David!

Thank you for your clear explanation.

I do have a local LAN at home but based on your response I will now
disable NetBEUI in my laptop.  I have also disabled the NDIS driver
which had not installed properly when originally put in place.  I do use
Zone Alarm on my laptop (and desktop) and when at home access the
Internet via a hardware firewall

I often wondered what a proxy server was.  AS I understand your words it
is a sort of translator that will enable whatever my machine uses to a
system standard ie TCP/IP

I am traveling in an RV and have only a slow dial up connection at my
disposal.  So this afternoon I will be able to confirm my dial up
functionality.  I will not have access to a wireless and hard wired LAN
system until mid January when I will confirm that functionality in a
coffee shop in Hammond LA that provides free connections

Because I am dependent on a very slow dial up connection, I can do very
little web surfing.  Can you point me to a URL that will give an
absolute novice a good tutorial on the subject of these issues and
perhaps help me solve a long standing problem with being able to use my
laptop consistently with free WIFI providers.  Often my Belkin WIFI card
utility will show me connected to a WIFI provider even though I can not
get Firefox and Thunderbird to access the Internet

Thanks again
Preston

David Gillett said the following on 1/5/2005 12:01 AM:
>   The NDIS series are specifications for interfaces between the specific NIC
> drivers and the generic OS network code.  It's glue between the bits from
> Microsoft and the bits from the hardware maker.
>
>   NetBEUI and TCP/IP play the same role, but in different ways.  The way
> that NetBEUI does it is kind of crude and wasteful, and works only to
> connect to resources on your local LAN.  To connect to resources on the
> Internet, you *must* use TCP/IP (or go through a proxy server that will
> convert what your machine does to TCP/IP).  Since you can also use it on
> your local LAN, it's true that you don't need NetBEUI.
>
>   For a while, there was advice circulating that recommended use of NetBEUI
> for local LAN resources, specifically to prevent exposing them to the
> Internet.  But it has downsides as well, and you'll get this protection and
> more from a firewall, that advice has less and less to recommend it.
>
>   [It's not clear from your post if you even *have* a home LAN; if you
> don't, NetBEUI will never be used unless something is misconfigured, in
> which case it will just slow everything down.]
>
> David Gillett

> On 4 Jan 2005 at 14:42, Betti Ann & Preston Smith wrote:
>>
>> From Network properties I see the following network components
>>installed in my Compaq Presario 1277 (128mb RAM) using W98 SE
>>
>>- Client for Microsoft Windows
>>- Microsoft Family Logon
>>- Belkin Wireless 56 Mbps Notebook Adapter
>>- D-link DFE-690 TXD Cardbus PC Card
>>- Dialup Adapter
>>- Existing Ndis2 Driver
>>- NetBEUI -> Belkin Wireless 56 Mbps Notebook Adaptor
>>- NetBEUI -> D-link DFE-690 TXD Cardbus PC Card
>>- NetBEUI -> Dialup Adapter
>>- NetBEUI -> Existing Ndis2 Driver
>>- TCP/IP -> Belkin Wireless 56 Mbps Notebook Adaptor
>>- TCP/IP -> D-link DFE-690 TXD Cardbus PC Card
>>- TCP/IP -> Dialup Adapter
>>- TCP/IP -> Existing Ndis2 Driver
>>
>>I read recently that there is no need for NetBEUI if TCPIP is installed.
>>  Is this correct? Does the installed NetBEUI use any system resources?
>>  What is Ndis2?  I am travelling with my laptop and can not get much
>>time to do a Google search since I am using a very slow dial up
>>connection with many others waiting in line to use it

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