I found this in a few different places around the 'net - hopefully it's helpful:
Use a Shortcut to Local Area Network Connection Information
Something new in Windows XP - instead of using the command line program and typing ipconfig to find local area network information, you can use the following shortcut:
- Click Start, point to Connect to, and then click Show All Connections.
- Right-click the connection you want information about, and then click Status.
- In the connection Properties dialog box, click the Support tab.
- For even more information, click the Advanced tab.
- To automatically enable the status monitor each time the connection is active, in the connection Properties dialog box, select the Show icon in taskbar notification area when connected check box.