Network and internet conection sharing

[L.Paton]

Hi All ,
here is my problem

I share an internet connection between my MAIN COMPUTER (usb , cable modem , win xp ) and my laptop (win xp ) . My laptop is connected to the MAIN COMPUTER by an ethernet cable . my problem is i have to reboot the main computer and the laptop everytime the laptop looses the internet connection , whether through a drop out , or i take the ethernet cable out to move laptop . when I 1st bootup the laptop it will not find a connection until i reboot the main computer .

Shouldnt i simply be able to plug in the ethernet cable at anytime and it should give me an intenet connection??
Any suggestions would be greatly apreciated .

I also assumed i would be able to share files through this connection from each hard drive but this has never been the case . Although the sharing "hand" shows up on the file I have never been able to acccess the file from the other computer . I have run the install disc and installed the appropiate things i believe , but no luck
any ideas ???

thanks