[Buck_W]

I was unable to establish a connection with a friend of mine who also is using a Mac. We both have OS X (I have Panther, he is still using Jaguar). We've shared files over the internet before, but tonight we received a weird error message.

We both had Personal File Sharing on, but for some reason neither us of could connect. In System Preferences -- Sharing -- I clicked on the Internet button and I noticed that it said that my internet sharing was off. It stated, "You cannot start Internet Sharing because you have not selected a port over which to share your connection."

But when I clicked on 'Built-in Ethernet' (port) in order to start Internet Sharing, I received this message:

--- If you turn on this port, your Internet Service provider might terminate your service to prevent you from disrupting its network. In some cases (if you use a cable modem, for example) you might unintentionally affect the network settings of your ISP and violate the terms of your service agreement. ---

Can someone help me understand what this means? Also, why weren't we able to share files (without the connection timing out) even though Personal File Sharing was on? We haven't had in trouble in the past.

Thanks for the help!

[dtriska]

Internet Sharing has nothing to do with file sharing. Internet Sharing is for sharing your Internet connection with another network of computers. It serves much of the same function as a router.

Speaking of routers, are you using any such device to connect to the Internet? If so, you need to forward port 548 to the computer that has file sharing turned on. Then, you're friend would attempt to connect using your public IP address.

[Buck_W]

Thanks for pointing that out. That definitely clears up the confusion I was having between Internet/File sharing.

But I'm not sure I understand what you mean about forwarding port 548. Could you please be more specific? The desktop I am using is connected (via ethernet) to a router.

Thanks again