Working with Network Connections | Running Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

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Information about all your network connections—local area network, dial-up to a private network or virtual private network using a modem or ISDN, and direct cable connection—is available in the Network And Dial-Up Connections folder. To work with your network connections, open the Start menu, point to Settings, and choose Network And Dial-Up Connections. See Figure 16-1.

click to view at full size.

Figure 16-1. The Network And Dial-Up Connections folder contains a Make New Connection icon, an icon for each network adapter installed in your computer, and an icon for each dial-up and direct connection you have created.

In the Network And Dial-Up Connections folder, you can

Create a new connection. Double-click the Make New Connection icon.

Open (that is, connect using) a dial-up or direct connection. Double-click its icon.

Check an active connection's status. (Active connections are shown in full color; icons for connections that are currently disconnected are dimmed.) Double-click its icon to display a dialog box like the one shown next.

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You can also view a connection's status by pointing to its icon in the status area of the taskbar. To display the status-area icon, open the connection's properties dialog box and select Show Icon In Taskbar When Connected.

Create a desktop shortcut for a connection. Right-click its icon and choose Create Shortcut.

Copy a connection so you can make changes to the copy. Right-click its icon and choose Create Copy.

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Sometimes it's easier to copy and modify an existing connection than to start from scratch with the Make New Connection icon.

View or modify a connection's properties. Right-click its icon and choose Properties. (You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to modify connection properties.)

Change your computer's name or join a different workgroup or domain. (You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to make these changes.) Choose Network Identification from the Advanced menu.

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A cascading Network And Dial-Up Connections folder on the Start menu lets you make a connection with a single click. To set up a cascading folder, open the Start menu, point to Settings, and choose Taskbar & Start Menu. Click the Advanced tab, and then select Expand Network And Dial-Up Connections in the Start Menu Settings box.

In the rest of this chapter, we'll look at these tasks in greater detail as we explore each type of network connection.