapter which protocol goes and which protocol stays File and printer sharing for MSNetworks is the last component 4© i want to get it right the first time i mean the setting up a internet conncetion is easy but i always find networking a bit daunting© 5© any websites that specialise in just setting up networking LAN for 2 win 98 pcs? 6© i also have both computers setup so they ask for the name of the user and password at windows startup does this effect networking? my options at this point are: because the 2nd NIC card was a card given to me for free by a friend with out drivers or instruction manual scrap the networking idea© * buy a new Network card with manual and drivers© *buy a 2nd hand NIC card with Manual and Drivers what should i do?

Wow, lots to say! Alright, 1st, the cards light up when there is a connection, but don't make too big of a deal about this right now. Also, probably most important, how are you hooking up the two computers? If you are using a Hub, nevermind, if not, you MUST have a CROSSOVER CABLE, not a standard straight through cable, or you might as well just toss the network cards (or go buy a hub), cuz it ain't gonna work. Or, just go get a crossover cable from any computer place for a couple bucks. 2nd, are you using any novell netware servers or software? If not, loose the client for netware networks. Keep the client for microsoft networks and make it the primary logon. 3rd I assume you have a modem, so leave the dial-up adapter stuff alone. You should also add the netbeui protocol to both machines, so that you can share files and printers if you ever decide to. Also, if that is your only purpose (peer-to-peer network), loose the tcp/ip and ipx/spx protocols for the network card (not the dial-up). Next, Yes, it is good to prompt you to login each time. Finally, make sure that both computers are in the same workgroup if you want to share files and printers. Also, before you kill the tcp/ip protocols (if you are using peer-to-peer), give each computer an address and ping the a computers ip address from the opposite computer and vice-versa. If you can ping, then at least you know they can see each other and then you can kill the tcp/ip protocol. In case you aren't sure what ip addresses to use, use 10.100.100.10 and 10.100.100.11 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 for both machines. Also, you can do a search for file sharing in windows and find more info on this.

Joe ,I am sorry to have mention that the card uses the the network connector jack that looks like a Telephone jack (Rectanglelar) Named RJ-45 and i do have network cable but its basically 1.5 meters and all i want is to connect the network cable Rj-45 to both PC's that have the same Connector RJ-45 no hub just straight out connection. and thanks for helping me out p.s i was really getting frustrated with the network card when i wrote the long essay above i was neally going to actually throw the card away