How to Connect to Xbox Live Through Laptop XP

Turn on your laptop and ensure you have a valid Internet connection.

Open the Control Panel and switch to Classic View. Double-click on "Network Connections."

Right-click on the Internet connection you wish to share, probably your wireless card's connection. Choose "Properties" from the drop-down menu.

Navigate to the "Advanced" tab. Check the box marked "Allow other users to connect through this computer's Internet connection. Leave the box below checked, if desired, or disable it to prevent other users from changing the network settings.

Press the "Settings" button to modify which specific aspects of the connection you want to share. Xbox Live does not require any specific services.

Click the "General" tab and select the "Internet Protocol" item. Click "Properties." Leave this window open.

Connect one end of an Ethernet cable to the port on the laptop and the other end to the network port on the back of the Xbox 360.

Turn on the Xbox 360 and open the "System Settings" menu. Select "Network Settings" and "Configure Network." Choose "Basic Settings."

If the IP information in your computer's connection properties window is set to automatic, set the Xbox to automatically gather the information as well. If it is set to a specific IP, set the Xbox to "Manual" and match the IP, subnet and gateway addresses of your computer.

Change the last digits of the Xbox's IP address to a unique number to avoid address conflicts. For example, if your computer's IP is "192.168.0.1," change your Xbox's IP to "192.168.0.3," or similar.

Save the settings on both the laptop and Xbox. Connect to Xbox Live.