internet sharing problems

My laptop running Windows ME gets the internet from a wireless network from a PC also running ME upstairs. I found a xterasys USB to Ethernet adapter. The XP desktop and the internet recieving ME laptop see eachother on the network. I enabled microsoft internet connection sharing and set my desktop network wizard to look for the internet on another pc that recieves a connection from a different LAN. And I set the laptop to recieve the internet from the PCMICA card, and share it using the USB/ethernet adapter. The XP desktop is not recieveing any internet, and i've messed around with IE's connections options but nothing works. Can I use a *free* program other than microsoft's to successfully share the internet....or do I have incorrect network settings? any help would be appreciated.

A pessimist knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

yeah my usb 10/100 adapter on the laptop doesn't report an IP Address, while the wireless card does. That might be a problem, but the main problem is that Microsoft Internet Sharing sucks and i'm looking for a better program. I think i'm gonna make things easy and just buy the PCI reciever for the desktop and use one network. Thanks though.

A pessimist knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.