Wayne,

I don't know what a "host computer" is.  I'm also a little unclear as to
your network configuration so I'll try:

Modem > router > LAN of 2 computers .... right?

First, I would assure that the *only* protocol installed is TCP/IP and not
NetBEUI and not IPX - on all the computers.

Second, I would assure that no firewalls are installed or enabled until this
is resolved.
Or, if you prefer, make sure the Trusted Zone includes the range
192.168.1.1 - 192.168.1.254 or the equivalent range depending on the router
(see below).

I will assume the router internal LAN address is 192.168.1.1.  (It could be
something else like 192.168.0.1 or 10.0.0.1 so the following numbers would
change accordingly if that's the case).
If the router has the ability to enable/disable NAT, NAT is enabled.

Assign fixed IP addresses to computers on the LAN:
192.168.1.2, .3, .4 ......
Subnet mask 255.255.255.0

***You can skip the next part if you wish:

Set the router DHCP to start at:
192.168.1.100 and maybe assign only one or a few IP addresses.

With this arrangement, computers set to obtain an IP address automatically
will get addresses 192.168.1.100, .101, .102 ... etc.
In the mean time, computers with fixed addresses can have:
192.168.1.2, .3, .4 .... .49, .50, .... .99

Both fixed and automatic IP addresses can live peacefully in the same LAN
this way.  So how you do it is a matter of choice.

In general one might reserve DHCP / automatic addressing for large networks
where managing fixed (or static) addresses would be a pain.  The other
reasons for using DHCP might be:
- you want to be able to plug in a "foreign" laptop and just have it work
without messing with network settings.
- you have users who are unfamiliar with making the network settings and
want to simplify things.

Otherwise, using static IP addresses on a small network removes a degree of
uncertainty when you're doing setup and troubleshooting, etc.  No need to
ask if DHCP is working.  No need to puzzle over why suddenly machines are
getting Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) addresses (that start with
169.xxx.....) and don't see the network......

Now, in a simple peer-to-peer network *without* a router you could use
APIPA - but that's not your situation

***end skip

Set the Gateway to the router's internal address (e.g. 192.168.1.1)
I like to set the DNS server addresses to be my ISP's DNS server addresses.
If you're using DHCP on the router and getting addresses automatically on
the computers then this should be unnecessary.

Fred

Since you have a router, there is no "host" computer.  If you've
enabled ICS on the Me computer, disable ICS.

The default network settings in Windows2000 should work fine to
network with 95/98/Me.

If not, go to Control Panel | Network and configure the Windows2000
network connection's TCP/IP properties to obtain an IP address
automatically.

It isn't strictly necessary, but networking will be a little easier if
you set the Windows2000 workgroup name to the same name that the other
computers use:

1. Right-click My Computer and click Properties.
2. Click Computer Name.
3. Click Change.
4. Enter the workgroup name.