Oh, okay.
Internet = Modem w/ integrated wireless
or stand-alone DSL/Cable modem?
Wireless = Modem w/ integrated wireless
or stand-alone wireless router?
PC-1 (ICS host): USB Wireless adapter --> Wireless router
PC-2 (ICS client): USB Ethernet adapter --> Not currently connected
The most elegant solution still probably stands as this.
The best solution would be to get a wireless card for your other computer. They are very inexpensive (Less than $30 at a lot of stores for something OK) and if you get a USB wireless card, they can be very easy to install.
Equipment preparation:
Connecting PCs directly using a regular 'straight through' network cable doesn't usually work. You may need to purchase a special '
cross over' cable or
cross over adapter. Otherwise, you'll need to connect your PCs using a hub/switch or router.
To test whether or not your current setup works or not, assign IP address to each of the computers on the same subnet (probably like you have it setup already). The first one might be 192.168.0.10 and the second computer might be 192.168.0.11 for example. Then try to
ping the other computer. You can do this by clicking on Start > Run and entering the command
CMD. Press enter and a terminal will pop up. Type
ping IPADDRESS and press enter. IPADDRESS will be the IP address of the computer you'd like to ping. If you get a response, you're in business. If you get something that says no host found or another error message, then it probably won't work and you're going to need a crossover cable or hub/switch (preferably). Keep in mind that things like firewalls can make this more difficult than it should be, so disable any software firewalls you have on the computers.
Why ICS doesn't work
With that out of the way, the reason you can't use ICS is because the IP is taken... as you know. The reason the IP is taken is because your router/modem uses the default IP address of 192.168.0.1. Since ICS will only work if the host computer has an address of 192.168.0.1, so we need to change the IP address of your router.
Router/modem login
If you visit 192.168.0.1 in your web browser, you can enter your wireless router configuration utility (It's a web interface). Every router is totally different, but you should be looking for an option to change the IP address of the router. You will probably be prompted for a user name and password. This is usually admin / admin or admin / password by default. You may need to consult your manual or tech support for questions about your router, but you're welcome to ask here too.
Change your router's IP address
What we can try to do is change the router IP address to something like 192.168.0.2 - instead of 192.168.0.1 - so it does not conflict with your ICS host computer. Most routers support changing their IPs. Once the IP is changed, you'll lose Internet connectivity until you change your network settings on your ICS host computer. We'll change your settings to this, assuming you used 192.168.0.2 for your router's new IP address:
ICS Host Computer
IP Address: 192.168.0.1
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.0.2
DNS Server: 192.168.0.2
Wireless Router
IP Address: 192.168.0.2
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: (Automatically provided by your ISP)
DNS Server: (Automatically provided by your ISP)
ICS Client Computer
IP Address: 192.168.0.10
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.0.1
DNS Server: 192.168.0.1
If it doesn't work...
Once your host computer setup, try to get online. If it doesn't work, restart your router/modem and give it a minute. Restart the computer and give it another shot. It should work. If for whatever reason you cannot get back online, you should be able to do a 'hard reset' on your modem/router by holding in the reset button. It's usually a small, recessed button on the bottom, back or side of the unit. You may need to hold it in for about 5 seconds or you may need to unplug the modem/router, hold in the button and plug it back in while you continue to hold it in for several seconds. Other times a quick poke will do it. A hard reset resets all of your modem/router's back to factory defaults (including WEP keys, PPPOE login, IP address etc.) and you should be able to get online again. You'll need to change your ICS host IP address to something else again... Remember, this number conflicts with your default router/modem IP, so we'll need to change after the reset.
