Connecting a D-Link NAS directly to a PC

I have a Network Attached Storage box (D-Link DNS-323) that I needed to connect directly to a computer, because there was no network available. Because the NAS itself is a small computer, I thought of using a cross-over (roll-over) network cable to do a direct PC-to-PC connection and changing my laptop's network adapter IP address to be on the same network as the NAS was previously configured. I tried for a while, but it didn't work. Then I read that there's no longer need to use those cross-over cables, because modern network cards can auto-detect the connection and use a regular network cable even for direct connections. So it turns out to be easier than I thought.

1. Reset the NAS to its default settings, by using the hard-reset button on the back (press and hold for 10-15 seconds while the NAS is on). After doing so, the NAS will have its default IP address, which is: 192.168.0.32 and the default computer name.
2. Change the adapter settings on your computer and set the IP address to be on the same network (e.g. 192.168.0.31), subnet to 255.255.255.0 and the gateway to 192.168.0.1 and apply changes.
3. Connect the NAS and the computer with a network cable that came with NAS. On the computer go to the Network and refresh the view -- the NAS should be visible and browsable there.

Another note: because this NAS is essentially a Linux box, it is possible to extend its capabilities beyond the default ones. Here is a wonderful resource on hacking this NAS: http://wiki.dns323.info/