Add Wireless to an XBox 360 Using a Laptop (even with Windows 7!)

One of the things I hear people complain about in regards to the XBox 360 is how it doesn't have a wireless adapter built in. Now, there are a number of workarounds, including buying an expensive wireless adapter, or you could use a laptop to do the exact same thing.

Just a note here before I begin. I know that this information is widely used already, and that there are likely several guides that exist out there. I am big on cross-platform solutions, and wanted to write a guide that covered several operating systems and explained the process step by step in plain English. Hope I have succeeded in this :D

Getting Started:
OK, first things first. You can do this with any computer that has the following:
-A Wireless Adapter (USB wireless adapter, built-in, PCI, etc)
-An ethernet port, like this one:

-An ethernet cable, this this one:


If you have these things, they are working properly, and you have a wireless network you can connect to, you should be good to go. Just take the steps necessary for your operating system to share your wireless connection.

Windows XP:
-Click on the Start button and select Control Panel
-In the control panel, open Network Connections

-In Network Connections, identify your Wireless connection as well as your ethernet port's connection, which will usually be called Local Area Connection.
-Select both networks by holding down the CTRL button and clicking on them
-Right click on one of the networks and select "Bridge Connections"

-Your Wireless network will now be shared across your ethernet port


Windows Vista:
In Windows Vista, the way to bridge your wireless connection is almost identical to Windows XP. As stated at Microsoft's Vista Help and How-to pages:
"1. Open Network Connections by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Network and Internet, clicking Network and Sharing Center, and then clicking Manage network connections.
2. Hold down CTRL and select each network connection that you want to add to the bridge.
3. Right-click one of the selected network connections, and then click Bridge Connections. Administrator permission required If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation."
Your connections are now bridged, and you should be able to use your wireless connection through your ethernet port now.

Windows 7:
Despite what many people have been saying, Network Bridging has NOT been removed from Windows 7. In fact, it's almost identical in how it is setup in XP and Vista, it's just a bit more hidden. Here's how you set it up:
-Click on the Start (windows logo) button.
-Select "Control Panel"
-If your control Panel is arranged by Category, click "View network status and tasks" under "Network and Internet"
-If you are viewing your control panel by icons, click on "Network and Sharing Center"
-On the left hand side of the Network and Sharing Center screen, click on "Change adapter settings"
-From here, it's just like the pictures for Windows XP. Hold down CTRL and select "Wireless Network Connection" and "Local Area Connection"
-Right click on one of the networks and select "Bridge Connections"
-Windows will now create a network bridge, allowing you to share your wireless connection across your ethernet port.

Mac OS X (Leopard):
I've never done this on one of my Macs before, so I've basically created my guide using what I found here
-Open System Preferences
-Select Sharing
-On the left hand pane, where the sharing services are listed, select "Internet Sharing"
-In the "Share your connection from:" drop down menu, select AirPort
-Then, in the "To computers using:" box, select Ethernet
-Now, make sure Internet Sharing is checked on the service pane on the left side of the window, and you should be good to go.
I have yet to test this, but from what I can tell it should work great. I'll test it later when I get the chance.


Linux:
There are a TON of ways to get this done through Linux, but the easiest way is to make sure your wireless drivers are working and install FireStarter, DHCP, and use Firestarter to share your wireless internet connection. If you are using Ubuntu, you can install FireStarter through the Add/Remove Applications program.
-Install Firestarter from here or through your distro's precompiled binary distribution method (such as Ubuntu's Add/Remove Applications or Synaptic Package Manager, terminal commands, etc).
-Install DHCP, likely using the same method you installed firestarter. The package you need will vary depending on what distro you use.
-Once you have Firestarter installed, start it up
-You will be presented with a wizard to configure Firestarter. Don't close this wizard, it's actually a useful one.
-The first thing to set up is what connection you want to be Firestarter's main connection. In the Network Device Setup, select your wireless card. In my case, I am using an atheros wireless card, which was identified as an Unknown Device (ath0)
-Keep the "Start Firewall on dial-out" box unchecked
-If you don't have a static IP on your laptop (which most people won't), make sure the "IP Address is assigned via DHCP" box is checked.
-Click Forward
-In the "Internet Connection Sharing Setup" dialog, make sure "Enable Internet Connection Sharing" is checked.
-In the "Local area network device" drop down menu, select Ethernet device (usually eth0).
-If you have installed DCHP, you will be able to dynamically assign IP addresses to the machine you attach to your ethernet port (You want this). In other words, Enable DHCP for local network will be checked.
-If you weren't able to install DHCP, I don't believe Firestarter will successfully be able to share your connection, or at least won't be able to without a lot more configuration
-Click forward, and go ahead and check the "Start Firewall Now" box and then click save.
-Your computer is now ready to share its wireless connection.

Finishing Up:
Once you have configured your operating system to share your wireless connection, you should be able to simply plug a ethernet cable between the ethernet port on your laptop and the ethernet port on your XBox 360. Now, as long as your laptop maintains its wireless connection, your XBox 360 will be able to connect to the Internet and your XBox Live account.

The best part about this is that you can leave your laptop configured to share its wireless connection and use the laptop to connect to the internet as well. Configuring your laptop to share its Wireless connection doesn't ruin its ability to access the Web wirelessly at all. So, if you ever need to grab your laptop to surf the net, just unplug the ethernet cable and use it as always (or even leave the cable plugged in if you'd like). On the other hand, if you need to use the ethernet port to access the internet, you'll likely have to disable the bridge you set up to share the wireless connection.

Hope this guide helps! It can obviously be used to connect any device with only an ethernet port to a wireless network, so use as needed.