Each PC must have a unique IP address. Your gateway will have two addresses, one for your network and one for the Internet. For now just assign an IP address to each computer manually until you have your network working. Once you have 2 machines talking to each other and surfing the Internet you can add more very easily.

• Set up the network side of the gateway with the IP address of 192.168.1.1.
• Later on we will explain how to set up the Internet side of the gateway with the settings you gathered earlier.

Assign IP addresses

Right click on Network Neighborhood and click on Properties.

• Click on the Configuration tab.
• Click on IP for your NIC.
• Click on Properties and choose the IP Address tab.
• Choose Specify an IP Address.

Assign an IP address, as shown in the table at the right.

• Use 192.168.1.1 only for the gateway PC or router.
• The Subnet Mask is always
  255.255.255.0.

A duplicate IP address will prevent one or more PCs from working on the network.

Complete the setup

At the Configuration screen click OK. When prompted, inserted the Windows CD and then reboot the PC. Your network is now configured.