NETWORK SPRING CLEANING
Issue 19, May 2001
By Tom Thomas
Director of Support Services

Computers often have similar attributes to the most ordinary of objects - like your storage closet at home, for instance. Just as your storage closet may become cluttered with old junk that never will be used again, so may your home computer. But unlike your closet, where you put stuff to get out of your way, clutter on your computer can get in the way of functional performance. So, let us start thinking about spring cleaning by getting rid of the clutter in our computers!

Since we are your Internet Service Provider, let's clean the clutter in your Network settings that may interfere with your Internet connection. These settings often become encumbered with unnecessary adapters, clients and protocol. These settings may often be installed transparently through old installations of other ISP software such as AOL, or even some net-workable game installations.

To check your Network Configuration, follow these instructions:
1. Click on the Start button in the lower left corner of your screen and go up to Settings then click on the Control Panel.
3. In your Control Panel, double-click on the Network icon - this will open you network properties window.
4. Make sure that the Configuration tab is selected at the top left corner of that window.
5. Your installed network components are listed in the big white box. Each component will have an associating icon next to it: installed clients will have a computer, installed adapters will have a network card, and installed protocols will have a network cable. A standard installation will contain one client, Client for Microsoft Networks, one adapter, Dial-Up Adapter, and one protocol, TCP/IP. Unless you have a network setup at home or other special networking needs, these are the only settings that should be in your Network properties.
6. Remove any extraneous clients, adapters, or protocols not listed above simply by clicking on the network component that you want to remove, thus highlighting it, then click on the Remove button below the white box. Typical removable components include Microsoft Family Logon, AOL Dial-Up Adapter, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, or anything with VPN in it.
7. After your network spring cleaning is done (make sure that you still have Dial-Up Adapter and TCP/IP in your network settings), click on OK at the bottom. Your computer will tell you that it is building a driver database then ask you to restart your computer. Click on Yes when prompted.

Your network clean up is done! If you had to make many changes, your Internet connection may be vastly improved.