Internet sharing

I used this method for a while until I got my router and network set up.

---------------From MS Help--------------------

To enable Internet Connection Sharing on a network connection
Open Network Connections.

Click the dial-up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.

On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box.

If you want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your home or small office network attempts to access external resources, select the Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box.

If you want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet connection, select the Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box.

Under Internet Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection, select any adapter that connects the computer sharing its Internet connection to the other computers on your network.
Important You should not use this feature in a network with other domain controllers, DNS servers, gateways, DHCP servers, or systems configured for static IP.
When you enable Internet Connection Sharing, the network adapter connected to the home or small office network is given a new static IP address configuration. Existing TCP/IP connections on the Internet Connection Sharing computer are lost and need to be reestablished. For example, if Internet Explorer is connecting to a Web site when Internet Connection Sharing is enabled, refresh the browser to reestablish the connection.

To use the Internet Connection Sharing feature, users on your home or small office network should configure TCP/IP on their local area connection to obtain an IP address automatically. Home or small office network users must also configure Internet options for Internet Connection Sharing.

Notes
To open Network Connections, click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network Connections.
You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.
Internet Connection Sharing and Internet Connection Firewall cannot be enabled on incoming connections.
For information about the protocols, services, interfaces, and routes that are automatically configured, click Related Topics.
To enable Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) Discovery and Control on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition computers, run the Network Setup Wizard from the CD or floppy disk on these computers. For more information about the Network Setup Wizard, click Related Topics.
For ICS Discovery and Control to work on Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition computers, Internet Explorer version 5.0 or later must be installed.
The Home networking connection is only present when two or more network adapters are installed on the computer.
Internet Connection Sharing, Internet Connection Firewall, Discovery and Control, and Network Bridge are not available on Windows XP 64-Bit Edition.

All you should have to do is set it to use DHCP to connect. It should configure itself from there on in.

Depending on how your Internet connection works, you may be better off getting a router. Assuming your broadband modem has an Ethernet jack, by getting a router and connecting both the Mac and PC via Ethernet, both computers can share the connection without the PC needing to be on.

This would definitly be the way to do it in the long run. You may or may not need a hub or switch, depending on how many ports the router has. My first Netgear Router only had 1, my new wireless Netgear Router has 4.

Shane Hale

we have broadband internet going into the pc through usb

No ethernet, no router. He'd have to get a new modem if he wants to use a router (which is the best solution).

Wern't there some routers that accepted usb? I thought I saw a linksys with this... but it was a wile ago... ::)

My D-Link cable modem has both USB and Ethernet. My grandfather, when he initially got set up to use Southwestern Bell DSL, got a modem with both jacks, and the guy who came out to install it used the USB port. It's true that there are USB-only modems out there, but I don't think they're that common.

I know that all of the modems Comcast commonly distributes (I believe all the ons they do distribute) have Ethernet, and most have USB as well. Personally, I'd love to see USB-only modems for newer computers. They're way less of a hassle to set up, because we don't have to deal with network card drivers.

Granted, on a Mac, I just don't have to deal with network card drivers.

Not usually. Router setup has actually gotten quite easy with modern units. My D-Link had a nice little wizard that walked you through the whole process, and most manufacturers' tech support will help you sort out problems.

You shouldn't need to call your ISP because to them, the router looks just like a computer.

When I picked up a Linksys router (BEFSR41 4-port) I had very little idea how to set things up, but the documentation with the router made things a breeze.
Setting up the router was, for me at least, far far easier than setting up and using the #$@%$% Sympatico Crash Access Manager PPPoE software.
The router is accessible through a web browser of any computer on your Intranet, and all settings are easy to find through a nice graphical browser display.
From the ADSL modem back, I have the router going to upstairs computers and a hub, and the hub goes to another hub in the basement for my lab, and for my daughter's computer on the main floor.

* Be warned I've read some ISPs frown on routers and may give you some song and dance that you're licensed for one computer only. I think this stance is quickly disappearing as more people get on the home network bandwagon, but it's just as easy to not tell them a thing. As already posted, once you've got the router set up, your ISP will only ever see one IP address. It's also an excellent form of security - especially if you've got a machine running XP;)

USB-only might be easier for a single computer setup, but it's a nightmare if you want to set up a LAN...

Peace,
Drew

I don't know. In my experience, the whole networking-through-USB thing is pretty iffy. It seems prone to bugginess on XP. I haven't tried it on a Mac before, but on Windows it's been touch and go the couple of times I've set it up for people.

You shouldn’t need to call your ISP because to them, the router looks just like a computer

Yes and no. Granted, the router will look like a computer tcp/ip wise, but the MAC adress will be difrent. Some ISP's won't care, others use the MAC adress to selectivly turn on and off internet access that way, and will not let you use the internet untill you tell them the new adress, which is usualy stamped onto the router. However, there is a way to change your routers MAC adress in the setup, and you could always clone the mac adress of the computer it was on before.