Hi, i have a desktop and a laptop running winxp sp1 I have an ethernet connection between each (crossover cable), a 1394 connection (firewire) and an intel anypoint wireless connection. I have assigned each connection a number: desktop lan 192.168.0.1 desktop 1394 192.168.1.1 wireless 192.168.2.1 laptop lan 192.168.0.2 default gateway 192.168.0.1, dns server 192.168.0.1 laptop 1394 192.168.1.2 default gateway 192.168.1.1, dns server 192.168.1.1 laptop wireless 192.168.2.2 default gateway 192.168.2.1, dns server 192.168.2.1 this was set up by connecting the LAN connection first, using the wizard in XP pro and using the LAN to share the internet connection. the next two connections were set up manually (not the wizard) i am able to share the internet via the lan connection and files using all three (as long as at least one is connected) my questions 1. Am i doing this the long way round? - should i bridge the connections. I tried this and the network wizard on the desktop said 'error - you may configure this manually' 2. can i share the internet connection between all three connections without bridging? 3. have i set up my connections correctly 4. what does deafult gateway and dns server mean exactly - i have set up the network so far using instructions off variuos sites on the internet re:setting up a network 5. recently, everytime i rebooted the laptop, the ICS disappeared and there was no way to retireve it - the settings/ip addresses were unchanged as far as i could tell. thanks hesh

wow wow wow first lets quote this.... I have assigned each connection a number: desktop lan 192.168.0.1 desktop 1394 192.168.1.1 wireless 192.168.2.1 im not sure why your using a firewire but thats ok... read this important here!!!! you need to have everything under the same NETWORK ip address.... so make everything now like this desktop lan 192.168.0.2 desktop 1394 192.168.0.3 wireless 192.168.0.4 what you did last time was make 3 differant networks. just use those numbers if they havn't been taken in your lan all ready

Wow is right. But don't change anything unless you know why you're doing it and what it does. What are you trying to accomplish? If you've got a wireless card in our laptop, why not just use that? Your setup is needlessly complex. You shouldn't need ICS on your laptop. The only connection that needs ICS is your actual internet connection, which I assume is on your desktop. The default gateway is the IP address on the LAN(!) of the computer connected to the internet. So, in your laptop, the default gatewas for the wireless connection is 192.168.2.1 (the IP of your desktop's LAN connection). You have these values set correctly. DNS (domain name server) is the computer(s) your ISP uses to translate URL's into IP addresses. To find this, look at the TCP/IP properties of your internet connection. Change ALL DNS settings on your laptop to these numbers. I suspect you'll have complete internet access at that point. Basically, you shouldn't need to change anything on your desktop. On your laptop, just change the DNS numbers to your IPS's, and I think you'll be in business.

thanks todd and cmunn. in response to cmunn, what would i assign the laptop network adapter tcp/ip settings using your desktop suggestion?