How to share PandaPow from Windows 7

NOTE: This guide is outdated. We now recommend using PandaPow WiFi instead.

Some Internet connected devices can’t connect to PandaPow on their own. Examples are Blueray players, Internet TVs, Gaming Consoles (XBox, PlayStation, …). To solve this, you can let these devices share the PandaPow connection of a PC instead. Here’s how to setup sharing of PandaPow on Windows 7.

 

Method 1: Via LAN and a single network interface

This method requires that your Windows computer is connected to the same local area network as the other devices. These instructions are an early draft, so please let us know if you need help.

Step 1: Modify the registry

  • Start the registry editor: Click Start then in the search box type run and hit enter. In the dialog that pops up type: regedit then hit Enter.
  • Locate the following key in the Registry editor, double click it and change its value to 1.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ Tcpip \ Parameters \ IPEnableRouter

  • Restart your computer so that the changes take effect.

 

Step 2: Start sharing the PandaPow adapter

Locate the network adapters: Start > Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center > Change Adapter Settings

You should among them find a network adapter of the type: TAP-Win32 Adapter V9. Normally it should have a name like “Local Area Connection 2”, depending on the language of your computer.

Right-click the TAP-Win32 Adapter and select: Properties then Sharing

Next check “Allow other network users to connect …” and click OK.

 

Step 3: Configure private/public connection

Right-click the following link and choose to save it to your PC’s Desktop:

panda-sharing.bat

This file in question assumes that the connection to your router is called “Local Area Connection”. If this is not the case, then you must edit the file, by right-click the downloaded file and choose Edit. Replace Local Area Connection with the correct name. If you’re not sure what the correct name is, then please follow the instructions here and we can give you the name: windows-diagnosis

Once the correct connection name has been entered, and the file saved, run it as follows: right-click the file and choose “Run as administrator”.

After you agree that this command is allowed to run, this opens a Command prompt and you should see some messages.

NOTE: Last in the window you will see the IP Address of your local area connection, make a note of it, since you will use it in the next step.

 

Step 4: Configure the other devices

Your Windows 7 PC is now set up to share its PandaPow connection. To actually start sharing you must first connect the PC to PandaPow, then you must configure the other devices so that they connect to the Internet via the PC instead of the normal router.

How to do this depends on the device. It’s usually not too complicated, and you’ll probably find instructions via searching Google on “How to configure static IP address for XXX”, where XXX is your device.

Normally the parameters you’ll need to enter are:

  • A static IP address for the device. This may already be set, if so don’t change it. If it’s not set, choose an IP address that is the same as the IP number of your PC in the first 3 numbers, but the last number must be different from any other IP number in your network. Normally, unless you have a very large number of devices on your network, you could choose numbers from 150 and up to 255 (which is the maximum). For example: 192.168.1.150
  • Gateway. This must be set to the IP address of your PC that was given in step 3 above.
  • Netmask, if required, set to: 255.255.255.0
  • DNS set to: 8.8.8.8, 4.4.4.4

Below are descriptions for some specific devices:

Note that now these devices will only have internet access as long as PandaPow is connected on your PC, if that isn’t the case, you’ll have to change the gateway to the IP address of your router. Normally the IP number of the router ends with 1, for example: 192.168.1.1

 

Method 2: Sharing PandaPow via 2 interfaces, e.g. a wireless and a ethernet cable

This method requires that your computer is connected via ethernet cable to a router or modem that provides internet, and it needs to have a wireless network interface for the other devices can connect to.

It also requires that the other device can connect to an ad hoc network.

Step 1: Create an ad hoc network

Open Network and Sharing center and do:

Set up a new connection or network > Set up a wireless ad hoc network

Set the name and password to, e.g., Pandapow vpnsharing

Step 2: Share PandaPow connection

Network and Sharing center > Change Adapter Settings > Local Area Connection 2 (right-click)

Network and Sharing Center > Change Adapter Settings > Local Area Connection 2 (right-click) > Properties > Sharing

Check “Allow other network users to connect …”

Click OK.

Step 3: Connect other devices

Connect other devices to the ad hoc network created in step 1, name Pandapow password vpnsharing