How to share wired Internet connection in hotel using two wireless PCs

Can you help me network a single wired Internet connection at my hotel
with my
two wireless computers?

The hotel charges $30/day for the wired Internet connection, which is
OK. However, they charge for each laptop which I find to be highway
robbery especially since they only supply wired Internet so there's no
way to share between rooms.

Luckily, both Windows XP computers are wireless.

Is there any way to use the wireless part of the WinXP computers to
SHARE the initial connection?

Is this too basic a question?

Here is what I have done so far:
a) Shut down both computers and hook the wired ethernet to the
computer whose MAC address (I suspect) was registered when I bought the
Internet service from the web page.
b) Boot both WinXP laptops and check the ip address (ipconfig /all)
which shows the
computer with the wired connection has an IP address of:
IP Address. . . . . . . . . ... . . : 192.168.2.6
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.248.0
c) The other computer, not on the network, had no IP address (can that
happen?)
Media State = Media disconnected.

The question is how to use the second computer to connect to the first
computer via the built-in wireless card? Can that be done? How?

Cindy

Cindy

Cindy,

Here's the information on how to connect two computers and share Internet
connection wirelessly without additional equipment:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...02april08.mspx

The info seems to be up to date.
--
Svyatoslav Pidgorny, MS MVP - Security, MCSE
-= F1 is the key =-

"Cindy" <> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
> Can you help me network a single wired Internet connection at my hotel
> with my
> two wireless computers?
>
> The hotel charges $30/day for the wired Internet connection, which is
> OK. However, they charge for each laptop which I find to be highway
> robbery especially since they only supply wired Internet so there's no
> way to share between rooms.
>
> Luckily, both Windows XP computers are wireless.
>
> Is there any way to use the wireless part of the WinXP computers to
> SHARE the initial connection?
>
> Is this too basic a question?
>
> Here is what I have done so far:
> a) Shut down both computers and hook the wired ethernet to the
> computer whose MAC address (I suspect) was registered when I bought the
> Internet service from the web page.
> b) Boot both WinXP laptops and check the ip address (ipconfig /all)
> which shows the
> computer with the wired connection has an IP address of:
> IP Address. . . . . . . . . ... . . : 192.168.2.6
> Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.248.0
> c) The other computer, not on the network, had no IP address (can that
> happen?)
> Media State = Media disconnected.
>
> The question is how to use the second computer to connect to the first
> computer via the built-in wireless card? Can that be done? How?
>
> Cindy
>

"Cindy" <> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
> Can you help me network a single wired Internet connection at my hotel
> with my
> two wireless computers?
>
> The hotel charges $30/day for the wired Internet connection, which is
> OK. However, they charge for each laptop which I find to be highway
> robbery especially since they only supply wired Internet so there's no
> way to share between rooms.
>
> Luckily, both Windows XP computers are wireless.
>
> Is there any way to use the wireless part of the WinXP computers to
> SHARE the initial connection?
>
> Is this too basic a question?
>
> Here is what I have done so far:
> a) Shut down both computers and hook the wired ethernet to the
> computer whose MAC address (I suspect) was registered when I bought the
> Internet service from the web page.
> b) Boot both WinXP laptops and check the ip address (ipconfig /all)
> which shows the
> computer with the wired connection has an IP address of:
> IP Address. . . . . . . . . ... . . : 192.168.2.6
> Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.248.0
> c) The other computer, not on the network, had no IP address (can that
> happen?)
> Media State = Media disconnected.
>
> The question is how to use the second computer to connect to the first
> computer via the built-in wireless card? Can that be done? How?
>
> Cindy
>


You might consider a small travel type wireless router. Here is an example
of one made by Netgear. There may be others...

http://www.netgear.com/Products/Rout...rs/WGR101.aspx

--

Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the
mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights...

Sooner Al [MVP] wrote:
> You might consider a small travel type wireless router.
> http://www.netgear.com/Products/Rout...rs/WGR101.aspx

Hi Al Sooner (Sooner Al?),

I like your suggestion.

