Need Help networking PC's for CS LAN Party!!!

[Zac3010]

Hey all, my friends and I are having our first LAN Party, and we went to go play CS. When trying to network our computers, we came into problems making it actially work. We are currently using a LANSYS switch moddle number "EZXS55W .V2" to try to network our computers. I heard something about having to go online to log into Steam first, and then maybe creating your own server, but I'm not sure. Could someone plz tell me how to network around 5 computers to play CounterStrike (A Half Life Mod) with eather the switch described above, or with a LINKSYS Router moddle number "BEFSR41". Thank you all for both your time and your help!

[CrazyMike]

When I go to LAN parties we always play the original Counter-Strike 1.5, it's ALOT easier for hosting LAN servers. As for switches, most home switches don't have to be configured.

Make sure each computer has a standardized IP address 192.168.0.x (x can be any number between 0 and 255). Do this by going in to the properties of your Local Area Connection (In network connections) and configuring the properties of TCP/IP connections. Make sure the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0

[Jenni]

For CS 1.6, you need an internet connection, as everyone has to log in to Steam before they can play. You can do this by hooking the switch to the internet connection and sharing it from there.

Also, all the computer have to be in the same Workgroup if I remember correctly.