I've started down another path, Linux(debian)land which Im really starting to like. I've been using MS for a long, long time. Anyway over the years I've put my toe into linux only to pull it out with fright. Anyway Im working IT with a company thats totally MS. We are looking for other ways to achieve networking/security goals. Love Snort / Acidlab / Winmin. So here is my question..

While Im making my transistion I still need MS here and there at home. I have Windows 2000 server setup for ICS(my linksys WRT54G router sucks). I have a debian laptop which I've just setup. I get DHCP with no problem. I can ping everying outside. I can also get(firefox) google.com and can search. But thats it. I can't go to any other websites. none. I also can't use apt-get for anything. apt-cache search works fine. but thats it.

If there anyway to make MS-ICS work with Debian?

I'd say to use your WRT54G (which I think is awesome!). I've got one and love it, if you couldn't tell. But I replaced the firmware with Sveasoft Alchemy firmware (make sure you have a WRT54G version that will run the firmware before you load it though!). You can do amazing things like static dhcp, increase the WAN power by 10x, and use fwbuilder on your debian box to make a kick ass firewall for the router. Besides that, WRT54G runs linux, which is why all this other firmware was released. You can ssh into it and adjust settings as required. Basically it turns a crappy $50 router into something capable of much more expensive routers. There are other firmwares out there because Sveasoft has turned into a bunch jerks. Go to http://www.wrt54g.net/ to get the firmware and other information. Also check out wikipedia's article

Seriously, I'd ditch using MS-ICS...

It might be DNS-related. What's in /etc/resolv.conf, once DHCP is up?

This probably isn't it, since you can get to Google, but it's worth a try.

search myfakedomain
nameserver 192.168.0.1

Looks suspicious. What's at 192.168.0.1, and is it running DNS?

In windows ICS, windows is 192.168.0.1 on the virtual lan it is using for sharing. The linux box is probably 192.168.0.2 or the like. Windows then gets it's actual address from the modem/router.

Yeah, ICS sets up DHCP one the second NIC giving it 192.168.0.1. That gives me an idea. What if I use the real DNS on my ISP?

That should work as long as your gateway is setup to the Windows box.

[salespitch]As I posted above though, I'd still recommend getting your linksys working. You can turn off the radio if you don't need the wireless access (and you should for security reasons if you don't ever use it). I'm telling you, it's a pretty nice little box...[/salespitch]

You should be able to do this. Edit /etc/dhclient.conf and uncomment the line that starts with "prepend domain-name-servers". Change the rest of the line to match your ISP's DNS. Doing this will make DHCP set this up for you, instead of overwriting it each time.

In order to make it take effect, you need to stop and restart the network:

Sorry I did want to mention that I did use Sveasoft Alchemy and DD-WRT on my linksys. But while using Bittorrent(legal downloads) it would kill my network.

http://p2p.weblogsinc.com/2005/04/24...ent-downloads/

There's a guide to setting up fast bittorent. And if I remember correctly (haven't use BT in a while), you can setup multiple ranges (one for each machine hardwired to the network) and configure the ports used by BT on each machine.

Thanks a lot for the effort but that didnt seem to do the trick. I just dont understand. I mean I can even get gmail.google.com to load really fast. Everything else takes a dump. I can even ping my fav site and resolve its address. But still cant pull it up. Oh yeah I can even FTP just fine. At this point I might just switch back to my linksys but now I want to know why.

I also just found out that I can pull up my old website thats hosted on a debian box. but thats it. I really think its not a debian problem but a ms problem.

I agree - and I don't know the answer

You know. It's times like these that I would have give debian the old boot. Like so many times in the past. But I'm really liking linux the more and more I use it(as with my company)Now Im thinking its time to give MS the boot. I just hate walking away from a problem I cant fix or find an answer to. If anyone else has something to add I'll be checking back. Till then Thanks for all your help. I might just have to give the old linksys another try.

If you give the linksys a try, attempt the link above about enabling the port forwarding. Maybe it'll work for you... Sorry I couldn't be more help.