Windows 2000 FAQ

How Do I Share the Internet With Other PCs?

Q: How do I share one Internet connection among several Windows 2000 machines?

A: First you need a physical network--network cards in each machine, cables or a wireless network connecting the PCs, and possibly a small hub. With all that in place, adding Internet connection sharing (ICS in Windows 2000 lingo) is a breeze. Windows has everything needed to put this into play.

At the Windows 2000 machine that is connected to the Internet, select Settings, Control Panel, then start the Network and Dial-Up Connections applet. Right-click the Net connection you want to share and choose Properties. Click the Sharing tab, then check the box "Enable Internet Connection Sharing for this connection." Also check the box "Enable on-demand dialing" so that when another computer on the network accesses the Internet, this PC automatically dials the modem. You can leave this disabled if you're using an always-on digital subscriber line or cable modem connection to the Internet.

On the other PCs in the local-area network you need only verify that they can obtain an Internet Protocol address automatically. This is the default setting for a network connection, but it never hurts to double check. At every PC on the network, first locate the LAN connection by opening My Network Places (or in Windows 9x lingo, Network Neighborhood). Right-click the LAN connection and select Properties. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click the Properties button. Finally, in the General tab, check "Obtain an IP address automatically." Click OK.

You'll also need to reconfigure applications on the PCs that access the Internet. To set up Internet Explorer to use the new shared connection on the LAN, select Tools, Internet Options/Tools, then click the Connections tab. Check "Never dial a connection," then click the LAN Settings button near the bottom of the window. Under the Automatic configuration section, make sure both boxes are clear; also clear the "Use a proxy server" box in the Proxy Server section. Click OK.