Troubleshoot Internet Connection Sharing

This page deals with Internet connection sharing problems. You can find other network troubleshooting resources here:


	This article describes how to share one Internet connection on your home network or on your small-office network.
	Internet Connection Sharing provides networked computers with the ability to share a single connection to the Internet. This article describes the Internet Connection Sharing feature in Microsoft Windows XP.
	This article describes how to set up and use the Internet Connection Sharing feature in Microsoft Windows XP. With Internet Connection Sharing, you can use networked computers to share a single connection to the Internet.
	This article is intended to assist you in using the Internet Connection Sharing Troubleshooter that is included in Windows XP Help and Support Center, and to provide a list of online support services that may help you solve your problem.
	When you run the Internet Connection Sharing Wizard, you may receive one of the following error messages: An error occurred while Internet Connection Sharing was being enabled. The dependency service or group failed to start. Or 1068: Dependency service or group failed to start.
	When you connect to the Web by using Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), you may receive a time out error message. For example, the Web page may display the following error message: We can't find "xxx.xx.xxx.xx" where "xxx.xx.xxx.xx" is the IP address or URL of the Web page that you are attempting to log on to.
	When you use a custom program to programmatically remove and then reinstall Internet Connection Sharing on a computer that has more than one network adapter, you may receive the following error message: An event was unable to invoke any of the subscribers. Code: 80040201
	This article describes how to configure a static client for Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). Windows XP ICS automatically configures internal clients so that they can access the Internet by using ICS. However, you may need to configure a host, such as a server, statically rather than allowing the host to be configured dynamically. To properly configure the host with static settings, you must provide the host with IP address and host name resolution information. Also, you must configure the ICS host (the Windows XP-based computer that is running ICS) with the name of the client so that name resolution can function properly.

	This article describes how Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) works with user profiles in Windows.
	When you attempt to create a bridge by using two adapters on a Windows XP-based Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) host, the following error message may be displayed: An unexpected error occurred while configuring the Network Bridge This behaviour occurs if all of the following conditions exist: The computer has at least three network connections. One of the adapters that you use in trying to create the bridge is the internal (also called private) ICS connection. This adapter has an IP address of 192.168.0.1. The second adapter that you use in trying to create the bridge is not the public ICS connection.
	Consider this scenario: You send a Remote Assistance invitation to a Windows XP-based Internet Connection Sharing host computer from a Windows XP-based Internet Connection Sharing client computer. The client computer has the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) feature enabled. You receive an error message that is similar to the following: Remote Assistance failed. Please try again.
	If you connect to the Internet by using AOL 7.0, you cannot share the connection by using Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). Client computers on your home network cannot connect to the Internet on this connection. The computer that is sharing the connection to America Online, however, has no problems connecting to the Internet. If you try to access the properties of the AOL dial-up connection to view the Internet Connection Sharing properties, no properties are available.
	This article contains information about troubleshooting the installation and use of Internet Connection Sharing in Microsoft Windows XP.
	This article describes how to share one Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) Internet connection on your home network or your small-office network.
	After you upgrade a Windows XP-based computer that is using Internet Connection Sharing to Service Pack 1 (SP1), programs that use DirectPlay (for example, Age of Empires, or Midtown Madness 2) may not work properly on either the Internet Connection Sharing host or the client computer. If you are using an external computer on the Internet, you may also have problems using these programs to interact with the Windows XP-based Internet Connection Sharing host or client computer. For example, you may experience any of the following symptoms: You cannot host an Internet game that uses DirectPlay (for example, Age of Empires or Midtown Madness 2) from an Internet Connection Sharing client computer. You cannot join an Internet game that uses DirectPlay from either a Windows XP SP1-based host computer that is running Internet Connection Sharing or from an Internet Connection Sharing client computer. You cannot join an Internet game that uses DirectPlay from an external computer on the Internet.
	Windows XP includes support for Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), which provides the ability to share an internet connection with other computers on a local network. ICS in Windows XP allows services to be mapped to hosts on the internal network, so that requests coming from the internet and destined for a particular service will be redirected by Windows XP to the appropriate computer on the internal network. For example, you may want to place a Point-to-Point Tunnelling Protocol (PPTP) server on the internal network and configure Windows XP ICS to forward the Virtual Private Networking (VPN) traffic to the PPTP server. This article describes the process that is required to map PPTP back to an internal host, so that an incoming VPN connection can pass through the Windows XP ICS computer. For the purposes of this article, it is assumed that the PPTP server is already configured properly and is able to accept PPTP connections from clients on the local network.
	You are prompted to disconnect from the Internet each time that you shut down Windows XP. This problem may occur if your computer is configured to share your Internet connection with other users of your local network.
	You might not be able to browse some Web sites or to send e-mail messages that contain attachments from an Internet Connection Sharing client computer if your outbound connection is through a Windows XP-based Internet Connection Sharing host computer that uses Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE).
	When you quit Microsoft Internet Explorer on an Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) client computer, you are not prompted to disconnect. The dial-up connection on the ICS host computer remains connected. If you quit Internet Explorer on the ICS host computer, you are prompted to disconnect from a dial-up connection.
	If you use Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) to connect two ICS client computers that use the Internet Relay Chat client (mIRC), you may receive the following error message: Unable to connect.
	A Windows Millennium Edition (Me)-based computer that is configured as an Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) client computer can detect a residential gateway device, yet the device cannot be controlled. The residential gateway device is displayed in the system tray when the device is first detected. Then, Windows prompts you with the message "Click here to find out more." However, your only option is to use the connectoid, which does not function properly This behavior can occur if the ICS host is a Windows XP-based computer, which does not have a presentation page.
	When a group policy prohibits the use of the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) or Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), these services cannot stay on.
	After you install Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you cannot start the Windows Firewall service. You may experience one or more of the following symptoms: When you click Windows Firewall in Control Panel, you may receive the following error message: Windows Firewall settings cannot be displayed because the associated service is not running. Do you want to start the Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) service? If you click Yes, you receive the following error message: Windows cannot start the Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) service. If you try to manually start the Windows Firewall service by using Services, you may receive the following error message: Could not start the Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) service on Local Computer. Error 0x80004015: The class is configured to run as a security id different from the caller
	After you install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you cannot start the Windows Firewall service. Specifically, you experience one or more of the following symptoms: Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) is not displayed in the Services list in Control Panel. Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) is displayed in the Services list, but you cannot start this service. You receive the following error message when you try to access Windows Firewall settings: Due to an unidentified problem, Windows cannot display Windows Firewall settings.

