If you plan to connect to the Internet, your computer will require an Internet Protocol (IP) address. Your Internet Service Provider will most likely be using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) to configure client network adapters. Vista configures all new network adapters to use DHCP. If your ISP is using DHCP, you can confirm your network adapter is correctly configured by following these steps:

1. Log on to Vista using an Administrator account.
2. Click Start and click Control Panel.
3. Click Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center then Manage Network Connections.
4. Right-click the icon representing your local area connection (the connection you will use to connect to the Internet) and select Properties.
5. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties.
6. Verify that Obtain an IP Address Automatically and Obtain DNS Server Address Automatically are selected.

Some ISPs will provide you with a fixed IP address. For example, this might be required with either PPPoE or “always-on” service. To configure a network connection with a fixed IP address, follow these steps:

1. Log onto Vista using an Administrator account.
2. Click Start and click Control Panel
3. Click Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center, and then Manage Network Connections.
4. Right-click the icon representing your local area connection and select Properties.
5. Select Internet Protocol and click the Properties button.
6. Select Use the Following IP Address.
7. Enter the IP address, subnet mask and default gateway information provided by your ISP.
8. Select Use the Following DNS Server Addresses.
9. Enter the IP addresses of the primary and secondary DNS servers.
10. Click OK.

Once you have completed these steps, you will probably want to test out the configuration. Launch Internet Explorer and verify that you can navigate to a Web site of your choice.

[tags]vista, windows, vista tips[/tags]