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It's Windows XP's Network Setup Wizard that makes it easy
to configure an XP computer as an Internet Connection Sharing server.
Start the Network Setup Wizard by following the steps on this
page. After completing each step, click Next
to continue on to the next one. If you make a mistake or
want to review the setup, click Back to return to
the previous screen. To exit from the Wizard without completing
the network setup, click Cancel.
Specify This computer connects directly to the Internet.
Select the Internet connection that will be shared with the networked
computers. The Wizard will try to automatically determine which
one to use. In this example, it correctly selected my cable modem
connection.
If your computer has more than one local area network connection,
the Wizard asks you to select which one(s) to use. Specify
Let me choose the connections to my network.
Select the local area connection(s) that will share the Internet
connection. If you select more than one, the Wizard will create
a Network Bridge that joins the connections into one logical connection.
In this example, I'm using a wireless network.
Enter a computer description and computer name. The description
appears in My Network Places or Network Neighborhood on other networked
computers. The computer name must be unique on the network. For
maximum compatibility with all versions of Windows, use 1-12 alphanumeric
characters, with no blanks.
Enter a workgroup name, which should be the same on all of
the networked computers. Once again, use 1-12 alphanumeric
characters, with no blanks. By default, the Wizard uses the
name MSHOME. If your network uses a different name, enter
it here.
The Wizard displays the settings that you've made. Scroll down
the list to see all of them.
The Wizard then configures the computer's network settings. The
process may appear to stop for a time, but let it continue to completion.
The Wizard then asks if you want to create a Network Setup
Disk, which is a floppy disk that you can use to run the Network
Setup Wizard on other computers to configure them as ICS clients.
If your clients run Windows 98, 98 Second Edition, or Me,
it's a good idea to run the Wizard on them. It enables them
to use XP's Internet Gateway
to control the ICS server's Internet connection. If you have
a Windows XP CD-ROM, you can run the Wizard from it. If you
want to run the Wizard but don't have the CD-ROM, specify
Create a Network Setup Disk. Otherwise, specify one
of the other choices.
If you told the Wizard to create a Network Setup Disk, it
prompts you to insert a disk in the floppy disk drive. If
you want to format the disk, erasing all of the existing files
on it, click Format Disk. When you click Next,
the Wizard writes its files to the disk.
While the Wizard is creating the disk, this screen appears. Wait
for it to complete before continuing.
If you created a setup disk, remove it from the drive. Then click
Next to complete the network configuration.
When the configuration is complete, the Wizard's Completion screen
appears. Click Finish to exit.
Click Yes to restart your computer automatically, or click
No to restart it manually.
The ICS server is now set up to share its Internet connection.
Now configure the ICS client computers.
