My desktop PC is connected to the internet via a cable modem. I want to allow my laptop to share this connection using infrared. I have added a new incoming connection to the desktop PC which allows the laptop to connect OK. I can share folders but I cannot access the internet on the laptop. Anyone got this going?

Cheers,

John.

Your going to need some routing software to allow remote net access.

Try winroute pro, thats what i used, worked fine.

Allan

Cheers Allan, I'll give it a go! I'm surprised that this functionality isn't built in to XP.

John.

Oh, John

It might be built into XP, but i use 98 which hasnt go no sharing options so you need to use an external program like winroute or wingate.


Might be worth waiting till someone replies whos got XP just incase you dont need any other external programs.

Allan

Not sure if this is relavent but here goes...

On the host machine, right click on the DUN connection (or whatever it is) and click the advanced tab. There's a tick box labelled 'Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection'. Is this ticked?

This is if the OS is XP John. You did say it was XP, but not if XP was on one, or both machines!!!

Dave

I can't find this option!?!?! I have XP on both machines. I right-clicked on the LAN connection on the host machine, then clicked on 'Properties' and 'Advanced'. Couldn't find anything similar to the option you mentioned however. Help!

John.

Sorry John, how *exactly* is the host machine connected to the net?

DUN is dial up network, im guessing hes got cable/adsl and so doesnt use DUN.

Allan

Yep, the host machine connects to the internet via NTL cable. The connection between my host PC and the Terayon cable modem is ethernet. Infrared on my host machine is through a USB to infrared adaptor while the laptop has infrared built in.

John.

Having not used ADSL/Cable I'm afraid I'm not going to be much use I'm afraid.

Must admit, I'd have thought you'd connect to ADSL via DUN :O


Dave

Note to self - register 200 times on BT's site for broadband

I have never used IR connection. Does the laptop show up as a workgroup computer in My Network Places ?
If it does it should be pretty easy to do.

Not sure if this will apply on a cable connection. As far as I am aware, it does use Dial up networking. In the advanced properties of a dial up connection in XP there is an "Internet Connection Sharing" panel. All of the tick boxes in this will have to be enabled.

HTH

Stu

One word? Firewall?

Zone Alarm gave me mega-problems when setting up my home network......uninstalling it sorted my network problems :)

I tried killing Zonealarm and ticking all the internet connection sharing thingies but still no joy. The laptop doesn't appear in my workgroup. Also, according to Google, internet connection sharing does not support infrared! So maybe it simply won't work :confused:

John.

I guess you may have found the answer then John

It might be worth uninstalling ZA, thats the ONLY way I could get my network running

Originally posted by Dr Dave
I guess you may have found the answer then John

It might be worth uninstalling ZA, thats the ONLY way I could get my network running

Of course, you can just add the other PCs in your home network into your trusted zone, that fixes the problems! ;)

I had that as well when I first installed ZA, the newer versions detect the network automatically and fix it.

Ok - as for your problem John,

If the laptop connects via Infrared, is this a proper 'network' connection or simple file sharing? If you can see both PCs in the Network Neighbour hood that it should be ok. However, I believe its the former option.

Does your laptop have a network cable connection? if so, what you can do is stick another network card into your main PC and connect the laptop to the main PC that way, that will form a network between them, however the main PC will now have to IPs, one internal (the card that's linked to the laptop) and an external (the one linked to the cable modem).

The internal IP addresses (an external IP is a unique number for your PC in the world), internals only have to be unique among your home network.

What you need then is some sort of proxy software running on the main PC that redirects any internet requests from the laptop down the External network card and out to the Internet. If all you want to do is browse the web, that's fine - software proxies don't always work well with games & messenging software.

There is another networking option. You can get a network hub which acts as a proxy. Plug both of your PCs into that and they are both clients to the proxy, however same proxy problems apply.

When I got ADSL I got 5 IP addresses, which gets around the whole problem. I don't believe NTL offer static IPs. :(

If you can get static IPs, its as simple as plugging the ADSL / cable modem into a hub (broad band router), plugging all the other PCs into the hub, assigning the IP addresses you have, setting the gateway to the broad band router and you're sorted!

I was running off a proxy on a telewest cable for about 18 months when I was at by dad's. When I got my own place, I went down the ADSL route.