Not only is this deck-of-card sized wireless router an interesting
potential addition to my travel kit, but, it also would give me the
freedom to move around the room while connected.

Currently, I'm "tethered" to the desk by wire; but I vastly prefer to
work on the bed with all those fluffy pillows spread around (not to
mention my VOIP calls back to the states tethered to the computer via
headphones and a mic to avoid the pillaging and plundering that goes on
with overseas phone calls from my room). It would be great to make
those VOIP calls lying down in my nice comfortable bed with the
convenience bar only an arms' length away.

I have one theoretical question with this method ...
I called the hotel who said they key off the MAC address. If I were to
use the wireless router (which I don't have, but I ask this to better
understand the solution) ... would the hotel then key off the MAC
address of the wireless router and not off the two wireless laptops
"connected" to the wireless router?

Would that solution be any better (or different theoretically) than if
I purchased a small hub (switch?) and some long CAT5 ethernet cable?

This is very interesting to me, so I hope you respond, so we all
benefit,
Cindy

S. Pidgorny <MVP> wrote:
> Here's the information on how to connect two computers and share Internet
> connection wirelessly without additional equipment:
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...02april08.mspx

Hi S. Pidgorny,

Oh my. You do have a great potential answer here! You are just what the
doctor ordered. A great many people would benefit from this discussion
as it applies even to home or office use to have one wired Internet
connection work with two computers in the same room (one at a time).

Reading your suggested web page about building an ad hoc 802.11b
wireless network using the graphical user interface in Windows XP was
very interesting:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...02april08.mspx

According to your document, the main steps to follow are:
1. Set the 1st PC as an ad-hoc (pc-to-pc) wireless connection
2. Ensure the wireless card is working properly in the second PC
3. Enable Internet Connection Sharing on the first PC

More specifically, it seems, first, on PC1, we:
* Ensure PC1 is hooked to the Internet via the Ethernet wire
* Start > Settings > Network Connections
* Rightclick on the wireless network icon
* View Available Wireless Networks > Change Advanced Settings
* Select the "Wireless Networks" tab
* Hit the "Advanced" button
* Select "Computer to computer (ad hoc) networks only"
* And clear the "Automatically connect to non-preferred networks" box

Ooops. I hit the return button too soon. Here for all to benefit, are
the steps as I understand them (please fix where I make mistakes) to
create and share an ad-hoc computer-to-computer wireless network
without need for a wireless router or wired hub.

A) To set up the HOST computer (the one with the wired connection):
* Ensure the host PC1 is hooked to the Internet via the Ethernet wire
* On WinXP PC1, press Start > Settings > Network Connections
* Then rightclick on the wireless network icon and select
* View Available Wireless Networks > Change Advanced Settings
* Select the "Wireless Networks" tab
* Hit the "Advanced" button
* Select "Computer to computer (ad hoc) networks only"
* And clear the "Automatically connect to non-preferred networks" box
* Again select the "Wireless Networks" tab
* Under "Preferred Networks", hit the "Add" button
* Enter in a "Network Name (SSID)" of "Hotel"
* Notice the grayed-out checked box indicating "This is a
computer-to-computer (ad hoc) network; wireless access points are not
used"
* For now, leave the "Network Authentication" as "Open"
* Likewise, leave the "Data encryption" as "Disabled" for now
* OK your way out of these forms

B) To set up the CLIENT computer (the one that will be wireless):
* On WinXP PC2, press Start > Settings > Network Connections
* Then rightclick on the wireless network icon and select
* View Available Wireless Networks
* You should see "Hotel" as an "Unsecured computer-to-computer network"
* Select "Hotel", press the "Connect", & "Connect Anyway" buttons
* You'll see the message "Acquiring network address"
* Soon you should see the message "Connected"

