Double wireless internet sharing.

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Gir

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Bad title. Sorry.

ADHD version: I have a laptop that gets internet through a wireless connection to a router. I need this laptop to share its internet to another nearby computer, via wireless. I can set up the ad hoc wireless network on the laptop, no problem. The problem is that when I do, the wireless connection to the router that provides the internet to begin with, drops out. The laptop will connect to either, but not both. What am I doing wrong here?

~

Long version: I have a computer with a crap wireless network card. It has bandwidth, but the range is very, very poor. It also seems to be rather easily afflicted by external sources of interference (cell phones, other networks, kitchen appliances, etc). Due to limitations of the mainboard, I can't replace or fit in an extra network card. I have to make do with what I get. I also have a laptop that has a great network card. Excellent bandwidth, excellent reach. Both this laptop and the computer connect to the internet through a wireless router, which is situated in the nearby house of our landlord. Cables between our houses aren't an option, and sharing internet over the power net isn't a possibility since we operate on separate groups.

I thought I could amend the situation by enabling Internet Sharing on the laptop with the good network card, so I set up a (windows 7) Ad Hoc wireless network on it. I connected the computer to it, which worked, but left me with a surprise. No Internet. So I went back to the laptop and checked what was going on. It had lost the internet connection to my landlord's router. I switch it back on and hobble back to the computer. No more network to connect to. The obvious dawns on me. The laptop won't or can't maintain both a connection to the internet router and its own ad-hoc wireless network. Catch 22.

Somehow this doesn't seem right to me. I *know* it is possible to make multiple internet connection in Windows, I just have never done it. So why can't it do the same for Internet Sharing? It defeats its purpose.

Help *much* appreciated. :(
 
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dr.flay

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The basic chips in your laptop and Desktop cannot run in Ad-Hoc and AP mode.
It's one or the other.

Even my fancy Wi-Fi card will not do both without a second antenna.
You would then need to use the special software that comes with it, to route the network connections.

Solutions
Get a USB network device. You can then have it on the end of a USB cable, which you can then place for best signal.

Or just connect the Laptop to the Desktop with an ethernet cable.
You must enable internet sharing on the Laptop.
Disable the Wi-Fi in the Desktop, as it slows the PC.

You are over-complicating it, that's all.
 

Gir

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It's one of my specialties.

Thanks dr. flay, I'll try out the cable first. I assume it would have to be a crossover cable? I haven't had to buy one of those in maybe ten years.
 

dr.flay

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Just the standard Cat-5. (The ones you get free with a router are often different).

I have one hanging out the back of my main PC.
When I need to give another PC net access, I just switch on the card and plug the cable in. (My main PC connects to the net via a 3G mobile USB dongle).

Most PCs have 2 networking options. You have to use both on the "bridge" PC.
1 to communicate between your PCs, and the other for connection to a router or second network.
For every extra network, you need another network card.
My MoBo has 2 ethernet chips (3com and nVidia) and 2 WiFi cards, so I can connect to 4 networks (or 3 and turn my PC into a WiFi hotspot).
 

Gir

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Alright. I guess I never gave it much thought since routers and such are lined with UTP sockets, so 'why would a pc be different'. Heh.

Anyway, thanks again. With a stable connection, I can see some old school LAN gaming coming up in the nearby future. I'm going to revive.. the old ways. :)