This article describes how to set up and use the Internet
Connection Sharing feature in Microsoft Windows XP. With Internet Connection Sharing, you can use
networked computers to share a single connection to the Internet.
How to use Internet Connection Sharing
To use Internet Connection Sharing to share your Internet connection, the host computer
must have one network adapter that is configured to connect to the internal network,
and one network adapter or modem that is configured to connect to the
Internet.
On the host computer
On the host computer, follow these steps to share the Internet connection:
- Log on to the host computer as Administrator or
as Owner.
- Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
- Click Network and Internet
Connections.
- Click Network Connections.
- Right-click the connection that you use to connect to the
Internet. For example, if you connect to the Internet by using a modem,
right-click the connection that you want under Dial-up.
- Click Properties.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Under Internet Connection Sharing, select the Allow other network users to connect through
this computer's Internet connection check box.
- If you are sharing a dial-up Internet connection, select the Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my
network attempts to access the Internet check box if you want to permit
your computer to automatically connect to the Internet.
- Click OK. You receive the following message:
When Internet Connection Sharing is enabled, your LAN adapter will be set to use IP
address 192.168.0.1. Your computer may lose connectivity with other computers on
your network. If these other computers have static IP addresses, it is a good idea to set them
to obtain their IP addresses automatically. Are you sure you want to enable Internet
Connection Sharing?
- Click Yes.
The connection to the Internet is shared to other computers on
the local area network (LAN). The network adapter that is connected to the LAN
is configured with a static IP address of 192.168.0.1 and a subnet mask of
255.255.255.0
To view a video about how to configure the host computer
for Internet Connection Sharing, click the
Play button (
) on the following Windows Media Player viewer:
Note To view this video, you must use Windows Media Player 7.0 or later.
For additional information about how to obtain Windows Media Player version
7.1, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
299321
Description and availability of Windows Media Player 7.1
On the client computer
To connect to the Internet by using the shared connection, you must
confirm the LAN adapter IP configuration, and then configure the client
computer. To confirm the LAN adapter IP configuration, follow these
steps:
- Log on to the client computer as Administrator or
as Owner.
- Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
- Click Network and Internet
Connections.
- Click Network Connections.
- Right-click Local Area Connection, and then
click Properties.
- Click the General tab, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in the This connection uses the following
items list, and
then click Properties.
- In the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Properties dialog box, click Obtain an IP address
automatically (if it is not already selected), and then click OK.
Note You can also assign a unique static IP address in the range of
192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254. For example, you can assign the following static
IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway:
IP Address 192.168.0.2
Subnet mask 255.255.255.0
Default gateway 192.168.0.1
- In the Local Area Connection Properties
dialog box, click OK.
- Quit Control Panel.
To view a video about how to confirm the LAN adapter IP
configuration, click the
Play button (
) on the
following Windows Media Player viewer:
Note To view this video, you must use Windows Media Player 7.0 or later.
For additional information about how to obtain Windows Media Player version
7.1, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
299321
Description and availability of Windows Media Player 7.1
To configure the client computer to use the shared
Internet connection, follow these steps:
- Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
- Click Network and Internet
Connections.
- Click Internet Options.
- In the Internet Properties dialog box, click the Connections tab.
- Click the Setup button.
The New Connection Wizard starts.
- On the Welcome to the New Connection
Wizard page, click Next.
- Click Connect to the Internet, and then
click Next.
- Click Set up my connection manually, and
then click Next.
- Click Connect using a broadband connection that is
always on, and then click Next.
- On the Completing the New Connection
Wizard page, click Finish.
- Quit Control Panel.
When you now start Microsoft Internet Explorer, the client computer will
try to connect to the Internet by using the host computer's shared Internet
connection.
To view a video of how to configure the client computer
to use the shared Internet connection, click the
Play button (
) on the following Windows Media Player viewer:
Note To view this video, you must use Windows Media Player 7.0 or later.
For additional information about how to obtain Windows Media Player version
7.1, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
299321
Description and availability of Windows Media Player 7.1
Troubleshooting
When you turn on Internet Connection Sharing on the host computer,
the host computer's LAN adapter is automatically assigned the IP address of
192.168.0.1. Therefore, one of the following situations may occur:
- IP address conflict
Each computer on the LAN must have a unique IP address. If
more than one computer has the same IP address, an IP conflict occurs,
and one of the network adapters turns off until the conflict is resolved. To
resolve this conflict, configure the client computer to automatically obtain an
IP address, or assign it a unique IP address.
- Loss of network connectivity
If your network is configured with a different IP address
range than Internet Connection Sharing uses, you will lose network connectivity with the host
computer. To resolve this issue, configure the client computers to
automatically obtain an IP address, or assign each client computer a unique IP
address in the range of 192.168.0.2 to 192.168.0.254.
For additional information about Internet Connection Sharing, click the
following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
234815
Description of Internet Connection Sharing
308021 Resources for troubleshooting Internet Connection Sharing in Windows XP
308006 Troubleshooting Internet Connection Sharing in Windows XP
310563 Description of Internet Connection Sharing in Windows XP
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