Some days back Amit and me faced quite a problem sharing Internet via wireless. We got caught due to some unknown anomalies due to different OS we used.(I use Windows 7 while Amit is still on Windows Vista). Hence we had to figure out a way to convert one of our laptops into a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Now that we had fixed it properly here is a detailed documentation of the steps that helped us troubleshoot the problem.

Windows 7 and Vista has a very easy to use Network Configuring Wizard. Follow the steps as mentioned below to create a wireless connection over which you can share Internet Connection with other computers on the same network.

There are two main steps

1. Configuring the Wireless Network in the host(one that has/shares the internet connection).

2. Connecting the Client(one that uses the shared Internet from Host) to the wireless network.

Configuring the Wireless Network in the Host Computer

Share Internet Connection Via Wireless in Windows 7

1. Open “Network And Sharing Center”. Go to Control Panel > View Network Status And Tasks.

2. Move down in the window and click on the “Setup a new connection or network”.

3. Scroll down and you will get an option “Set up a wireless ad-hoc (computer-to-computer) network”. Select it and press Next. In the next window proceed pressing Next.

4. Now name your new network anything that seems meaningful to you. Choose the “Security Type” as WEP and put a password for the network. Do not forget to select the bottommost checkbox that says, “Save this network”.

5(i). Wait as the network is set up. As the network is created proceed by clicking the Close button.

5(ii). You will be asked to assign the newly created network a location type. I have made it Public for easy access.

6. Open the Network And Sharing Center again. In the left pane click the Change adapter settings.

7. The resulting window will have all the networks on your PC listed. Choose the network which you use to connect the Internet. Right click on it and select Properties.

8. Go to the “Sharing” (last) tab and then check the option “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection”. In the “Home Networking Connection”  dropdown select “Wireless Network Connection”.

9. In order to configure the ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) Settings, click the “Settings” button and then select all the options and press Ok.

10. Well that’s all, you can now connect to the internet and share the internet connection over the wireless network.

Share Internet Connection Via Wireless in Vista

1. Open “Network And Sharing Center”. Go to Control Panel > View Network Status And Tasks.

2. Click on the “Setup a new connection or network” in the left pane.

3. Follow steps 3, 4 and 5 as mentioned in the previous section.

4. Open the Network And Sharing Center again. In the left pane click the “Manage Network Connections”.

5. Now follow the steps 7 – 10 as detailed above in the Windows 7 section.

Connecting the Client with Host

For Windows 7

1. Turn on your Wireless. Click on the Network icon in the Windows notification area and connect to the available Wireless network.

2. You will need to enter the password that was assigned to the network.

For Windows Vista

1. Turn on your Wireless.

2. Right click on the network icon the notification area and select “Connect to a network”.

3. Click on the Wireless network and press Connect. That’s all. You can now browse the internet. You will need to enter the password that was assigned to the network.

That is all for now, if you are still experiencing problems feel free to ask via comments. And if the problem gets solved, a thank you note will surely be appreciated :).