Time-Out Error Message When You Attempt to Connect to the Web Through Internet Connection Sharing

When you connect to the Web by using Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), you may receive a time out error message. For example, the Web page may display the following error message where "xxx.xx.xxx.xx" is the IP address or URL of the Web page that you are attempting to log on to.

This behavior can occur if an Internet connection takes longer to complete than the time-out period specified in the client's request. For example, if the phone line is busy, an Internet connection cannot be established and, therefore, the initial Internet request times out.

To resolve this issue, use any of the following methods, as appropriate to your circumstances:

• Re-send the Internet request. To do this, press F5 in Microsoft Internet Explorer.
• Manually establish the connection to the Internet by using the ICS host computer.
• Add the NameSvrQueryTimeout string value to the following registry key:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netbt\Parameters
  To do this, follow these steps.
  
  WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
  
  
  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
  2. Locate and then select the following registry key:
     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netbt\Parameters
  3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click String Value.
  4. Name the string value as follows:
     NameSvrQueryTimeout
  5. Double-click NameSvrQueryTimeout, and then in the Value data field, type 10000 to set a timeout value of 10 seconds to allow the host computer to finish connecting to the Internet.
  6. Adjust the number as needed (10000 = 10 seconds).
  7. Quit Registry Editor.

The amount of time an Internet program takes to time out for a request sent to the Internet depends on a number of factors, including the program's design. When you first start ICS, it sends a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Discover packet to verify that it is the only DHCP allocator on the local area network (LAN). This prevents the ICS host from forwarding any Internet requests to the Internet for about 60 seconds after the ICS host has restarted and logged on to Windows.

For additional information about TCP/IP, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: