I'm trying to set up a home network with my XP box & a 98SE box. XP box has: 120 gig HD w/XP-40 gig HD w/98SE (dual boot) 3com network card. 4 port USB hub card(for printer, etc.). Pinnacle 1394 firewire card for dig. video editing. dvd rom. cd/dvdrw drive. IDE card(to get past the max 4 IDE inputs). 128 Meg GeForce2 VID card(PCI). 250 ZIP. 3.5 floppy. 98SE box has: 3Com network card. ATI 16 Meg card(AGP). 250 ZIP. 3com card. Tying them both together is a NetGear DS104 Hub I tried to run the ICS Wizard in XP to start the networking process, but for some reason the 1394 firewire card comes up as the default device to be used, instead of the 3com card, and I cant change it. Disabled it, stlll wants to come up as the default in ICS wizard. In start>settings>network connections>lan & high speed internet>properties>advanced, the window shows the firewall check-box but not the ICS check-box! Did the same on the 1394 icon, and the ICS check box was there, but un-checked. 1394 card was not even a "network card" only installed for dig. video. I've been able to access internet fine for months before even trying the ICS wizard, so I know the 3com card has been the default. I'm confused... BTW, have cable modem. Maybe 2 3coms cards should be in the XP box, but all my PCI slots are taken up items listed above. Any solution would be greatly appreciated. I'm concerned about security too, so any input would help. Thanks

In my humble opinion, you would be much better off by buying a router. Not only would it solve the headaches you are now experiencing, but you would have an added layer of security by the fact that the IP addresses of your computers would not be public IP addresses on the internet. They would only be for your internal network. I hate when people give advice telling a person to forget what they are doing and to take a different approach, but I do not want to use my CPU cycles within windows to accomplish something that a relatively inexpensive piece of hardware can do for me - and do a better job. Michael J

Thanks Michael J, Ye', sounds like that would be the most simple and secure idea. I appreciate your response! Drew