	When you use the TCP/IP Ping.exe command line utility to verify network connectivity with another computer on the local network or on the Internet, you may receive a command-line error message that is similar to the following: Ping: transmit failed, error code 65
	After you install Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Microsoft Windows XP, you may experience the following symptoms: You cannot create a remote access or dial-up networking connection. All items on the "Network Connection" page of the New Connection Wizard are unavailable (dimmed). You may also receive the following error message: Cannot load Remote Access Connection Manager. Error 711 The Network Connections folder is empty. The Internet Connection Sharing and Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) services do not start because of a dependency failure. When you try to connect to AOL Broadband (DSL or cable), you may receive the following error message: Connection failed. Your Windows network is not properly configured. When you try to start the Remote Access Connection Manager service, you may receive the following error message: Could not start the Remote Access Connection Manager service on Local Computer. Error 5: Access is denied Note You receive this error message even if you are logged on with an account that has administrative credentials. When you try to start the Remote Access Connection Manager service, you may receive the following error message: Could not start the Remote Access Connection Manager service on local computer. Error 1068. When you try to enable Internet Connection Sharing on a Windows XP Home-based computer, you may receive the following error message: Could not start the Remote Access Auto Connection Manager service on local computer. Error 1068. The dependency service or group failed to start.
	When you upgrade a computer that is running Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Millennium Edition (Me) to Windows XP, you may lose statically configured network-specific settings (Internet Protocol [IP] address, shared or private network adapter status that uses Internet Connection Sharing [ICS], Microsoft Windows Internet Naming Service [WINS] servers, and so on). This may cause a loss of network connectivity or services after you upgrade to Windows XP.
	This step-by-step article describes how to configure a connection to the Internet in Windows XP Professional. You can use the Network Connections tool in Control Panel to establish connectivity between your computer and the Internet, a network, or another computer.
	You cannot connect with other players when you try to play a multiplayer game.