Checking and installing network protocols

As we discussed, special network protocols must be enabled to ensure that the programs you run on the network—including Accounting Plus—are able to communicate messages among the computers on the network. Your computers must be using the NetBIOS, the NetBEUI or the TCP/IP protocol.

When you create a data file in Accounting Plus and when you begin each session in Accounting Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to specify which protocol you wish to use in multi-user mode—depending, of course, upon whether you have more than one protocol installed on your computer.

The first step in setting up your network software is to check to be sure that these protocols are installed and ready on your computers. If they’re not, you’ll need to install them. To check protocols for computers running Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows 2000 Me, see the procedure that begins below; for computers running Windows 2000 Professional, see page 212; for computers running Windows NT 4.0, see page 1736.

Checking and installing network protocols in Windows 95/98/2000 Me

Follow these steps to check to see which network protocols are installed on computers running Windows 95, 98 or 2000 Me.

  1. From the Start menu, choose Settings, then choose Control Panel. When the Control Panel is displayed, double-click Network to open the Network control panel.
Note: If you have a Novell network
If you have a Novell network that consists of computers running Windows 95/98/2000 Me, you may need to perform a few extra steps to ensure that the proper protocols are being used. Before you check your network protocols, follow these steps.
Under the Configuration tab, check to see whether the term “Client32” (or any combination of words that include “Client32”) is listed in the box labeled The following network components are installed.
If “Client32” does appear in the list, it’s possible that the protocols installed on your computer won’t work properly on a peer-to-peer network with Windows 95/98/2000 Me computers. In most cases, you'll need to uninstall the Client32 software and install software that works properly with Windows 95/98/2000 Me. These steps require the assistance of a trained Novell representative; we recommend that you contact Novell or an MYOB Certified Consultant for help.
On the other hand, if “Client32” does not appear in the list, you should be able to continue with these instructions without any problems.
  1. Under the Configuration tab, check to see whether NetBIOS, NetBEUI or TCP/IP (or LANBIOS, if you use a LANtastic network) are listed in the box labeled The following network components are installed.

If NetBIOS or NetBEUI are listed and you wish to use one of these protocols, the computer you’re using should be able to run Accounting Plus without problems. After you’ve performed this check on all the computers on your network, feel free to skip ahead to the Installing MYOB Accounting Plus and creating a data file section on page 1738.

If TCP/IP is listed and you wish to use it, you’ll need to assign an IP address to the computer before it's ready to run Accounting Plus in multi-user mode on your network. See How to assign an IP address to a computer (TCP/IP users only) on page 1737 to learn more about this process.

Note: If your company uses a LANtastic network
If you use a LANtastic network, your network will use the LANBIOS protocol instead of NetBIOS or NetBEUI. Please note, however, that the LANBIOS protocol also requires that the Client for LANtastic Network is also displayed in the The following network components are installed list. (Client for Microsoft Network isn’t sufficient.) To install the Client for LANtastic Network, follow these steps:
1. Click the Add button. The Select Network Component Type window will appear. In the list, double-click Client to open the Select Network Protocol window.
2. In the list in the left side of the Select Network Protocol window, click LANtastic. A list of clients appears in the list in the right side of the window.
3. If Client for LANtastic Networks appears in the list, select it and click OK. If it isn't displayed in the list, you'll need to install the client using your LANtastic CD or diskettes. (Refer to your LANtastic documentation to learn more about installing LANtastic client software.)

If none of the protocols are listed, or if the protocol you wish to use isn't listed, continue to the next step.

  1. Check to see whether Client for Microsoft Networks appears in the The following network components are installed box. If it is, skip to step 8. If it's not, continue to the next step.
  2. Click the Add button. The Select Network Component Type window will appear. In the list, double-click Client to open the Select Network Client window.
  3. In the list in the left side of the Select Network Client window, click Microsoft. A list of protocols appears in the list in the right side of the window.
  4. Choose Client for Microsoft Networks, then click OK. The Network Control Panel appears again, with Client for Microsoft Networks listed in the The following network components are installed box.
  5. Next, check again to see whether NetBIOS, NetBEUI or TCP/IP are listed in the The following network components are installed box.

If NetBIOS or NetBEUI are listed and you wish to use one of these protocols, the computer you’re using should be able to run Accounting Plus without problems. After you’ve performed this check on all the computers on your network, feel free to skip ahead to the Installing MYOB Accounting Plus and creating a data file section on page 1738.

If TCP/IP is listed and you wish to use it, you'll need to assign an IP address to the computer before it's ready to run Accounting Plus in multi-user mode on your network. See How to assign an IP address to a computer (TCP/IP users only) on page 1737 to learn more about this process.

If none of the protocols are listed, or if the protocol you wish to use isn’t listed, continue to the next step.

  1. Click the Add button. The Select Network Component Type window will appear. In the list, double-click Protocol to open the Select Network Protocol window.
  2. In the list in the left side of the Select Network Protocol window, click Microsoft. A list of protocols appears in the list in the right side of the window.
  3. If NetBIOS, NetBEUI or TCP/IP appears in the list, choose the protocol you want, and then click OK. If none of the protocols are displayed in this list, you'll need to install the protocols using your Windows CD or diskettes. (Refer to your Windows documentation to learn more about installing Windows system software.)

