Hi Deen,

I don't recommend posting your e-mail address in your text. This is a forum; forums provides a method of communication without having to share private information. Plus, our discussion may also help benefit others in the future who may experience something similar.

You've got a lot going there, so let's tackle this in sections. I'm trying to make heads and tails of a few things in your post, but from what I gather, you're plugging the laptop directly into the 360 using an Ethernet cord? Is that correct?

Mind Over Matt'er - Technology musings, opinion, and more straight from TechLore's head geek.

You should see a gray button labeled "EDIT" above your post. Click that, and you can modify your text.

I've successfully used Windows ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) to get a 360 online for updates, but I've never tried it for streaming media between the two. I have no clue if it will work, but I'll give you some steps to try below.

Before I do that, though, I will say the easiest thing to do would be to go out and purchase a home network router. It can be an older, used one from a garage sale, or just the cheapest thing on the shelf. You just need something to handle DHCP and routing for multiple network devices. It should also have basic wireless capability so you can connect your laptop without wires. It won't particularly matter if you don't have an internet connection; you can stream compatible file types without one.

If you want to try ICS, here's the steps to try using your Vista laptop (we can get to the XP one later):

Go here: http://www.home-network-help.com/ics-host.html And follow the steps for properly configuring ICS. Pay attention to the part about file and print sharing, make sure that box is checked.

Go to the control panel, then click Network and Sharing Center. Under sharing and discovery, make sure that Network discover, File Sharing, and Public folder sharing is on and allowing anyone with network access to at least read files). Also, enable password protected sharing and media sharing.

Connect your XBOX 360. It should get an IP from the laptop.

Next, move a few photos to a shared folder (there's one by default). I'm not sure if you're running the old 360 interface or the new one, but find the section for streaming media from local sources. Choose photos, and look for the shared folder you put the pictures in. If you can find it and view the pictures, then we've made progress.

I'll stop here for now.

Mind Over Matt'er - Technology musings, opinion, and more straight from TechLore's head geek.