Can't enable ICS on Windows XP (Internet Connection Sharing)

[IIeBoy]

Hi all, I've searched extensively but found no matching issue or solution.

I simply want to enable Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on Windows XP. I am running the latest VirtualBox under Mac OSX.

I follow the guide at the official Microsoft Windows XP website but get stuck at:

3. On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box.

There is no such option on my NAT device.

I have therefore experimented and added a Bridged Adapter #2 in VB Settings as en0: Wi-Fi (Airport). However when I do see the checkbox mentioned in "3", after I check it and click OK, Windows displays an error that ICS cannot be enabled as the IP address is already configured. I then see an icon by the clock that says:

There is an IP address conflict with another system on the network

In simple terms, how can I enable ICS in Windows XP?

(Goal: I have an old computer that needs to share an Internet connection, and it can only do so from Windows XP, not from OSX.)

[mpack]

On your NAT device? If you're using NAT then you're already sharing the interface with your host, who else do you want to share it with? Instead of telling us your solution, tell us what you are trying to accomplish?

[IIeBoy]

Instead of telling us your solution, tell us what you are trying to accomplish?

Is the last line of my post not visible to you?

Goal: I have an old computer that needs to share an Internet connection, and it can only do so from Windows XP, not from OSX.

I'll clarify:

• My physical computer is Mac OSX
• My VirtualBox is running XP
• Attached to the Mac via USB<>Serial cable is a Commodore Amiga (and XP can talk to the Amiga already via a dedicated file transfer program using COM3)
• The Amiga is only able in theory to access Windows XP Internet Connection Sharing
• I therefore need to activate ICS on Windows XP

In other words, I need to share the Internet connection as follows:
Mac > Windows XP (VirtualBox) > Amiga

Thanks!

[mpack]

Yes, I saw the last line of your post, but it was not clear that "old computer" didn't mean your old XP computer whose equivalent you now wanted to implement as a VM: try reading your own post with that assumption in mind, because I can't imagine anyone assuming you meant a Commodore Amiga.

[IIeBoy]

I apologize for not being clear. I appreciate the critique of my post writing.

The Amiga element is not really relevant, as the issue is only that I cannot enable ICS on Windows XP. I could need ICS for any number of reasons, but they do not change the fact that it cannot be enabled for some reason.

Do you have an answer to the support request?

[BillG]

That really has nothing to do with VirtualBox. ICS in XP must use 192.168.0.0/24 for the private network. If your LAN is already using that IP subnet, you cannot configure ICS. You cannot change the IP subnet used as the "private" subnet by ICS. The only solution would be to change the IP subnet used on your LAN, so that ICS could use 192.168.0.0 internally.

See this post for a workaround. http://www.jpuddy.net/2009/changing-the ... windows-7/

Despite the title, it addresses all Vista and later OS versions, and replaces a registry hack which worked in 9x versions of Windows.

[IIeBoy]

Thanks for your help. Following a number of guides for getting an Amiga online I have decided not to use ICS. It is better achieved with a proxy program running on XP. (If you're interested here is the guide I'm using: http://www.thecryptmag.com/Online/24/NullTCP.html)

My problem remains similar but not the same.

Basically, as soon as I dial into the Amiga using the null modem device set up in XP (under VirtualBox), XP loses connectivity to the Internet. Pings that worked before I connected to the Amiga stop working. My hunch is this is due to some sort of IP conflict within VirtualBox, or that XP is trying to access the Internet via the newly connected Amiga (whereas I want the opposite). I don't want to blame VirtualBox, but I'd love to give kudos to anyone who can help solve the problem.

Here is my current setup:



(I have also tried it as just "NAT".)

A dial-up null modem connection to the Amiga. It works great when connected (except for Internet access) and the Amiga can ping XP and XP can ping the Amiga. The web browser on the Amiga can see the XP proxy server (AnalogX Proxy as per the guide in my first paragraph):



Here are the TCP/IP settings for the Amiga null modem:



And for the main XP connection:



IPconfig of XP:



BEFORE I connect to Amiga, XP has full Internet access and PING works fine:



Then I connect to Amiga, and suddenly PING fails:



Here is the final IPconfig once Amiga is connected:



Any help here would be great!

• Could it be the way my network is set up in VB machine settings? I've tried NAT and Bridged.
• Could it be the way the IP/DNS etc. are set up in the network connections on XP?
• Could it be something else?

[BillG]

You got one thing right. It probably has nothing whatever to do with VirtualBox.

Can you connect the PPP link from the Amiga, not the XP end? A PPP connection is a client /server type connection, and you want the Amiga as the client and XP as the server. If you connect from the XP end, it will make the PPP connection the default gateway (as you can see in your ipconfig) overriding the default setting of the Airport router.

[IIeBoy]

Unfortunately as you may have noticed in the guide, all of the guides and information about connecting the Amiga to the Internet have one step in common; that you have to initiate dialing from the dial up connection on Windows XP. Perhaps you can think of another way around the issue? I really appreciate your help.