Connecting two internet pc's at home

[Geoff]

I have a home pc with ADSL connection. I have bought
another pc for my home also and wish to connect the two
internally through cableing to the internet.
I have heard 10 different ways of doing this, all
different.
Both are runnning XP, both with ethernet cards/LAN slots.
Can I just set up bridge in network connections or do I
need an extra router/devise to connect the second pc so
they both have internet connection?

[Pat Garard]

G'Day Geoff!
This issue has caused me INCREDIBLE amounts of heartburn!
I am a Windows User from way back when Men were Men, women
were women and the Sheep were Nervous!!
One of the difficulties is that WinXp is VERY clever, and does
it all for you - including using IPv6 addressing and Tunneling.
What this means (for me) is that all the things I could do manually,
I now have to surrender (ouch!!) to WinXp.

I HOPE this helps:
I needed to add a SECOND PC, and share the Internet Connection
of the FIRST PC.
Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) is part of WinXp (and WinAny).
Like it or not, it enables the WinXp Firewall.
PROCESS:
On the Primary PC (the one connected to the Internet) I installed a
second NIC for my HOME (Workgroup) Network.
______________________
| Cable/ ADSL Modem | _______ Internet/ISP
|_____________________|
|
|
___ |__________________
__________
| NIC 1 NIC 2|-------------------------|NIC
PC2
|__PC 1__WinXp ________| RJ45 X-over Cable |WinAny
'HOME'
|
WorkGroup

I UNINSTALLED my third party firewall and virus protection, and
enabled the WinXp FireWall.
On PC1, ran the Network Setup Wizard, confirming the (autodetected)
Internet Connection NIC and enabling ICS.
RESULT: a permanent IP address, related to the IP Address of the
Cable/ADSL Modem, together with a swag of IPv6 configurations.
On PC2 inserted the WinXp CD from PC1 - selected 'Perform Additional
Tasks' and 'Set up a Home or Small Office Network' and followed through.
RESULT: DHCP IP address.
On PC2 enabled ICS.
ALL DONE??

Well I SWEAR that the process did NOT work the first few times -
but it ended up working ----- beautifully.
I have yet to re-install the third-party Firewall etc.........!!!!!
--
Regards,
Pat Garard
Australia

Anne & Pat Garard.
apgarardATbigpondDOTnetDOTau
_______________________________________________