Troubleshooting | Networking | Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) Installation

Microsoft's Internet Connection Sharing allows you to configure your home computer network to share a single connection to the Internet. This troubleshooting topic describes how to configure Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) to use DIRECWAY as your shared connection to the Internet. Please note that you may need your Windows installation CD-ROM when installing and configuring ICS.

These instructions assume that your DIRECWAY system has a Network Interface Card (NIC) installed and the TCP/IP protocol is bound to the adapter.

Choose the Windows operating system that your DIRECWAY satellite modem is installed on

On the Windows 98 desktop, click the Start button
Select Settings
Select Control Panel
Double click the Add/Remove Programs icon
Select the Windows Setup tab
Double click the Internet Tools option
Select the Internet Connection Sharing check box
Click Ok to close the Internet Tools dialog and then click Ok again to close the Windows Setup dialog
The Internet Connection Wizard will start
The Internet Connection Wizard will ask what type of connection you use to access the Internet. Choose the High Speed connection option
A dialog will appear asking you to select the network adapter that you wish to use for your Internet connection. Select the Satellite USB Device
Click Next
You may be prompted to create a Client Configuration Disk. If so, follow the on-screen instructions to create a Client Configuration Disk
Note: If you have installed 3Com HomeClick Network software you will not be prompted to create a Client Configuration Disk
You may be prompted to select the network adapter to use for your local connection. If so, select the appropriate network adapter that connects this computer to your home network
Click Finish
A dialog will appear offering to restart your computer. Click Yes
After your computer restarts a dialog may appear stating that "Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) is installed but not properly configured to work with Navigator..." Select Yes to the prompt to automatically configure ICS to work with Navigator and restart your computer

On the Windows ME desktop, click the Start button
Select Programs -> Accessories -> Communications and choose the Home Networking Wizard
The Home Networking Wizard will start. Click Next to continue
In the Setup Options portion of the wizard, choose the I want to edit my Home Networking settings on this computer option
In the Internet Connection portion of the wizard, choose Yes that you use the Internet on this computer. Then choose the A direct connection to my ISP using the following device option and select the Satellite USB Device from the list of possible network devices
In the Internet Connection Sharing portion of the wizard, choose Yes that you want other computers on your home network to use the Internet connection on this computer. Then select the appropriate network card that connects this computer to your home network
Continue through the rest of the Home Networking Wizard providing a name for the computer, sharing file and printers, and creating a Home Networking setup disk
A dialog will appear offering to restart your computer. Click Yes
After your computer restarts a dialog may appear stating that "Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) is installed but not properly configured to work with Navigator..." Select Yes to the prompt to automatically configure ICS to work with Navigator and restart your computer

On the Windows 2000 desktop, click the Start button
Select Settings and then choose Network and Dial-up Connections
Right mouse click on the Satellite USB Device and choose Properties
Select the Sharing tab and then check the Enable Internet connection sharing for this connection check box
Click the OK button to close the connection properties. You do not need to reboot your computer for the changes to take effect

On the Windows XP desktop, click the Start button
Select Control Panel

If the Category View of the Control Panel is displayed, select the Network and Internet Connections option. Then select the Network Connections option listed under the "or Pick a Control Panel icon" section.
If the Classic View of the Control Panel is displayed, select the Network Connections option.

Under the LAN or High-Speed Internet section, right mouse click on the Satellite USB Device entry and choose Properties
Select the Advanced tab. In the Internet Connection Sharing section, check the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box
Click the OK button to close the connection properties. You do not need to reboot your computer for the changes to take effect

Configuring your client computers to use your DIRECWAY system as an ICS gateway to the Internet

These instructions assume that your client system has a Network Interface Card (NIC) installed and the TCP/IP protocol is bound to the adapter.

Choose the Windows operating system that is installed on your client computer

On the Windows 98 desktop, click the Start button
Select Settings
Select Control Panel
Double click the Network icon
In the list of network components, select the TCP/IP protocol associated with your Network Interface Card (NIC) and then click Properties
Select the "Obtain an IP address automatically" check box
Select the WINS Configuration tab and then select the "Use DHCP for WINS Resolution" check box
Select the Gateway tab and remove any installed gateways if any are listed
Select the DNS Configuration tab and select the "Disable DNS" check box
Click Ok to accept the new TCP/IP settings. Then click Ok to update your new network configuration
A dialog will appear offering to restart your computer. Click Yes to restart your computer

