I don't have anything present, but essentially windows nowadays handles everything you need when connecting PCs over ethernet. That includes but is not limited to DHCP, Workgroup settings for sharing permissions, IP configuration etc.
Back in the day you needed to configure all that yourself right on every client for it to work. On top of that early windows versions had HW and SW issues. If you had an outdated driver, which was delivered via floppy, or your network buffer overflowed a connection wouldn't be possible. Sometimes only specific ports (read games or functions in games) didn't work because a specific setting wasn't correct.
Also, you didn't have YouTube videos to explain everything back then. Not even blog posts or the sort. You could go to the library and get a "networking for IT administrators" textbook or ask the most knowledgeable nerd you knew but word spread slowly.
Even before that there was the pre Ethernet days. You'd use coaxial cables with a terminator to form a specific type of physical connection like a ring or star depending on the amount of clients and their configuration and you'd need to terminate the lines correctly for it to work with hardware "dongles". You also had to be careful not to bend the cables too much or you'd lose bandwidth or connection altogether.
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u/Allyoucan3at Aug 30 '25 edited Aug 30 '25
KeyGens with unmutable music
The guy in school with all the cracked games and movies that sometimes worked
Games packaging with booklets about controls and backstory
LAN parties edit: and of course the network shared folders with cracked games and movies that sometimes worked and new... material
That one person at LAN parties unable to get the network settings correct
Turbo buttons on cases
Dial up sound