Help me use my Laptop as a Wireless Router!

October 9, 2008 7:19 AM

Help me turn my Laptop into a Router!

I am running Vista Home Premium, and I am away from my home. The person I am staying with does not own a wireless router, and is not interested in buying one.

I want to connect to his Broadband Connection, and use my Laptop as a wireless router (for my iPod Touch, his laptop (running XP), etc...)

Is there a way we can share the internet connection with only one PC physically hooked up? We would prefer using my Vista machine as opposed to his XP machine.

Basically, I want to hook up to his hard-wire broadband connection, and use my WiFi card to broadcast the signal so that the other laptop (and any other device) can share the internet connection.

I need dummy-proof instructions on how to do that.

Google-fu has failed me.

posted by Master Gunner to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

You'll need an WiFi adhoc network:

Windows XP Internet Connection Sharing

And setup Internet Connection sharing:

Making the Wireless Home Network Connection in Windows XP Without a Router

Let me know if that works for you.
posted by fcoury at 7:34 AM on October 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

(Well, actually the order of the links are inverted, but you get the idea :) )
posted by fcoury at 7:35 AM on October 9, 2008

Best answer: Same stuff for Vista:

Ad hoc wireless

ICS

Regards
posted by fcoury at 7:38 AM on October 9, 2008

I'm not answering your question -- but consider springing for a travel router. It'll be something you can keep with you for a long-time and use it in situations like this, or when you are at a hotel that has a hard connection but not wifi and you don't want to be tethered. I did a quick Froogle search and see some as inexpensive as $25. It is what I would do in this situation, assuming you are willing to spend a dollar or two.
posted by bprater at 10:22 AM on October 9, 2008

Response by poster: @bprater

Won't work in this situation. I arrived in Germany two days ago. Buying one in the US wouldn't work: I would have brought my small Belkin Wireless router, but it's 110V, not 220V. Using transformers for extended periods of time is rumored to decrease the life of electronics (because of the different AC cycles).

Buying one in Germany for this short period of time is not cost-effective (wireless routers here cost much more than they do in the US).

If I was traveling in the US, it would work out fine, (and I should have mentioned this was overseas travel) but in this situation, simply not possible.
posted by Master Gunner at 10:31 AM on October 9, 2008

Best answer: Yep, use the vista machine as the router. I believe XP's Ad Hoc is limited to 64-bit WEP, which is next to useless. Vista can do WPA.
posted by damn dirty ape at 2:38 PM on October 9, 2008

Using transformers for extended periods of time is rumored to decrease the life of electronics (because of the different AC cycles).

For future reference: at worst, this would mean you'd need a new wall wart. The rest of the router is powered by DC and will either work (if the wall wart can provide the required DC power on the available AC) or not (if it can't). The wall wart may indeed be designed to work on European as well as US power, or if it is not, you can probably get one that can handle 200V 50 Hz and bring it with you when you travel.
posted by kindall at 2:54 PM on October 9, 2008

Response by poster: Used fcoury's recommendation, worked like a champ.

Yeah, I'm tethered, but it's not horrible.

Reason I REALLY REALLY needed to do it was so I could get a wireless connection with my iPhone.

Thanks to all with your suggestions!
posted by Master Gunner at 5:02 AM on October 10, 2008