Phew. There you go - time for the US Grand Prix now and dinner!

Hope this helps!

Just thought I should point out that if you do network your pc's then the internal ip addresses you use should be from the ranges specifically assigned for this purpose;

i.e 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x and 172.16.x.x - 172.31.x.x

btw, ntl do offer a static ip cable modem service, but this is aimed at business customers (and isn't particularly reliable tbh)

Matt

Ah, Cheers Matt, forgot to mention the internal IP ranges!

Thanks for all the help on this guys :) . I've now given up on the infrared. Steve, very informative reply, cheers! I had thought about an ethernet connection between laptop and desktop PC but firstly, I want it to be cable free and secondly, there are no free slots left in the desktop machine! So I'm now considering wireless (802.11b). I can get a PCMCIA wireless card for my laptop and a USB wireless adaptor for my PC. However, I'm not sure whether this will work as I have been told that I need a wireless access point in order to share the internet connection with my laptop. Any ideas?

John.

I know you want to go wireless, but an alternative is to do a USB network. One hub and two cables and the job is jobbed.

If you live in a city then do consider how insecure those wireless lans can be.

Stu

OK, First of all Dont go Wireless! Its very convenient but also very insecure.

Put it this way, I could sit outside your house with a Laptop, a wireless card, some free software and a pringles tin and after a short time I could start using your Internet connection, or at least see what you are doing!!!

To use a Wireless ethernet you need 2 Wireless Cards (PCI, USB or PCMCIA) and an access point to allow the two cards to communicate with each other, so its not a cheap option and it is also quite a bit slower than wired ethernet. If you really want wireless networking I would suggest that you sit tight as there are a few new developments around the corner introducing faster connections (around 5 times faster) and better security between Wireless ethernet devices.

The best and easiest way to connect is via a 10/100 Ethernet connection. FOr this you just need 2 10/100 Ethernet Cards of any type, and a lenth of Crossover CAT5/6 cable.

There will be an option within the Connection settings for your Ethernet adapter to allow other computers to share the connection. XP Has this built in so there is no need for any extra software. If you do not have enough card space in your desktop PC then both Dual port and USB ethernet cards are available.

If you do go down the ethernet route and need help setting up just let me know.

Cheers,

Russky

That's exactly how I've configured my home network, using a Cat5 crossover cable and a network card!

Zone Alarm didn't like it; so that had to go! Zone Alarm Pro allows it though........

Zone Alarm didn't like it; so that had to go! Zone Alarm Pro allows it though


Yes it does, but you need to do some fiddling =)

OK, I'm convinced! It would have been nice to be able to use my laptop around the house without trailing cables! Never mind :(

John.

john done correctly its superb, give me a shout and I can explain how to do it (its my job for petty sake) also dont worry about the pringle tin trick, no one knew how to do it except an elite few until it was documented in some publication =) and its easy to block it so they cant do a damn thing ( just use 128bit encryption cards in the base station)

- James

James,

You are absolustely correct. It can be done securly if you know what you are doing. But Russky was also right to point out that there is an inherent risk if you don't get it right.

You also need to take into consideration where you live. If you live in some village in the middle of nowhere, you are pretty safe anyway. Live in the centre of London and you will get hacked in days.

Stu

James,

While you are correct that 128bit cards can be used to encrypt data, but only once a link between the workstation and the access point has been established. The SSID (the shared password used to identify the Workstation to the access point) is usually sent in clear text, even with WEP enabled (WEP Only encrypts DATA packets, not managent packets). This means that anyone with sniffer software can pick up the SSID and that is a major security concern as it effectivly gives them use of that aces point.

Also, most access points come with a factory set SSID, these are well known and often are not changed once installed.

The fact that the majority of companies that use wireless dont bother to change the default settings, how would a home user know unless it was their job?!!

Wireless ethernet has not yet got to the point where companies can use it in confidence, unless they use a VPN with 3DES(168 Bit) encryption so if an access point does get hijacked the hacker cannot get into your network. For this reason I have refused the deploymnet of wireless in my company.

Anyway, this is getting way beyond the point! I really would not worry about wireless, you can have a decent wired ethernet setup for a fraction of the price and none of the worry.

Things are happening in wireless, just hang on and wait.....

Russky