HANDY HINT – SETTING UP WINDOWS INTERNET CONNECTION SHARING FOR WINDOWS 98 SECOND EDITION (ONLY)   

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What is Internet Connection Sharing?

Using Windows Internet Connection Sharing means that every computer that is connected to your network can access the Internet via the modem on one on the computers on the network.  It also means that people connected to the Internet can share the one modem (and one telephone line) at the one time.  

Before you begin

Internet Connection Sharing is a part of the Windows Software from Microsoft that is included in Windows 95, 98, Millennium Edition (ME), 2000 and Widows NT4.  This Handy hint only covers Internet Connection Sharing in Windows 98 Second Edition only – as setting up in Windows 98 first edition and all Windows 95 versions is tricky and the service is quite unreliable. 

Here’s how to set it up.

You will need your Windows 98 Second Edition CD-ROM to complete these steps; you cannot do without it.  You will also need a blank floppy disc – use a new one to avoid problems later. 

Start on the computer that has the modem.  Close all running programmes on that computer then follow these steps:

  1. Click the Windows ‘Start’ button, select ‘Settings’ then ‘Control Panel’.
  2. In the Control Panel’, double-click ‘Add/Remove Programs’. 
  3. When the ‘Add/Remove Programs’ displays, select the ‘Windows Setup’ tab at the top of the Window.
  4. Scroll down the list of items until you find the ‘Internet Tools’ option and click it, then click on the button marked ‘Details’
  5. Click in the box to the left of ‘Internet Connection Sharing’ and then select OK.
  6. When you return to the Add/Removes Programs windows, click OK.  Windows will prompt you to inset your Windows 98 Second Edition CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.  Click OK when the CD is in the drive.  Windows will install the software for Internet Connection Sharing.  If you are prompted with the message that “A file that is being copied is older than the file currently on your computer.  Do you wish to keep this file?’ Answer yes.  If this appears more than once, answer yes to each one until copying ceases and the ‘Internet Connection Sharing Wizard displays.  Press Enter (or click next) until the wizard prompts you to insert a floppy disc.  Insert your blank floppy disc in floppy drive A and click OK for the Client disc to be created.
  7. When the floppy disc copying is complete, the wizard displays a message that it is complete.  Remove the floppy disc and click OK as prompted.
  8. Click on the Finish button to close the Internet Connection Sharing Wizard, and then click yes when Windows prompts you to restart (you must for this to work). 
  9. Now, go to each computer on the network that you wish to connect to the Internet with via Connection Sharing.  Close all running programs and repeat steps 1-6.  Insert the Internet Connection Sharing Client floppy disc that you created earlier into the floppy Drive A when prompted by Windows.
  10. After each computer has had Internet Connection Sharing installed as per the steps above, to connect to the Internet using a computer that does not have the modem connected, simply double-click the Internet Explorer icon.  The computer that does have the modem connected will be instructed by the Internet Connection Sharing to automatically dial your default internet connection and will connect to the Internet.  The computer that requires Internet access (but doesn’t have the mode connected) will receive information through the modem and then along the network wire to the computer.  If a computer already connected to the Internet, the Internet connection will be shared and no dial-up is required as one computer is already connected.

Most clients connect to the Internet using what is called a Dial-up service, where your modem dials an Internet Service Provider to connect to a gateway to the Internet.  If one person is already connected to the Internet, another person only needs to double-click Internet Explorer to connect also.  A modem only has a limited amount of bandwidth (think of bandwidth and as the amount of water travelling down a pipe), the more people sharing the Internet Connection slows the general response time because the modem has more work to. 

Internet Connection Sharing is a very handy function as downloading Internet updates for Biscount, or checking what’s new on the Biscount Users Forum means that it can be done by any computer on the network.  Also, you avoid file copying from workstations to Servers to install Biscount updates.  Best of all, it’s included as part of Microsoft Windows.