You know what, guys, you don't have to assign any ip addresses or use any 3rd party software for sharing internet. I don't have access to a windows xp machine but I'll post step-by-step screenshots later today when i get back home.
Here's what i want you people to try:
Forget about whatever settings you have so far, we are gonna run the network setup wizard which will take care of everything, alrite here we go,
On the Server (i.e. the computer which is connected to the internet)
- Open Network Connections
- Right Click on the Ethernet port which is connected to your LAN and open its Properties
- Go to the sharing tab
- Click on the network setup wizard link at the bottom of the window
- It'll ask you if this computer is directly connected to the internet and whether you'd wanna share the connection over the LAN and make this computer the internet gateway (...or server :roll: ), say yes (yeah, that means, select the appropriate buttons)
- When it asks you about workgroup, just leave it to the default (MSHOME) or give it whatever name you want, keep in mind though that there's some restriction on using symbols and that the workgroup name on both the server and the client (read below) should be same
- Follow the steps and when it comes to selecting the shared internet connection, select the dial-up if you use dial-up or the other ethernet port connected to your dsl modem if you have broadband
- It'll also ask you about enabling file and printer sharing, select both of them
- Complete the steps and select "Just finish the wizard" (or some like that) at the final step
On the Client (i.e. the computer which is a part of the LAN and will share the internet connection with the server)
- Open Network Connections
- Right Click on the Ethernet port which is connected to your LAN and open its Properties
- Go to the sharing tab
- Click on the network setup wizard link at the bottom of the window
- It'll tell you that an internet gateway has been detected on the LAN and ask you if you'd wanna use it, say yes
- When it asks you about workgroup, just leave it to the default (MSHOME) or give it whatever name you want, keep in mind though that there's some restriction on using symbols and that the workgroup name on both the server (read above) and the client should be same
- Enable file and printer sharing
- Again, click on "Just finish the wizard" (or some like that) at the final step
Don't forget to enable sharing on the hard disks you wanna access on the network. You can do so by following this:
- Open My Computer
- Right Click on a hard disk and click on "Sharing and Security..."
- Click on "If you understand the risk....click here"
- Under "Network Sharing and Security" (bottom portion) click on "Share this folder on the network"; Leave the shared name to whatever it says, or change it to whatever will make it easy for you to recognize the hdd/partition
- Also click on "Allow network users to change my files"
- Click OK
- Now you should see a palm icon overlaying the hdd icon in the My Computer window, it signifies that the hdd/partition is shared over the LAN
Do this on both - the server and the client.
I understand this may sound kinda vague and i am sorry about that but it's been a while since the last time i went through the wizard. Anyway, I think the wizard is self-explanatory so you should be fine if you read what it is asking and select the right connections. I think if we use a little common sense and intuition, we would be alrite with any kinda computing environment or problem.
Remember, we are not setting up any IP address, default gateway, or using any 3rd party proxy servers. Windows inbuilt internet sharing (ICS) takes care of everything. And yes, the network setup wizard is automatically settting up the ICS for you in the background. This way, you don't even have to change any IE settings either. After running the wizard on the server and the client(s), you just open the browser on a client machine and start browsing.
As i said, I'll post a step-by-step guide with screenshots as soon as i get back home this evening. Let me know if this helps you get things working right.
Good Luck!
