Network bridge does not work on Windows 7
- by D. Strout
I am trying to use Windows 7 to bridge my wireless and wired connections together to get wireless on a second Windows XP computer (fresh install). The network bridge is created successfully, but when I connect the cable from the first computer with the bridged connections to the second one with just a wired connection, nothing happens. The second computer doesn't connect, and the first computer shows no sign of anything different. I tried bridging the connections of a third computer, and connecting this computer to the second computer. This worked (third computer bridged the wireless to the second computer). Thus, the problem must be with the first (Win 7) computer. However, I have no idea what the problem could be. All Internet Connection Sharing is turned off. Homegroup is disabled (it was originally enabled, I thought that might be a problem, so I disabled it). Also, I had VMWare fusion installed, and that created extra items in the "This connection uses the following items" box in the properties dialog. Thinking this might be causing issues, I uninstalled that too. Still, with everything I tried, I can't get it to work.
Any suggestions?
Edit: Another thing I noticed that might be worth mentioning: The network icon in the Win7 taskbar has a red X on it that means it's not connected, but when I click the icon, it says connected next to my wireless connection, and I am able to access the internet.