I have 2 Win2K (sp4) PCs connected via a twisted-pair cable. In order to get them to see each other, for some reason I've had to statically assign each one an IP address, and on each PC set up a gateway to the other's IP address.

Now I come to share the internet connection. The modem is on PC1, so I right-click on the dialup connection and share it, as the Win2K help describes.
Then on PC2 I open IE and set the connection up to use a LAN connection, unchecking the boxes about "automatically detect connection" and "use automatic script" etc - again as instructed by the Win2K help.

And yet it doesn't work at all. The two machines see each other fine but no internet worky! Checking the boxes in the LAN connection settings makes no difference. There was a note about not using static IPs with internet sharing but I've had to do this to get the two PCs to communicate (I don't know why, I thought I'd just put them in the same workgroup and they'd link up - but they dont).

What can I do - is there somewhere else I can force TCP/IP on PC2 to connect to PC1? Driving me up the wall - and PC2 is my fast PC, but it has no spare PCI slot for the modem.