Can I do this...wireless ad-hoc question

[The Negotiator]

I have an ethernet connection where I live which gives my net. I now have two wireless enabled laptops.

Is there anyway I can plug laptop 1 into ethernet and share the ethernet (i.e. internet connection) wirelessly (ad-hoc mode) to laptop 2? I have failed so far and am guessing you can't, which maybe to some is obvious, but I like to try!

Cheers
Paul

 

[bulldog5046]

internet connection sharing?

if you havent tried alredy msn me and i'll talk you through it

 

[beau]

pauls asking a slightly technical question

 

[arc]

yes you can, you need to bridge the two connections, or use some routing software.

ICS should be able to do it fine for normal use

 

[The Negotiator]

Cheers for the responses, at least I now know it's possible so I am not wasting my time. I considered "bridging" but if i try it I get "you must bridge two connections that don't allow internet connection sharing"??

Ryan, I know about net connection sharing but this issue is more about a computer seeing two different networks more than anything. BTW: my "server" laptop won't assign itself an IP.

 

[arc]

you need them to be on different subnets

setup ICS telling it u use the ethernet for ur internet, and then it should just work.

what is ur internet connection to be ethernet like that, is it from a shared router or something?

 

[bulldog5046]

yes you dont bridge the connections that will cause problems.

i'll explain on msn as i cant be bothered to post it all on the forum

 

[arc]

yeah, i remeber bridging connections fluffs things up with windows. blocks the host comp from being able to use the connections

 

[The Negotiator]

I shall speak to Ryan - just had a fiddle and didn't get a great outcome, will post more details up in a bit

 

[The Negotiator]

Right, 3 weeks on and new laptop has arrived, both PCs now windows XP home and not tinkered with like the last laptop which had been through serious networking lol.

Here is my problem now:

My network:

Connection to ethernet which provides my internet, IP by DHCP. Connected by MAC flitering to laptop 1.
Laptop 1 has a/b/g wireless card and have started a Ad-hoc network (no encryption) which connects.
Laptop 2 with b wireless card.


My goal:
Connecting laptop 2 internet and sharing information between the two laptops.

My settings:
Standard ad hoc (peer to peer)
No encryption yet.
LAN connection shared.


My problem:
Everything.
Both computers says: "Connected to SSID name"
The laptop gets ip from dhcp but nothing else. Ping fails despite IPs being understood and very basic data obviously being shared between computers.


What i've tried:
Not a great deal yet...

At this point both computers says "Connected" and i get ip for dhcp.
But i can't ping anyone or anything.

I have borrowed some of that summary from another page since it's the same problem, their fix:
http://www.techspot.com/vb/all/windows/t-17975-Wireless-Internet-Sharing-ad-hoc-problems.html

didn't seem to work for me

 

[hmallett]

Buy a wireless router!
H

 

[The Negotiator]

H...I can't, surely this was explained above??? I have to connect to a network connection that I have no control over and routers are NOT allowed since I could then resell their product. Arc states there is no way of tracing it but the Uni last year seemed to be able to so am taking no risks.

All I want to do is turn my laptop 1 into a router...

 

[hmallett]

H...I can't, surely this was explained above???

Just had a check, and nope...
Anyway, I tried using ICS once. It was ****. If you can get hold of a crappy old PC, you could use something like Smoothwall. You'd need to buy another wireless card for that though, so maybe ICS is your best bet.
H

 

[ben]

H...I can't, surely this was explained above??? I have to connect to a network connection that I have no control over and routers are NOT allowed since I could then resell their product. Arc states there is no way of tracing it but the Uni last year seemed to be able to so am taking no risks.

All I want to do is turn my laptop 1 into a router...

Erm... read that back carefully and you'll see a bit of a contradiction

At least with a hardware router (or just not ICS) you could lock it to just your two machines....

 

[The Negotiator]

Erm... read that back carefully and you'll see a bit of a contradiction

At least with a hardware router (or just not ICS) you could lock it to just your two machines....

Well yes, but of course I meant a router as in a router and my main laptop acting as a router....I assume that the process that a PC acting as a router with ICS is quite different to a router acting as a router.

H; it was arc I had discussed that all with, didn't realise there wasn't much info on this thread.

All I want to do is start an ad-hoc network (which I am unable to do at the moment) and share the internet connection through this, why is it so difficult?!

 

[arc]

Didn't this work as a wired network Paul, I can't remeber now.

I didn't say they couldn't detect a router, i just said from what i knew so far(CCNA 1) they couldn't.

A hardware router is just a stripped PC running a specific OS, designed for just doing routing. I used to use a windows 2000 machine to route back home, I used Kerio Winroute on that and found it rather good.

Can you not put XP pro on the laptops, WinXP home is utterly hopeless when it comes to networking.

 

[hmallett]

...why is it so difficult?!

Unfortunately Windows is a bit crap, and the networking aspect often has a "bolted on as an afterthought" feel to it...
H

 

[The Negotiator]

Well any ideas why the computers are talking but not properly? Making the ad-hoc network is my prime consideration..

 

[arc]

can you not use infrastructure mode instead, allow one of them to be a software access point?

Also, try using static IP addresses

 

[hmallett]

I saw somewhere else that you've already got the firewall's disabled.
Make them a member of the same workgroup (not strictly necessary).
Your laptop B is getting an IP address on the same subnet as the the wireless card on laptop A?
On laptop A, your wireless card and external connection aren't members of the same subnet?
Do you still have internet access on Laptop A when ICS is active?
H