NETBEUI for Windows XP
(unsupported)

You may find yourself in a situation where, despite your best efforts, after networking to the other PC's they will not talk to your XP machine. This is particularly true if you are trying to network a Windows 98 machine to an XP machine.

In this case, you probably need NETBEUI. Some people will criticize me for posting this since they think that TCP/IP is the end-all, be-all and fits-all for every networking situation, but I think that sometimes it is not. Sometimes, we need to take a step backwards before we can take a step forward.

Furthermore, while TCP/IP is great for the internet, security reasons may warrant using NETBEUI on your LAN.

Here is one set of instructions:
Open the following folder in the Windows XP CD: ValueAdd\Msft\Net\Netbeui.
Copy nbf.sys into the %SYSTEMROOT%\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\directory.
Copy netnbf.inf into the %SYSTEMROOT%\INF\ directory.
Open network connection properties and click the "Install..." button to add the NetBEUI protocol.

If you don't have a CD that has the ValueAdd\MFST\Net\Netbeui folder then here it is:

NETBEUI.zip

Another set of instructions:

The files necessary for installing the NetBEUI protocol on Windows XP are NETNBF.INF and NBF.SYS. To install them, follow these steps:

1. Insert your Windows XP CD into the CD drive and use My Computer to browse the CD to the Valueadd\MSFT\Net\NetBEUI folder.

Copy NBF.SYS to your Windows\System32\Drivers folder.
Copy NETNBF.INF to your Windows\Inf folder (which is hidden).

NOTE: To make a hidden folder viewable, click Start > Run > type Explorer > press Enter. Then click Tools > Folder Options > View tab. Then under Advanced Settings, click "Show hidden files and folders" under the "Hidden files and folders" Folder.

2. Click Start > Control Panel > double-click Network Connections. Right-click the adapter you want to add NetBEUI to and click Properties.

3. On the General tab, click Install. Next click Protocol > Add.

4. Click to select the NetBEUI Protocol from the list and then click OK.

5. Restart your computer if you receive a prompt to complete the installation.

For more information, see this Microsoft KnowledgeBase Article Q301041: How to Install NetBEUI on Windows XP.