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ICS Host Configuration Check
You have installed on your Windows98 SE System the "Internet
Connection Sharing" and have
restarted your system to activate the newly installed features.
During restarting of the system, you are getting the Network
Logon screen:

For Internet Connection Sharing to work, you MUST
Logon (by defining a Username and an optional password) (when you click on Cancel or just hit the ESC-key,
you are NOT Logging on to the network and then ICS will NOT be
operational !)
Lets verify the network configuration:
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There are now a lot more
entries in the
Network configuration
(for a better overview, I have
enlarged the
dialog-box by pasting several screen-dumps together)
There is a new adapter:
"Internet Connection Sharing",
and there is a new protocol, also called
"Internet Connection Sharing".
By default, the ICS setup has defined
a binding of both TCP/IP and the
"Internet Connection Sharing Protocol"
with all network adapters.
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For the new protocol "Internet
Connection
Sharing", there is NOTHING to
configure:
selecting "Properties" will just display a box
for Bindings with NOTHING listed. |
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The TCP/IP protocol with a binding
to the "Internet Connection Sharing"
adapter is defined to "obtain an
IP address automatically",
i.e. to use DHCP. |
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The ICS setup made a modification to
the binding
of the TCP/IP-protocol with the network card:
the IP-address has been changed to
192.168.0.1.
This is the default IP-address for the Win98SE
ICS host, the ICS setup will always configure
this IP-address. |
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Lets also verify in the Control-Panel
the
settings for the "Internet Options" |
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Select the tab:
Connections
It defines the Dial-Up networking
connection to be used to connect to the
Internet (and the default to be used in case
of multiple available connections)
Selecting the button "Sharing"
allows to configure some ICS settings. |
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Here, you can disable/enable the ICS
without having to delete or re-install
the ICS network components.
I suggest to activate the display of the
ICS icon in the taskbar:

This dialog box also allows you to
configure the adapter to be use to
connect to the Internet,in my example
the Dial-Up Adapter/ Modem, but here
you could also define a cable-modem. |
Disconnection on Idle: |
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One method to define
the termination of
a connection , if it is not used for a pre-set
time: define it as part of the Modem setup
of your connection.:
In the Dial-up Networking, right-click on the Internet
connection and select Properties |
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Select the tab: "Connection"
put a checkmark on "Disconnect a call if
idle...."
and define the idle-time-out (this
function can only be
selected, if it is supported by your modem, otherwise
it will be grayed out): if the
modem is not sending
or receiving any data for the specified time,
then the modem will terminate the connection
("hang up") |
However, Microsoft suggests in the Knowledge Base article Q230108 (also using the
Internet Options in the Control-Panel):
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Select in the list of
"Dial-up settings"
your connection,
then click on the
button: "Settings" |
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In the Settings
window, select in
the section:
"Dial-up settings":
the "Advanced" button |
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And here you can define
the "Disconnect if Idle".
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According to the article Q230108: "ICS defaults to disconnecting
after 5 minutes or to the
Internet Explorer Disconnect if Idle setting, depening on which
is shorter".
But: even if you are not causing any communication (by browsing
new webpages or
downloading data), one of the connected systems may have a
program running, which is
communicating with the Internet (one of these "automatic
Updates" ? ). But which one ?
Again, article Q230108 explains, that ICS maintains a
log-file: ICSLOG.TXT, which
contains all ICS network activity since the last time you started
the computer.
(please, use "Find" / "Files"
to locate this log-file).
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