Cannot get my Network to function-Help

You need to make sure that the network connection that your desktop pc connects into your laptop with has internet connection sharing set.

Bring up the network details and on the advanced tab there should be a ticky box for internet connection sharing, make sure that is ticked.

I'm not sure if you need to do anything from your desktop machine with win98 on it, but make sure that internet connection sharing is ticked for starters.

OK, firstly you need to be looking specifically at the laptop running windows XP, this is the one that connects to the internet and the one that will share it's connection.

The little screen you were looking at that has the protocols on it, TCP/IP / print sharing etc.  Before going into the properties for any of those, at the top of the little screen your looking at there should be some tabs, check those tabs and there should be an option for internet connection sharing which would be a radio button.

I would be more specific but i'm at work and all of these things are disabled here so I can't even view them sorry.

I realise that I was looking at the wrong connection. I was looking at the LAN connection.

I found the advanced window and the tick is alreday there for allowing other network users to connect through this Computers connection.

I reran the XP network setup CD on my desktop 98 but no change.

I don't know if this matters but when I ran the CD on the desktop it said I should be connected to the Internet. I can't because I connect through the other PC.

Also I am still on XP SP1

Well i'm a little at a loss, I must admit i've not tried to use ICS as I have networking hardware (routers/switches) but I was under the impression it would just work.

I would advise getting service pack 2 for your XP machine in any case as it resolves a lot of issues since service pack 1 and this may be one of them.

When you run the CD in your 98 machine and it says make sure your connected to the internet it means make sure your XP machine is connected and the connection between the two computers is there.

Other than that I can't offer any further help sorry.

I cannot find any reference to Internet sharing on the network configurayion on either PCs

I have looked at properties for Client for MS Networks, TCP/IP, and File and printer sharing and can find no reference to Internet sharing on the network

Can you help by being more specific please