Sharing Tab Missing in Network Properties Of Your Windows 7 Starter Netbook? This is Why

I am trying to create a wiFi hotspot on my HP 2140 Mini-Notebook PC running Windows 7 Starter so I can wirelessly share my internet connection on the net-book with my iPad 3. I set up wireless internet connection on the netbook by typing “ adhoc ” into the Windows search bar in the Start Menu; yet my iPad 3 won’t connect to the internet.

One thing that I found to be strange was that the iPad3 connects fine to the wireless connection I created using the same “ adhoc ” trick on my HP Compaq laptop running Windows 7 Home Premium . After messing around with the netbook and laptop, I noticed that the “sharing” tab is missing in the properties of the internet adapter on my netbook.

As you can see from the screenshot above from my HP Compaq laptop, the tab is where you will have to enable other network users to connect through to the computer’s internet connection but the netbook is missing the “sharing” tab. I think that this might be the problem.

I decided to google how I can enable the sharing tab on my netbook. After reading through different forum thread and blog posts, I was able to find out that Microsoft took out the Internet Connection Sharing feature in Windows 7 starter, the same way the company buried the Snipping tool in the OS. I also stumbled on this wikiPedia chart where it is clearly stated that Windows 7 Starter OS doesn’t support internet sharing.

So, How Do I Share Internet Connection on My Netbook?

To share your wireless connection on your netbook, I suggest you upgrade your Win 7 Starter OS to the one that supports the feature or you install Windows XP on a separate partition on the netbook.

Are you experiencing similar problem? Are you able to share your the internet on your netbook running Windows 7 Starter? Please, let me hear from you via comments.

Cheers!