A Beginner's Guide to Setting up LAN and Sharing Internet
I have seen a lot of posts asking about setting up LAN between two computers and sharing an internet connection over the network so i decided to post this step-by-step beginner's guide.
I do realize there are hundreds of such guides already available over the internet but another one doesn't hurt anyone. Besides, I have taken the simplest approach possible to provide a working solution. And this guide is different in the way that it doesn't require the user to download any 3rd party applications - proxy servers, to be precise. It uses the features already available under Windows XP to make things work. Of course, the included screenshots are an added plus.
No guide can be perfect and cover all the bases, nevertheless, i have tried my best to keep it as simple and exhaustive as possible. I am also providing links to screenshots for each step to make it even easier to understand. I'd like to mention here that screenshots are not directly included inside the post so that a user on dial-up connection can enjoy the guide as much as a guy on broadband.
The Hardware Setup
I know some people get the heebie-jeebies when it comes to handling any computer hardware but believe me, this ain't one of those situation where you'll have to get your hands dirty inside your computer cabinet. All we are going to do is plug in an ethernet cable, yep, that simple.
Buy an ethernet
crossover cable from a computer store and connect both computers using the crossover cable. Voila, you are done with the hardware part!
The Software Setup aka Windows XP configuration
Alrite, this is the part involving majority of the work. The steps that follow involve going through a simple Network Setup Wizard, which is quite self-explanatory but just to avoid any confusions and gotchas for you, i have provided you with verbal as well as visual instructions i.e. screenshots.
It doesn't matter if you have already tried messing with the settings but couldn't get the connection working. The wizard will take care of everything for you. Alrite, before i bore you to sleep, here we go:
On the Server (i.e. the computer which is directly connected to the internet)
- Open Network Connections ( Screenshot )
- Right Click on the Ethernet port which is connected to your LAN and open its Properties. In this case, i clicked on "Local Area Connection". Make sure that all the boxes are checked as shown in the screenshot ( Screenshot )
- Go to the "Advanced" tab and click on the network setup wizard link at the bottom of the window ( Screenshot )
- Click Next on the next two windows ( Screenshot 1, Screenshot 2 )
- It'll ask you to select a connection method. Select the first option that says, "This computer connects directly to the internet..." and click next ( Screenshot )
- It'll ask you to select the Internet Selection and you will see a preselected connection, most likely to be the one that actually connects you to the internet i.e. Dial-up, Local Area Connection 2, etc. Click next ( Screenshot )
- It'll ask you to select the connection that you are gonna use for the LAN. Again, you'll see a preselected connection, correct the wizard if it's wrong and click Next ( Screenshot )
- It'll ask you to give a computer name and description. You may leave the description empty and click Next ( Screenshot )
- It'll ask you for a workgroup name, leave it to the default i.e. MSHOME ( Screenshot )
- It'll ask you if you wanna enable File and Print Sharing, Select "Turn on file and printer sharing" and click Next ( Screenshot )
- It'll show you the settings it has configured, click Next ( Screenshot )
- It'll ask you to wait while it configures the network, wait till it shows you the next window ( Screenshot )
- Click on "Just finish the wizard..." and then on Next ( Screenshot )
- Click Finish ( Screenshot )
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 ( Screenshot )
- Right Click on the Ethernet port which is connected to your LAN and open its Properties. In this case, i clicked on "Local Area Connection 2". Make sure that all the boxes are checked as shown in the screenshot ( Screenshot )
- Go to the "Advanced" tab and click on the network setup wizard link at the bottom of the window ( Screenshot )
- Click Next on the next two windows ( Screenshot 1, Screenshot 2 )
- It might say that it found some disconnected network hardware, if it does, just click on "Ignore disconnected network hardware" and click Next ( Screenshot )
- It'll ask you if you wanna use the shared connection it found on the <server_name> over the LAN. Select Yes and click Next ( Screenshot )
- It'll ask you to give a computer name and description. You may leave the description empty and click Next ( Screenshot )
- It'll ask you for a workgroup name, leave it to the default i.e. MSHOME ( Screenshot )
- It'll ask you if you wanna enable File and Print Sharing, Select "Turn on file and printer sharing" and click Next ( Screenshot )
- It'll show you the settings it has configured, click Next ( Screenshot )
- It'll ask you to wait while it configures the network, wait till it shows you the next window ( Screenshot )
- Click on "Just finish the wizard..." and then on Next ( Screenshot )
- Click Finish ( Screenshot )
Don't forget to enable sharing on the hard disks you wanna access on the network. You can do so by following this (
Screenshot ):
- 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 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 can just open the browser on a client machine and start browsing. To transfer files from one computer to the other, use "My Network Places" the same way you use "My Computer".
I have taken care to avoid any typos and complex sentences but if you notice some, let me know.
Hope this guide will help all the beginner's out there.
A Beginner's Guide to Setting up LAN and Sharing Internet
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