On the Windows ME desktop, click the Start button
Select Settings
Select Control Panel
Double click the Network icon
In the list of network components, select the TCP/IP protocol associated with your Network Interface Card (NIC) and then click Properties
Select the "Obtain an IP address automatically" check box
Select the WINS Configuration tab and then select the "Use DHCP for WINS Resolution" check box
Select the Gateway tab and remove any installed gateways if any are listed
Select the DNS Configuration tab and select the "Disable DNS" check box
Click Ok to accept the new TCP/IP settings. Then click Ok to update your new network configuration
A dialog will appear offering to restart your computer. Click Yes to restart your computer

On the Windows 2000 desktop, click the Start button
Select Settings and then choose Network and Dial-up Connections
Select the network card that connects the computer to same network as the DIRECWAY computer. Right mouse click on this Network adapter and choose Properties
Select the General tab. Then select the TCP/IP protocol and click the Properties button
Select the Obtain an IP address automatically option and the Obtain DNS server address automatically option
Click the OK button to save the TCP/IP properties and then click the OK button to close the connection properties. You do not need to reboot your computer for the changes to take effect

On the Windows XP desktop, click the Start button
Select Control Panel

If the Category View of the Control Panel is displayed, select the Network and Internet Connections option. Then select the Network Connections option listed under the "or Pick a Control Panel icon" section.
If the Classic View of the Control Panel is displayed, select the Network Connections option.

Under the LAN or High-Speed Internet section, select the network card that connects the computer to same network as the DIRECWAY computer. Right mouse click on this Network adapter and choose Properties
Select the General tab. Then select the TCP/IP protocol and click the Properties button
Select the Obtain an IP address automatically option and the Obtain DNS server address automatically option
Click the OK button to save the TCP/IP properties and then click the OK button to close the connection properties. You do not need to reboot your computer for the changes to take effect

If you are using the DIRECWAY Satellite Return system, your ICS client computers can take advantage of the HTTP Performance Enhancing Proxy (HPEP) that is running on your host DIRECWAY computer. The HTTP Performance Enhancing Proxy significantly speeds up web page load times when DIRECWAY is using the satellite as the return channel. The proxy only speeds up web browsing (HTTP protocol) and does not affect FTP, email, chat or other Internet applications. To configure your client computer to use the HTTP Performance Enhancing Proxy, you will need to configure the proxy settings for the web browser you are using on the client computer.

Please select the browser you are using on the client computer for instructions on how to configure the proxy settings.

Launch Internet Explorer.
From the menu bar select Tools and then select Internet Options from the menu.
Select the Connections tab.
Click the LAN Settings... button to open the Local Area Network (LAN) Settings dialog.
Verify that the Automatically detect settings and Use automatic configuration script check boxes are not selected (checked).

If you are using Internet Explorer 5, check the Use a proxy server check box. Then check the Bypass proxy server for local addresses check box.
If you are using Internet Explorer 6, check the Use a proxy server for your LAN check box. Then check the Bypass proxy server for local addresses check box.

Click the Advanced... button to open the Proxy Settings dialog.
Enter the IP address of the host (gateway) computer, 192.168.0.1, into the HTTP: Proxy address to use text box.
Enter 85 into the HTTP: Port text box.
Verify that the Use the same proxy server for all protocols check box is not selected (checked).
Click the OK button to close the Proxy Settings dialog.
When returned to the Local Area Network (LAN) Settings dialog, verify that the Address and Port text boxes are grayed out. If these text boxes contain a value and are not grayed out, repeat steps 7 to 11 above.
Click the OK button to close the Local Area Network (LAN) Settings dialog.
Click the OK button to close the Internet Properties dialog.

Launch Netscape
From the menu bar select Edit and then select Preferences from the menu.
After the Preferences dialog appears, expand the Advanced option.
From the Advanced options, select Proxies.
The right pane of the Preferences dialog will show Proxies information. Select the Manual proxy configuration option.
If you are using Netscape 6 - After selecting the Manual proxy configuration option, the protocol proxy information text boxes will become available. For the HTTP Proxy: text box entry, enter the IP address of the host (gateway) computer, 192.168.0.1. Enter 85 into the corresponding HTTP Port: text box. Click the OK button to close the Preferences dialog.

If you are using Netscape 4.x - After selecting the Manual proxy configuration option, click the View... button. After the Manual Proxy Configuration dialog appears, Enter the IP address of the host (gateway) computer, 192.168.0.1, into the HTTP: Address of proxy server to use text box. Enter 85 into the corresponding HTTP Port text box. Click the OK button to close the Manual Proxy Configuration dialog. Then click the OK button to close the Preferences dialog.

The following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles provide additional information and tips regarding Internet Connection Sharing (ICS).