A couple of months ago Kevin Drysdale couldn't solve ICS Network Cable Unplugged. Me too. My router failed. No problem I figure, now that I've got two machines running XP, I'll just connect the one computer to the CableModem via USB, and connect the other computer to the first via Ethernet and ICS will bridge them. I've followed all the steps repeatedly. I set up the computer that connects to the CableModem as such in the Network Connection Wizard, and the other one as "I get my internet from another computer on the home network". I'm using a new Cat5 cable. I can connect either computer to the CableModem via Ethernet, therefore all the NICs and the cable are good. (Although the CableModem, a Motorola Surfboard SB4100, will supposedly serve multiple machines, one through its USB and one or a router through its Ethernet all at the same time, Comcast's DHCP won't assign them two addresses, which is why I needed the router.) I concede that something is wrong, but it most certainly is not that a network cable is unplugged. - David Chesler

Network cable is unplugged could very well be that you have a 'straight through' cable versus the correct 'crossover cable'. Look at both ends of the cable matching the colors of the wires inside the connectors. If the are all the same left to right then it is straight through. You need crossover for the ICS cable. Bryan

Bryco is right. You can't use a normal CAT5 cable. You have to make or buy a crossover cable. Fed up with Windows? Try Ubuntu Linux

Allow one computer to connect to the usb device. Then get analogx's proxy and install it on the usb connected computer. Then as above you will have to test your cable. Some nic cards (well, most newer one's) will actually change the pins via internal software. It will autonegotiate for so you don't need the correct cable. If your nic's are old then you need to get a cross over. Start with the nic's using private IP's and use an old time class based subnet. Try 10.1.1.1/255.0.0.0 for usb computer and 10.1.1.2/255.0.0.0 for the other. On the non usb change the internet settings to use proxy 10.1.1.1 and port (read docs for correct ports). Might have to set gateway to 10.1.1.1 in network setting but I forget . That way your ISP will provide a public IP to your usb, so that computer will work. The proxy app will take requests for the other computer and relay it to the usb connection and back. Best of all it tends to make the computer behind the proxy a bit more secure.

tell your computer with the internet connection to share it........... from within the network panel