How to use a PC as XBox Wireless Adapter

Wish you could go online with your XBox 360? Don’t have a spare $100 for the wireless adapter? Use your Laptop or PC!!
While I know nothing about XBox, I love saving money. Could someone read this over and point out any errors?  I’m wondering particularly about the IP address part.
In this article, you will learn to set up ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) with your Xbox 360. Save that $100 for another game.!

What You'll Need

• Internet Connection
• Computer with ICS (Windows XP has this).
• Wireless adapter installed on the computer. (Built into most Laptops).
• Xbox 360 .
• Ethernet cable.
• Xbox Live.

1. Determine if your PC has a wireless adapter Most  laptops manufactured in  the past few years have a  built-in wireless adapter. Wireless adapters are usually an add on for  PCs .If you don't have one, Pick up a wireless adapter from Tiger Direct, or another store.
2. Connect the Ethernet cable Any Ethernet cable will do. The Xbox 360 automatically does a cross-over process so you don't need a special cable. Plug one end into your Xbox 360 and the other into the PC. Almost every PC has an Ethernet port. With both your PC and Xbox 360 turned on, you will see a green light on the PC connector and possibly an orange (data) flashing light. This means the connection is working.
3. Tell your  PC what to do. Click >Start,> Control Panel> Network Connections. Right Click on Local Area Connections. Click>Properties. Scroll down the item list  in the box  to "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" and click it ,then  click >Properties. Click “Use the following IP address”  button and the boxes will clear. In the first box, type "192.168.0.1". The next box should default to "255.255.255.0". That is normal. Leave the third box empty. Almost done!  Click >OK on both option boxes to go back to the network connections window. Right click >Wireless Connection and click  its Properties window. Click the Advanced tab and go to the "Internet Connection Sharing" section. Check the top box, uncheck the bottom box. Then click >OK. Ta dah!  We have finished setting up the PC.
4. Setting up the Xbox Go to the Settings blade; then “Network Settings*. Go to “Edit Settings” and set the IP addresses section to manual. Input "192.168.0.2" as the IP address. Type in as the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Then add "192.168.0.1" in the Gateway Address box. Don't test the settings yet. For each DNS, type "192.168.0.1". Now test the settings. Everything should pass if set up correctly. Your PC should show it’s  found a local area connection. Your internet on your PC should also work. If none of these work,  go back and double check your settings and steps and read the original article HERE.

You are now connected to Xbox Live !

• *Note: with Windows XP, another way is to simply select both your wired and wireless connections, -Right-click, and select "Bridge" . This automatically routes the connections without needing to set your IP address  Using this method and a router, allows you to connect multiple Xboxes to XBox live through the router, and the laptop as well,
• Windows Vista: Leave the XBox Console’s IP address as automatic,but change the DNS IP and gateway IP , otherwise the IP's will conflict Making it automatic is like giving the Xbox a secondary IP to connect to through your laptop w/o interfering and slowing down the connection. This allows you to download from XBox Live,while using your computer. 

Tips

• When buying a wireless adapter for a  desktop computer, choose an internal one.  They generally give better performance and leave a USB port free.
• Your PC should be running at a fairly decent speed. If your computer is sluggish, your game might  lag since your PC can't send  Xbox Live information fast enough.
• When connecting the Ethernet cable to the laptop, be sure to locate the network connections folder on your laptop and bridge the two connections together, people often miss this when trying to use a laptop as an Xbox wireless adapter.

Warnings

To avoid interruptions, your PC must be on at all times while you are playing. Your PC is relaying the information from the Xbox 360 to the internet. If your PC goes to sleep, shuts down, or restarts for an automatic update, you will lose connection. Losing the connection, means you will not be able to receive game or video content from the marketplace.
Source: How To Use Your Laptop As an Xbox Wireless Adapter Aug.31,2010
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