Originally posted here by xmaddness
Check this for more info.

Right click Network Neighborhood.

Choose the Properties option Scroll to the TCP/IP listing for your NIC card and highlight it

Click the Properties button

Click the IP Address tab

Select the option for Specify an IP Address

In the IP Address field specify an address from 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254. Make sure each client PC has a different address!

In the Subnet Mask field enter the following Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0

Click on the Gateway tab

Enter the IP address of the router in the Gateway field. The default address is 192.168.1.1

Click the Add button

Click the DNS configuration tab.

Select the Enable DNS radio button.

Enter this computer's name in the Host field, this must be a name not used for any other computer on your network It can be as easy as "computer2" as this host name is not used for the Internet.

Leave the Domain field BLANK

In the DNS server search order you will need to enter the IP address of your ISP’s DNS server(s). This should have been provided to you by your ISP. If you do not know the IP addresses of your ISP’s DNS server, use the winipcfg command to find out.

Enter the domain name of your ISP in the Domain Suffix Search Order box. This will be something like ne.mediaone.net or ca.calgary.home.net.
If you're not sure what to enter, follow the procedure on this page.

Click OK – you will need to reboot the machine
Gonna go check the settings now