Can't persuade internet connection sharing to start up on Vista

[MPwannadecentincome]

I've wasted 4 hours now, initially trying to figure out how to connect an ipod touch to the internet without wireless in the house, then on my XP laptop to get ICS going - but the properties tab does not recognise my LAN connection as valid for where the internet is accessed over wired homeplug through to my internet gateway / ADSL router. Checking on various forums it seems that XP ICS is limited as it tries to allocate the host to the same IP address as the internet gateway / router 192.168.0.1 - so what's the point of it then?

OK fair 'nuf - so I dig out the wife's laptop. well to start off with the "w" key is missing - WTF its under warranty she better get it repaired before that expires 'cos I'm not getting a loan out to have it repaired

Whilst booting the Vista I check on google how to enable ICS on Vista. So the vista ICS version looks so easy, just set up an adhoc network huh? No chance...

I'm on a machine less than 2 years old and is running Vista SP1. First thing on bootup it says windows updates available and I review and install them including a graphics driver update. This causes some other updates to fail so I have to do the updates twice including a reboot already.

It just keeps failing with Internet Connection Sharing failed to start - after the wizard has run further attempts have to be done from LAN properties | Sharing which doesn't work saying there was an error starting Internet Connection Sharing.

So I tried looking in the event log - well bugger the system event log says it cannot display the data is corrupt (error 13) - WTF is this tulipe vista I never saw that on an XP machine. Googled it and found I had to reset the log, did that and retried the ICS. New Event log is full of Virtual Disk Service starting and stopping and then something about ipv6 stack failing to start and an ipv6 error allocating ¬ bytes.

Spend the next hour or so googling these, eventually give up on what to about the Virtual Disk Service (noticing with envy that those people who do manage to fix it suddenly experience faster machines) and find on the ipv6 side advice to disable ipv6 on the NIC. Not clear how to do that initially so I unticked ipv6 under the LAN properties and also found a registry hack to add DisabledComponents under ipv6/parameters.

Loads of rebooting later and still the same effing problem.

And all because the bloody ipod Touch ONLY effing works on wireless and I was asked to install a dictionary onto it ready for daughter to use for homework tomorrow!

so much for my I only have one more hour's work to do and then an early night - I still have that hour's work to do

think tomorrow I will go to Macdonalds and use their free wireless, failing that I will order a Develo wireless extender - it will have to go on the credit card that I'm only making minimum payments on.

[gadgetman]

1. If the Touch is like an iphone then does it not have a USB cable to sync via itunes?

2. Considered jailbreaking?

3. Ditch Vista now and get Windows 7, you won't regret it. I tried to get my daughter's brand new Dell laptop (Vista Home Premium) to connect to my LAN, NAS and shared drives at Christmas. Vista was having none of it and believe me I tried. I had no issues with previous XP machines or any of my Win 7 laptops.

I installed the free Dell "Upgrade" Win 7 Home Premium for her (clean install) and had no network issues. Maybe ICS is the same? Regardless I've found Vista nothing but a PITA.

[NickFitz]

I may be wrong (I don't have one) but I understood that the iPod Touch was only able to connect over WiFi?

In the States, free WiFi is pretty much a given in all urban areas, and even out in the sticks - a friend of mine who often goes out around the wildernesses there fulminates against the fact that he can be at a cheap motel in the middle of nowhere up in the Rockies and have excellent free WiFi connectivity, yet if he stays at a 5 star hotel in London he's expected to pay ludicrous sums for a connection.

Given that the iPod Touch was designed on the assumption of WiFi access being available just about anywhere, and therefore only does WiFi, I'm not sure how you would get it to connect without WiFi. I don't think it can.

EDIT: Ah, I missed this bit:

And all because the bloody ipod Touch ONLY effing works on wireless and I was asked to install a dictionary onto it ready for daughter to use for homework tomorrow!

In iTunes, go the iTunes store, select the "Apps" bit and find the dictionary. Download it. Then connect the iPod Touch to the computer via USB. Assuming the Touch is already associated with that machine, it will automatically install the Dictionary on the Touch.

If the Touch isn't already associated with that machine, just use the one it is associated with, or associate them.

If, for some reason, it doesn't synchronise automatically, select the Touch in the "Devices" section of the navigation tree on the left, and use the "Applications" tab in the main pane on the right to get it to synchronise.

In my experience (admittedly iPhone, but I'm pretty sure it will be the same) downloading an app onto the computer via iTunes means that it's automatically installed on the iThing when they are connected and synchronise. Conversely, installing an app on the iThing results in it being automatically backed up to the computer when they synchronise.

Finer control of these things is available, but for the most part, just doing what comes naturally will just do what you wanted.

HTH - if not, I'll continue to try to help when I'm around

[VectraMan]

Checking on various forums it seems that XP ICS is limited as it tries to allocate the host to the same IP address as the internet gateway / router 192.168.0.1 - so what's the point of it then?

If that is the reason, then logon to the router and change its IP to 192.168.1.1, et voila!

[MPwannadecentincome]

1. If the Touch is like an iphone then does it not have a USB cable to sync via itunes?

1. If the Touch is like an iphone then does it not have a USB cable to sync via itunes?

2. Considered jailbreaking?

3. Ditch Vista now and get Windows 7....

In iTunes, go the iTunes store, select the "Apps" bit and find the dictionary. Download it. Then connect the iPod Touch to the computer via USB. Assuming the Touch is already associated with that machine, it will automatically install the Dictionary on the Touch.
)

Thanks to both of you yes that's what the USB cable is for - what an idiot I am I missed the obvious - DOH! I will give this a try tonight.

Gadgetman - I did look into solutions which allowed SSH tunnelling through the USB then enabling internet through a proxy which needed jailbreaking but there were so many steps involved I couldn't fact it - glad I didn't try given the answer was simpler than I thought.

Re ditching VISTA, its the wife's laptop I dare not change anything - I got blamed already when Windows update upgraded IE upto IE8 !