Revisiting shared dialup internet access one last time...

[transco]

Sorry to bring this up again, but I've had zero success with this and would like to ask one last time if anyone's actually gotten this to work.

I've been trying to help a friend that depends on dialup internet access and would like to share this connection with his PDA. He has an AP on his desktop that serves as a WiFi-to-wired LAN bridge. He is able to do a wireless sync (ActiveSync) with no problem. He is able to share his desktop's Internet connection when the PDA is in its cradle, but we've found no way to share the connection wirlessly, nor have we found any way to set up a proxy that would allow the PDA to wirelessly share the desktop's modem. Has anyone actually done this? If so, I sure appreciate it if you would tell me step-by-step how to set up the PDA and desktop.

[Hrun]

I gave up with the wifi adhoc connection in the end (although it works flawlessly with my desktop and laptop ) and went for a bluetooth connection which works flawlessly aas well.

HTH Giles

[gwinter]

I have read your other post. First let me recap the hardware configuration. The X3i is connected to the PC via an AP. The AP is connected to the desktop via Ethernet. The desktop has dial-up internet access which you want to share.

Let me start by saying that Activesync pass-through will NOT work when you do Wifi sync. That should be the job of a router. Of course, you don't have a hardware router. So the other option would be software routing, for example Internet Connection Sharing in WinXP.

The only problem might be that the AP has DHCP server. This will interfere with ICS' DHCP. Does the AP has it's own IP address which is different from the IP address of the desktop network card?

[transco]

Yes, the hardware is as you described. The AP has its own IP, but does not have a DHCP server. It is simply a dumb bridge with the normal WEP secuity routines (currently disabled). If you are talking about the ICS built into XP, I've tried that and it works with a wireless enabled laptop, but so far no luck with the X3i.

Thanks for confirming that ActiveSync Internet pass-through doesn't work with a WiFi link. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing anything. At least I can close that door.

I have read your other post. First let me recap the hardware configuration. The X3i is connected to the PC via an AP. The AP is connected to the desktop via Ethernet. The desktop has dial-up internet access which you want to share.

Let me start by saying that Activesync pass-through will NOT work when you do Wifi sync. That should be the job of a router. Of course, you don't have a hardware router. So the other option would be software routing, for example Internet Connection Sharing in WinXP.

The only problem might be that the AP has DHCP server. This will interfere with ICS' DHCP. Does the AP has it's own IP address which is different from the IP address of the desktop network card?

[gwinter]

Do you connect to the AP bridge in infrastructure or adhoc mode? The X3i should be getting an IP adress from ICS on desktop in the range of 192.168.0.x. You said that wireless sync is ok, so perhaps it is only the connections configurations on PPC that need to be tweaked.

[transco]

Do you connect to the AP bridge in infrastructure or adhoc mode? The X3i should be getting an IP adress from ICS on desktop in the range of 192.168.0.x. You said that wireless sync is ok, so perhaps it is only the connections configurations on PPC that need to be tweaked.

Let me clarify... I have no problem here setting up a PC in AdHoc mode to share my DSL connection (I did this as a test using a PC with 2 NIC's). My problem is trying to do the same thing on my friends computer that uses dial-up Internet access. I searched Microsoft's web site and the only AdHoc examples I found were where Internet access was via an Ethernet connection to a DSL or Cable Modem router. The big question is, can it be done with dial-up. Have you actually done this?

One other alternative is to go the FreeSCO route if I can convince him to turn one of his old PC's into a dial-up router.

[gwinter]

I don't have a working dial-up networking to try everything out, but let me just tell you how far I've gone.

My PPC is connected to the desktop in adhoc mode using a USB WLAN adapter. I installed a modem and created an internet connection on the desktop, the connection is shared. With the appropriate config, I am able to sync with the desktop, and when I tried to access internet from my PPC, the desktop actually tried dialing out.

The only thing that might matter is that you are using a WLAN bridge while I am using a WLAN adapter. But it shows that you can share a dial-up networking with another connection that's labeled "LAN or High-Speed Internet" under WinXP. I am inclined to say what you are trying to do is possible.