C) To Share the Internet connection:
* Go back to the host WinXP computer, PC1
* Make a note of the wired connection's name (e.g., Local Area
Connection)
* Press Start > Settings > Control Panel
* Switch to classic view > Network Connections.
* Rightclick the connection to be shared
* Under Network Tasks, click "Change advanced settings"
* Select the "Advanced" tab
* Select the "Allow other network users to connect through this
computer's Internet connection" check box.
* Disable the setting to "Allow other network users control or disable
the shared Internet connection"
* Optionally turn on the Windows Firewall
* In the "Home networking connection", select a private network
connection of "Local Area Connection" (i.e., the connection to the
wired network)
* OK your way out of the forms

If the planets align, after you've completed this ICS configuratoin,
the Network Connection window on the host PC1 should display the
original wired Ethernet connection and display the status as Shared as
well as Enabled.

Likewise, the Network Connection window on the client PC2 should
display the connection on the host as an Internet Gateway. The client
PC2 should now receive a private class, non-routable IP address in the
192.168.0.* address range via DHCP from the host computer and should
have full Internet connectivity. Multiple client PCs can be connected
in this manner.

Bear in mind, all this is theoretical. I tried it, but it didn't work
(so I'm debugging as we speak). I'll let you know what I find out.

Note: For some inexplicable reason, I lost my wired connection when I
ran the steps above but I got it back by turning off "Enable IEEE
802.1x authentication for this network" in the "Local Area Connection"
"Authentication" tab on the host PC1; and then by selecting in the
"Advanced" tab in the "Internet Connections Sharing" section to "Allow
other network users to connect through this computer's Internet
connection".

But, so many settings happened, that I'm not sure all the steps above
were exact as I still don't have PC2 connected to PC1 wirelessly
without a router.

Cindy

> Here are the steps to create and share an ad-hoc computer-to-computer
> wireless network without need for a wireless router or wired hub.

I now have PC1 connected again but PC2 says its connected to the
"Hotel" network but it doesn't work. I need to debug.

Maybe I'll just change the MAC address so that both PCs are the same
MAC address.

That would, of course, only work with the ethernet cable connected to
one at a time (which is OK ... just not as convenient as being wireless
in the hotel room).

I found a freeware MAC address changer here:
http://www.gorlani.com/downloads/dlc...=macmakeup.zip

Cindy

you are making it far too difficult.....

wireless router and you are done.......

or just create a vpn connection to whichever computer is online......

30 bucks a day? Shoot, I would just find a coffee shop around the
corner.......I bet in the lobby if it is a remotely populated area, you
could jump on someones unsecured netowork....


Chuck

> You might consider a small travel type wireless router.

I've used a linksys WTR54GS for this purpose for several years now.

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...s itorWrapper

Or using tinyurl to shorten that hideously long URL:

http://tinyurl.com/b9ts2

The nice thing about this unit is it's built-in AC plug. So you don't have
to carry along yet ANOTHER wall wart AC adapter (or forget to bring it, as
experience shows...) Plug it into the wall and run the ethernet cable into
it. If there's a PC already using that outlet, no problem, just plug the PC
into the second outlet on the WTR54GS.

Works great.

-Bill Kearney

wrote:
> wireless router and you are done.......
> or just create a vpn connection to whichever computer is online......
> you could jump on someones unsecured netowork....

Hi Chuck,

Thanks for the advice; but I don't understand two of your three
suggestions:

SUGGESTION 1:
- Wireless router
- I'm fifteen countries away from my home; where would I get a
wireless router?

SUGGESTION 2:
- Create a vpn connection.
- I do not understand this at all. Yes, I have the Nortel Networks
Contivity VPN client.
- But, without a network, how would I use this to connect my two
computers?

SUGGESTION 3:
- Jump on someone elses' unsecured network.
- I always wondered how to do that.
- If I "see" someone else's network, just connecting to it doesn't give
me Internet access.
- Am I doing something wrong?

Chuck ... I do appreciate your help. But, can you clarify how I could
use the Nortel VPN software to connect a second PC to the first PC's
wired ethernet connection?

Same with jumping on someone else's network. Once I "connect" ... why
don't I have any Internet access when I connect to someone's unsecured
connection? What am I doing wrong?

Cindy