Question Can I safely connect my XP Pro machine to my in-home network via Ethernet if I stay off the internet?

[box o rocks]

Is that even possible, or does the simple fact that it is on the same network automatically connect it to the internet? Accessing my network storage (NAS) is my reason to connect.
I'm not as concerned about the old XP Pro machine becoming infected or otherwise compromised, but the possibility of that connection allowing the other machines to be compromised. Or my NAS being accessed.

 

[faalin]

Figure out what IP address range your home network is on, most of them are 192.168.1.x but you can do a quick ipconfig in a command prompt to figure it out.

Once you figure out your IP address, before plugging the network cable into the windows xp computer go into network settings and statically assign the xp computer an ip address inside the IPv4 address block. Set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0 and then leave the default gateway and DNS blank. The computer will not be able to access the internet without gateway ip address.

 

[USAFRet]

What will this XP machine be used for?