# Laptop and Desktop network



## palex (Mar 26, 2007)

Greetings...
I have:

- A laptop running Vista Home Basic receiving a wireless internet connection.
- A desktop running XP with no wireless card

I am looking to fileshare between the two, and preferably have the desktop pick up the internet connection from the laptop (through a wired connection, of course). I have a netgear router through which the two devices can connect, though I don't know if it is better to use it or simply connect them directly with an ethernet cable.

Where to start?

Thanks so much!


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## dant22185 (Oct 5, 2009)

To get the best performance, I would simply plug the desktop directly into the router so that you can get 100Mb speeds for file transfers across your LAN. Also, this would be good so that your desktop is not subject to wireless restrictions the laptop would be.

You can also get a cross over cable, connect the two, and file share directly between the two. This will take the router out of the equasion.


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## palex (Mar 26, 2007)

Thanks... I went with the crossover cable approach, and, following the directions at:

http://www.conniq.com/Windows-networking/direct-connect-xp-vista-01.htm

I was able to get them to file share. However, I have been trying to get the laptop (Vista) to share its Wi-Fi internet connection with the desktop (XP). Following the same instructions from the link above, I know I need to do the following in Vista:

Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center -> Manage Network Connections
Right click Wireless Network Connection -> Properties -> Sharing tab
Select: Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection

When I click OK, I receive a dialog box: "An error occured while Internet Connection Sharing was enabled"

Does anyone know why this would occur? I have looked at other forum entries regarding this issue, but without much luck.

Thanks again.


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## palex71 (Mar 2, 2010)

Did anyone have any insight regarding this issue?

Thanks!


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