If you plan to use the NetBIOS or NetBEUI protocols, skip to the next step; if you plan to use the TCP/IP protocol, see How to assign an IP address to a computer (TCP/IP users only) on page 1737.

  1. That’s it! This computer is ready to run Accounting Plus on a network! Close the control panel windows that are open, and don't forget to check all the computers on your network using these steps.

Checking network protocols in Windows 2000 Professional

Follow these steps to check to see which network protocols are installed on computers running Windows 2000 Professional.

By default, all necessary network protocols are automatically installed with Windows 2000 Professional, so don’t be concerned if you don’t need to make any changes to your system when you read these instructions.

  1. From the Start menu, choose Settings, then choose Control Panel. When the Control Panel is displayed, double-click Network and Dial-up Connections to open the Network and Dial-up Connections control panel.
  2. Double-click the Local Area Connection icon to open the Local Area Connection Properties window.
  3. In the box labeled Components checked are used by this connection, check to see whether NetBIOS, NetBEUI or TCP/IP (or LANBIOS, if you use a LANtastic network) are listed.

If NetBIOS or NetBEUI is listed and you wish to use one of these protocols, be sure the box next to the protocol is checked. If it is, the computer you’re using should be able to run Accounting Plus without problems. After you’ve performed this check on all the computers on your network, feel free to skip ahead to the Installing MYOB Accounting Plus and creating a data file section on page 1738.

If TCP/IP is listed and you wish to use it, be sure the box next to it is checked. Next, you'll need to assign an IP address to the computer before it's ready to run Accounting Plus in multi-user mode on your network. See How to assign an IP address to a computer (TCP/IP users only) on page 1737 to learn more about this process.

If none of the protocols are listed, or if the protocol you wish to use isn’t listed, refer to your Windows 2000 Professional documentation to learn how to install the networking components you need.

Checking and installing network protocols in Windows NT 4.0

Follow these steps to check to see which network protocols are installed on computers running Windows NT 4.0.

  1. From the Start menu, choose Settings, then choose Control Panel. When the Control Panel is displayed, double-click Network to open the Network control panel.
  2. Under the Protocols tab, check to see whether NetBIOS, NetBEUI or TCP/IP (or LANBIOS, if you use a LANtastic network) is listed.

If NetBIOS or NetBEUI are listed and you wish to use one of these protocols, the computer you’re checking should be able to run Accounting Plus without following these instructions any further (remember, however, that you should perform this check on all the computers on your network); if this is the case, feel free to skip ahead to the Installing MYOB Accounting Plus and creating a data file section on page 1738.

If TCP/IP is listed and you wish to use it, you’ll need to assign an IP address to the computer before it's ready to run Accounting Plus in multi-user mode on your network. See How to assign an IP address to a computer (TCP/IP users only) on page 1737 to learn more about this process.

If none of the protocols are listed, or if the protocol you wish to use isn’t listed, continue to the next step.

  1. Click the Add button. A list of available protocols will be displayed. If NetBIOS, NetBEUI or TCP/IP appears in the list, choose the protocol you want, and then click OK. If none of these protocols are displayed in the list, you’ll need to install the protocols using your Windows NT CD or diskettes. (We recommend that you refer to your Windows NT documentation to learn more about installing network protocols.)

If you plan to use the NetBIOS or NetBEUI protocols, skip to the next step; if you plan to use the TCP/IP protocol, see the following section, How to assign an IP address to a computer (TCP/IP users only).

  1. That’s it! This computer is ready to run Accounting Plus on a network! Close the control panel windows that are open, and don’t forget to check all the computers on your network using these steps.

How to assign an IP address to a computer (TCP/IP users only)

If you wish to use the TCP/IP protocol, each computer on the network that will run Accounting Plus in multi-user mode must be assigned an IP address. An IP address is a set of numbers that identifies each computer on a network that uses the TCP/IP protocol. These numbers can be assigned manually or by using a server.
These instructions will help you set up TCP/IP to a certain extent; however, the choices you make for configuring your TCP/IP connection to your network depend upon how your network is set up. If someone else set up your network connection, you should consult that person for assistance here. You (or the person who set up your network connection) might also find it helpful to speak with your Internet service provider (ISP) to learn how you can receive permanent IP addresses for each of your computers. (Keep in mind that if your computers are assigned IP addresses only when they have an active dial-up connection to the Internet, your computers will encounter various problems communicating to each other when you're using Accounting Plus—unless those computers are always connected to the Internet while Accounting Plus is in use.)
  1. In the Network control panel, highlight the TCP/IP selection in the The following network components are installed box (in Windows 2000 Professional, the box is labeled Components checked are used by this connection) and click Properties to open the TCP/IP Properties window.
  2. In the TCP/IP Properties window, set up the IP address, subnet mask and other identifying features of your computer.
  3. After you’ve made all the necessary entries in the TCP/IP Properties window, click OK to save your changes and close the window.

Checking and installing network protocols