Only One Internet Connection Sharing Host Is Required on a LAN

ID: Q230140

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition

SYMPTOMS

If you install a second Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) host on a local area network (LAN), the following error messages occur:

The system has detected a conflict for IP address 192.168.0.1 with the system having the hardware address MAC address of the ICS host. The interface has been disabled.

Internet Connection Sharing has been disabled. Please make sure only one computer on the Home network has Internet Connection Sharing installed.

The first ICS host receives the following error message:

The system has detected a conflict for IP address 192.168.0.1 with the system having the hardware address MAC address of the other computer running ICS.

Also, the following error message occurs if an ICS host is installed on a LAN containing another Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) server:

Internet Connection Sharing has been disabled. Please make sure only one computer on the Home network has Internet Connection Sharing installed.

CAUSE

As indicated by the second error message, only one running ICS host is required to provide Internet access on a LAN.

RESOLUTION

If you have more than one computer configured as an ICS host, uninstall ICS on one of the computers by removing it on the Windows Setup tab using the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel.

Or, to disable DHCP services on the ICS Host, install the Dhcp_off.inf file located in the Tools\Mtsutil\ICS folder on the Windows 98 Second Edition CD-ROM. To do so, right-click the Dhcp_off.inf file and then click Install. After you install this file, restart the computer.

After Windows restarts, ICS can still route Internet requests to the Internet but the DHCP services are disabled. The address of the computer running ICS must be provided to clients as a default gateway through another DHCP server, or set statically for all clients in TCP/IP properties using the Network tool in Control Panel.

MORE INFORMATION

An ICS host sends a DHCP discover packet at startup and every 60 seconds thereafter. If another DHCP provider is detected, ICS disables itself in the manner described above.

Additional query words:


Keywords          : kberrmsg kbtool win98se 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: June 8, 1999