Internet requests from clients sent to the Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) host may not automatically dial a dial-up connection to the Internet. The error message received by the client varies depending upon the program. For example, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 displays the following error message:

The Internet connection used by the ICS host may not be configured to dial automatically, and the user name and password information may be missing. If it is not configured properly, the ICS host receives the Internet request but does not have the means to establish the connection without user intervention.

Configure the ICS Host to Dial Automatically

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click the Internet Options icon.
2. Click the Connections tab, and then click Always dial my default connection.
3. In the Dial-Up Settings dialog box, verify that the connection to be used to dial automatically is selected as the default connection if there is more than one connection. To set a particular Internet connection as the default connection, click the connection, and then click Set Default.
4. Click OK.

Verify That You Have the Correct Network Components Installed

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click the Network icon.
2. In the Network Configuration dialog box, verify that one of the following clients is installed:
   
   
   • Client for Microsoft Networks
   • Client for NetWare Networks
   • Microsoft Family Logon
3. If one of the clients is installed, click Cancel, and then skip to the "Configure Your Dial-up Networking" section. If no client is listed, click Add, click Client, click Add, click Microsoft, click Microsoft Family Logon, and then click OK. Note that you may be prompted to insert your Windows 98 Second Edition CD-ROM.
4. Click OK, and then restart the computer when you are prompted.

Configure Your Dial-Up Connection

1. Start your dial-up connection. You can either double-click the Internet Explorer icon on the desktop or double-click the My Computer icon, double-click the Dial-Up Networking folder, and then double-click your dial-up connection.
2. Type your user name and password. Click to select the Save Password check box, and then click Connect.

The ICS host should now respond to Internet requests from clients by dialing and connecting to the Internet. Note that Internet requests from clients may keep the ICS host connected.

For additional information about this issue, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

When you select the "Dial whenever a network connection is not present" dialing option on the Connections tab in Internet properties, the ICS host is not able to automatically dial the Internet.