[transco]

I don't have a working dial-up networking to try everything out, but let me just tell you how far I've gone.

My PPC is connected to the desktop in adhoc mode using a USB WLAN adapter. I installed a modem and created an internet connection on the desktop, the connection is shared. .

I don't have a dialup account, but would like to try as much of this as possible. When you say you "... created an internet connection on the desktop, the connection is shared." Please give me as much detail as possible on how you did this. I haven't used a dialup connection since Win 3.1, and can't remember a thing about setting up a dialup connection. I have a modem on my computer that I use for fax and would like to give this a try, but as far as I know there aren't any free internet accounts any more. What internet service did you use for your testing?

Thanks for all your help. I'm sure relieved to hear that it will work.

[gwinter]

As I said, I too do not have a dial-up account now. However during testing, the desktop attempted to dial out. And I have previously managed to share dial-up networking in another configuration that doesn't have WLAN.

Installing modem is just the usual add hardware affair. To add a new connection, I used the wizard. Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Communications -> New Connection Wizard. After that you should be able to share the connection by going to Network Connections page and open the Properties page of the newly created connection.

It is quite simple really. I do not think you will have much problem with it.

[transco]

:( Well I seem to be getting no where fast. I setup a modem network connection as you suggested. I tested it by bringing up a browser window on the host computer and sure enough, it attempted to dial out. I set up the internet connection sharing, specifying the wireless adapter as the connection to the local network (I used a laptop with an internal WiFi adapter). So far so good.

I then set up the WiFi adapter for Ad Hoc communications. ICS had already set its IP to 192.168.0.1. Next I set up the PDA for Ad Hoc communication with an IP 192.168.0.2 and gateway of 192.168.0.1. The PDA immediately linked to the laptop, again so far so good.

Lastly I tried bringing up the browser on the PDA and entered the IP of a known web site (didn't want to worry about DNS quite yet). Well it tried, but eventually timed out. The laptop never tried to dial out.

Any idea where I am going wrong?

[transco]

:cry: Well I give up. I must have tried this a hundred times by now, and still no luck using the X3i. Forgetting about the dial-up, I tried it with my DSL line, and still no joy. It appears the Internet connection (LAN) is binding to the wireless interface in that it sets its address to 192.168.0.1 just like it is supposed to. Here is where I run into trouble. With the X3i acting as a DHCP client, it is being assigned an address in the range of 169.254.*.*, which is what Microsoft says will happen if setting op an IPN. If the shared Internet business was working properly, the assigne IP should be in the range of 192.168.0.*. Of course with the internet host at 192.168.0.1, the X3i at 169.254.*.* (changes with each try), they can't talk to each other. If I set a static IP address on the X3i of 192.168.0.2, the AdHoc link is good, but still no internet. Unless someone has an idea where I'm going wrong, I might as well pack it in. No progress in well over a week of trying.

[gwinter]

Bummer. Adhoc connection can be troublesome sometimes.

Ok. It seems that you've got everything right. The X3i should be set to automatically obtain an IP address. When I check on my device, usually it would first use a private address (164.254.x.x) but after some seconds it would automatically renew its address an get the right one (192.168.0.x).

But that's not happening in your case. See if this helps:
1. First configure desktop. When you are doing this make sure that the X3i's wireless interface is OFF.
2. After configuring the desktop, wait and see if the wireless connection says "Connected". All this while the X3i's remains OFF.
3. If it says "Connected" then switch on the X3i's adapter. Check IP address and see if it works

I remember doing this before, and if it doesn't say "Connected" on the desktop before I turn on my device, it will not work no matter how I try.

[transco]

Ok. It seems that you've got everything right. The X3i should be set to automatically obtain an IP address. When I check on my device, usually it would first use a private address (164.254.x.x) but after some seconds it would automatically renew its address an get the right one (192.168.0.x).

