Expert: gameusurper - 9/23/2007

Question
QUESTION: I recently bought an Xbox 360 Premium that comes with the free month of Xbox Live Gold. My wireless router is in my basement and my 360 is 2 floors above it, so the ethernet cable that comes with it is virtually useless. I'm trying to avoid buying the expensive $100 wireless 360 adapter. My computer, in the same room as my 360, uses a USB wireless Linksys adapter to connect with my wireless Linksys router in the basement. I was wondering, is it possible to connect my 360 to my computer with my ethernet cable and access Xbox Live through my computer?

ANSWER: Well Taylor, you are in luck. It should indeed be possible to connect your 360 through your computer and access Xbox Live using the wireless internet that you have. Now, be aware, this option will not be free, as you will need additional equipment to make it work. But it will be cheaper than the $100 for the wireless Xbox 360 adapter.

It sounds like you have a free ethernet port on your computer since you are using a USB wireless adapter. So, the first thing you need to do is get another ethernet cable and an ethernet hub. These will be used with the ethernet cable you already have to get the 360 connected up to your computer. Most smaller hubs start at 4 or 5 ports that are numbered. You will want to make sure you connect the 360 and your computer to the first ports on the hub and not port 4 or 5 as this is usually a specialized port. The manual for your particular hub should inform you if this is the case.

Next, you want to enable the 'Internet Connection Sharing' option through your 'Network Connections'. You do this by either right clicking the little icon of your internet connection in the lower right on the taskbar or by going into 'Network Connections' via your computer's control panel.

Once there, you want to right click the internet connection that your Linksys adapter is utilizing and go into 'Properties'. There should then be three tabs at the top of this window: General, Authentication, and Advanced. You want to go to the advanced tab and in the center of this window, you should see a small checkbox under the heading, 'Internet Connection Sharing'. This checkbox says:

Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection.

You want to check this box. When you do, the option below it will probably highlight. This option is irrelevant and you do not need to worry about it. You only need the first one checked.

Once you have enabled 'Internet Connection Sharing' your Xbox 360 should be able to utilize your computer's internet connection to get onto Xbox Live. You do not need to do any other configuring for this to work.

However, there will be some limitations to how good your connection will be. The speed and quality of your connection will be highly affected by your Linksys adapter. It won't be like connecting directly to the internet. And the other thing, which should be obvious, is that your computer will have to remain on at all times when you want to use Xbox Live. Other than those limitations, this setup should allow you to get what you are looking for.

If you need further assistance with this or if it doesn't work for some reason, let me know.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: When I right-click the internet connection and select properties and go to the advanced tab, there is no option to allow Internet Connection Sharing. Please help.

Answer
First, I apologize for the lengthy response times as I am very busy currently.

Second, I just realized I probably should have asked what operating system you have on your computer as one of my first questions. I just assume that everyone runs under XP. I do not know if 2000, ME or older Windows systems have that option. So if you can tell me what operating system you are using, that might help me find a solution to your problem. I can't guarantee that I can assist you, but I will see what I can do.

I will be making a brief guide of what you need to do to get the Internet Connection Sharing up and running. It will take you from your desktop to the exact window you need to be on to enable the Internet Connection Sharing. It will include screenshots with the relevant bits circled as well as a text guide. I will post the link to the page on my site with the info, as a follow up on this question, as soon as I finish it. It should be available within the next few days.

In the meantime, you might try just plugging in the Linksys USB adapter for your wireless connection directly into your Xbox 360. I spoke with a friend of mine concerning this. He doesn't know if this will work or not, but that it's worth a try. The Xbox 360 may or may not accept an adapter other than the official one. He also wanted me to find out what form this adapter you are using takes. Is it a thumb drive type device? Or is it a small receiver unit for the wireless signal with a cord that plugs into the computer? This shouldn't affect anything according to him. He was just curious.

Please let me know your computer's OS, and if you try my suggestion with directly connecting the wireless adapter, what the results are. This way I can know if my friend's idea worked or not. I will be getting back to you in the near future.