ICS with XPpro

Ok, i have a wired network of three PCs (and a printserver) all running WinXPpro, one of which has a 64/128k BT/ISDN/homehighway/midband USB thingy which i want to share with the other two PCs

- so, using windows netowrk setup wizard thing i set up the Host, and enabled sharing on the conection in question

- then i set up the first client simply my using th wisard again, this set up a "internet conection gateway" which all worked fine (when i shut down Zonealarm) i couldnt conect remotly (becuase you have to use the stupid BT thing, so you can to "redial if conection drops") but other than that it was fine

- set up the second PC that same way, Fine, tested they all worked etc, FINE

- the after about an hour i disconected and shut down the PCs and went to bed.

- next day, fire them up, and OMG, they seem to have forgotent everythink :eek: - the conection is still set to be shared, but none of the client PC's have there "gateway" thing anymore

has anyone else had this, whats going on, how can i fix it (permanently)

- HELP, thatnks, daniel

- also, if anyone can recomend a free firewall thats happy running with ICS im on the lookout, becuase im not buying ZApro just toget ICS working.

XP Pro has a decent enough firewall. Use that

Try Sygate Personal Firewall, I;ve found it excellent.

yeah, what about it keeping on forgeting about being set up for ICS tho

- thats what i relly need to know

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Howard

XP Pro has a decent enough firewall. Use that

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even without SP2?

Yes; XP ships with a basic firewall. Go into Start, All Programs, Accessories, Communication, Network Connections on the ISDN-equipped machine. Look for the internet connection that you use. Right-click, choose Properties, and then Advanced and you'll see the Windows Firewall section where you can configure the settings.

Yeah, but alot of people say that without SP2 the firewall is usless and rubbish

It WILL block attempts to connect to your machine from the outside world without SP2 (but you do want to get the other Windows Updates). I would say that SP2 is a VERY GOOD idea and highly recommended, and gives the firewall a lot more features, but the firewall pre-SP2 isn't completely worthless. Oh, and the reason for a lot of confusion about this is that preSP2 the default state for the firewall was "off"; from SP2 it's "on" by default.