But that's not happening in your case. See if this helps:
1. First configure desktop. When you are doing this make sure that the X3i's wireless interface is OFF.
2. After configuring the desktop, wait and see if the wireless connection says "Connected". All this while the X3i's remains OFF.
3. If it says "Connected" then switch on the X3i's adapter. Check IP address and see if it works

I remember doing this before, and if it doesn't say "Connected" on the desktop before I turn on my device, it will not work no matter how I try.

I did as you suggested, but still no joy. The IP address of the X3i never changes from the initial "164.254.x.x". I also tried bringing up a second laptop (W2K) in AdHoc mode and it also was assigned and IP in the "164.254.x.x" range by the Host, and like the X3i, it never changed to the "192.168.0.x" range. At least I know now that the problem is with the Host and not the X3i. Any more thoughts?

Thanks again for all your help.

[transco]

One more bit of information, even without clients, the WiFi interface says "connected", but the diagnostic (Dell Wireless WLAN card utility) shows the status as "Not Associated". Any idea how this relates to all of this? With laptop and/or X3i linked, it still says "Not Associated".

[gwinter]

I also tried bringing up a second laptop (W2K) in AdHoc mode and it also was assigned and IP in the "164.254.x.x" range by the Host, and like the X3i, it never changed to the "192.168.0.x" range.

Keep in mind that 169.254.x.x is a self-assigned private address. It means that the laptop cannot get any IP address from anywhere and has resorted to assigning itself a private IP address. This means that the host is not properly providing DHCP service to others. Is it possible for you to try and connect your desktop directly to the laptop via a crossover Ethernet cable? This way we can try to see if ICS is working correctly without adding WLAN to the mix.

One more bit of information, even without clients, the WiFi interface says "connected", but the diagnostic (Dell Wireless WLAN card utility) shows the status as "Not Associated".

I'm not clear what you meant. Is "WiFi interface" the screen from "Network Cards" control panel applet on the X3i? Let me say a few things anyway:

1. The wireless screen from "Network Cards" on the PPC is not that accurate sometimes. The status (available, connecting, connected) lags sometimes. I'd rather use Dell's utility to check what the adapter is doing.
2. On the desktop, after putting the adapter into adhoc mode, it should say "Connected" after a short while even when there are no other adapters/peers/clients around. Let me repeat again and say that this is very important because I remember that I have problem if the desktop doesn't say "Connected". You might have to force Windows to connect to in adhoc mode only.

[transco]

Sorry I wasn't too clear. I am doing my testing with a Dell 800 which is my Internet Host. The Wired LAN port connects to the DSL router. The internal WiFi adapter is the AdHoc interface for the X3i. With the PPC switched off (and no other active clients) the laptop's WiFi adapter indicates it is "connected", and the IP changes to 192.168.0.1. As far as I can tell, everything is working properly on the laptop side.

I then switch on the X3i and it links to the laptop in AdHoc mode with the same SSID. Again, so far so good. The IP sets to 169.254.x.x. Up to this point, everything seems normal. Unfortunately, unlike you, the IP never changes to the 192.168.0.x range. I've tried this with both the X3i and another laptop as the clients, and the results are the same.

[gwinter]

Now I'm stumped. Can't think of why it's not working. I think we have to give up. :(

[transco]

:oops: Well color me stupid! I went though every setting on ever menu on the X3i and discovered that "Use Proxy" switch was set and an unknown IP address listed. Absolutely no idea how this happened. Anyway, once I cleared this, it worked perfectly... oops! :oops:

One last question... do you have any problem with the error message "Unknown device in slot 1" popping up? Sometimes I have to disable and enable the wireless interface several times before it starts to work. This problem seems to have started when I installed the latest X3i updates from the Dell web site.

[gwinter]

I'm glad everything worked out! I don't get the error message that you mentioned. But then again I'm not using an X3i. Well, now I hope the same configuration will work at your friend's place.

[transco]

I forgot to mention that there was one other anomaly. For some reason, I couldn't get the ICS Host's DHCP to work. I finally ended up manually setting the X3i to an unused IP in the 192.168.0.x subnet.